What can you do with a business management degree?

Business management is a broad subject that can prepare you for a wealth of career opportunities. On this degree, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of topics like marketing, accounting and international business practice through dynamic, relevant course modules, and leave university with great prospects and high levels of employability.

What can you do with a business management degree?

Due to the versatile nature of a business management degree, graduates have the option to pursue a diverse range of careers. A degree in business management can directly lead into a number of varied roles. Some of the top business management careers are:

Actuarial analyst

In this role, you would be analysing a variety of data to assess the risks a company faces. Businesses heavily rely on this type of work, as it is crucial to forecast their performance in order to prepare for any possible financial or industry changes. For this reason, actuarial analysts are needed over a wide range of industries in a number of different teams, such as finance, healthcare, insurance and human resources. You could also find work in software development, as a way to improve the analysis of data in this kind of role.

Business adviser

As a business adviser, you would be hired to provide insightful field information to businesses, and support different teams with professional guidance. You could choose to be self-employed or become an in-house adviser, as this role is flexible and can be done on a temporary, project-basis or full-time across a range of departments within one company. There is the option to work with all kinds of clients, whether it be individuals or start-ups looking to grow their business, or established corporations who need specialist advice.

Corporate investment banker

To be a successful investment banker, it is important that you are mathematically adept and possess an understanding of investment strategy. In this role, you will work closely with a business’ financial team, providing advice on budgets and managing strategic financial opportunities. Corporate investment bankers are usually employed by large banking firms, and work on one of three main areas: corporate finance, debt and equity.

Project manager

As a project manager, it will be your job to ensure a project, whatever its aim, runs smoothly and is delivered on time. This involves a lot of people management, as well as organisational and delegation skills, and is often best-suited to someone who is motivated by overseeing others and able to work under pressure. This type of role is usually a part of a senior management team, and can be a good progressional goal once you have established yourself in a certain industry or company.

Other jobs that are directly linked to a business degree include business analyst, chartered management accountant, insurance underwriter, management consultant and supply chain manager. There are also other roles in which a business degree would be useful, such as an environmental engineer, external auditor, marketing executive, mortgage adviser and sales executive. Whether you want to pursue one of these roles or something else, a business degree will teach you a number of transferable skills that will ensure your future career success.

Skills you will gain from a business management degree

There are a range of versatile skills you can learn from a business degree that will assist you, regardless of your desired career path. Some of these are:

Problem-solving

Studying a degree in business management will teach you how to appropriately approach professional problems and come to a practical solution, whether in a team or working alone. This is a vital skill for any promising employee, as it will be required in almost all roles.

Decision making

Decisiveness and determination are valuable attributes to have for any job role or industry. Studying business management at university will allow you to practice making work-based decisions, and give you a chance to see how best to navigate tough professional choices.

Communication

In any line of work, strong communication skills and the ability to negotiate are highly important. A degree in business management will teach you the best ways of doing this and give you exposure to all kinds of people with a variety of different working styles.

Self-reliance and initiative

Being self-motivated in your work is an admirable trait, and one of particular value to employers. Due to the nature of the course, business graduates are often individuals who are able to take initiative and achieve goals independently, which usually leads to success.

Project management

The confidence and ability to successfully lead others is an important skill, especially if you want to focus on career progression. Within your degree, you will become familiar with working on team projects, which will give you great experience for your future.

Critical thinking

Often, to be good at making decisions and solving problems, you need to be able to think critically. Analysing the varying risks and factors of a situation is important in business, and is something that you will have a lot of practice with during this degree.

How can I start a career in business management?

To gain the skills and opportunities already mentioned, studying a degree in business management is the most direct route to success. If you want to apply to study an undergraduate degree, you will first need to have the appropriate secondary-level qualifications for any university entry. In the UK, this is good grades in GCSE and A-Level or equivalent qualifications.

If you are unsure of how best to prepare for studying a degree, the Liverpool John Moores University International Study Centre can help you progress to study in one of the UK’s most vibrant and exciting cities. We offer a range of preparational programmes leading to both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, which support students by focusing on academic skills, English language development and subject-specific knowledge. Depending on your educational needs, you can choose from the following programmes to start your journey to studying at an enterprising British university:

• International Foundation Year
• Extended International Foundation Year
• International Year One
• Pre-Masters Programme

During your degree, there will likely be chances to complete work experience throughout your course, which can boost your future employability by exposing you to the industry of your choice and giving you a feel for working in that type of career. Once you have graduated, you can choose to continue gaining work experience, or pursue internships or further study for increased chances at landing a job in your desired company or field.

Study in the UK

There are ample benefits of studying in the UK. With a wealth of well-developed industries and globally successful businesses based here, students and graduates can gain unique career opportunities by studying at a UK university, while also improving their English language skills. Companies with impressive graduate schemes are prolific in cities like London, Manchester and Liverpool, creating many employment opportunities. With a Student visa, students can benefit from the opportunity to work while they study or stay working in the country after graduating.

FAQ's

Is business management a good degree?

Studying business management will give you great knowledge and experience with modules focusing on everything from management and economics to marketing and accounting. Having knowledge in these fields is attractive to potential employers.

People with business management degrees are highly employable due to their broad skill set and adaptability. There are many pursuable jobs with a business management degree in varied fields such as:

• Banks
• Hospitals
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Schools
• Retailers

By studying business management you will become an essential asset to every day life. All businesses, no matter what they specialise in or their size, need a manager. This means business managers are always in high demand. 

How long is a business management degree?

For a business degree at International undergraduate level you will be studying the International Foundation Year in Business, Law and Social Studies. The International Foundation Year is a two-semester programme delivered at the International Study Centre. 

Once you have completed your foundation year you will move on the International Year One pathway programme which is the equivalent to the first year of undergraduate study. Upon successful completion of the programme, and achievement of the required grades, you can progress to the second year of your undergraduate degree at Liverpool John Moores University.

What is the importance of business management?

Business managers are responsible for ensuring that the day-to-day operations of a business function smoothly. The role is a crucial part of any organisation's success as it affects many aspects of the business such as sales, marketing and accounting. Without business managers many brands and companies would not be successful.