Business Majors 101: Pathways, Top Programs & Career Outcomes
By Lynne Fuller, Founder of College Flight Path
Undergraduate business programs offer a diverse range of disciplines, each tailored to specific career paths in the global economy. From accounting to sports management, these majors provide foundational knowledge and practical skills sought by employers worldwide.
This guide delves into each major, highlights leading institutions, and outlines potential career trajectories for graduates. Because business has grown more specific over the past decade, it is important to understand the nuance of each degree, how that specific major is delivered by each institution, and what that leads to in terms of a career path.
1. Accounting
What It Is: Accounting involves the systematic recording, reporting, and analysis of financial transactions. It serves as the backbone of business operations, ensuring compliance and financial transparency.
In layman's terms, an accountant is a financial organizer for a person or a business. They keep track of all of the money that comes in and goes out and ensure bills are paid, income is recorded, create reports, and prepare tax documents. Accountants are hired by every business owner and are on staff at every major corporation in the US.
Top Programs:
Career Opportunities: Graduates often pursue roles as auditors, bookkeepers, tax consultants, forensic accountants, and financial analysts in firms like Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers, and KPMG.
2. Finance
What It Is: Finance focuses on the management of money, investments, and financial institutions. It encompasses areas such as corporate finance, investment banking, and risk management.
There are facets of the field that are nuanced including corporate finance (mergers & acquisitions, risk management), investment banking (IPOs, debt & equity financing), asset management or wealth management (managing portfolios of stocks, bonds, and real estate, retirement planning, estate & tax strategy), private equity and venture capital (buying businesses and investing in startups), retail and commercial banking (mortgage loans, credit cards, checking & savings accounts), risk management and compliance (investigating fraud, compliance with laws and regulations), financial planning and analysis (forecasting to make informed decisions), insurance and actuarial services (life, health, property insurance, and predict risk).
Top Programs:
Career Opportunities: Graduates frequently enter investment banking, portfolio manager, financial consultant, wealth manager and private equity partnerships with employers like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Some specialized areas may require additional degrees.
3. Business Administration
What It Is: This broad major covers essential business functions, including management, operations, and strategy, preparing students for leadership roles. Those who major in Business Administration learn how to operate a business to run smoothly and efficiently. Often this leads to overseeing departments like marketing, HR, operations, strategic management, project management, and finance where leadership has to manage teams, establish strategies, and ensure goals are met.
Top Programs:
MIT (Business Analytics)
Career Opportunities: Graduates often become project managers, marketing managers, operations managers, human resource specialists or business consultants in various industries like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Proctor & Gamble, and PepsiCo.
4. Human Resources (HR)
What It Is: HR focuses on managing employee relations, recruitment, training, and organizational development to enhance workforce performance. More specifically, human resources handles everything from hiring to handling conflicts in the workplace to ensuring people are happy, productive, and supportive to ensure a workplace is running smoothly.
There are different facets of this field as well including recruitment & talent acquisition (find and hire the best people), onboarding & training (manage orientation and training programs), employee relations (manage conflicts, communication, and handle internal investigations), compensation & benefits (design pay structures and benefits), HR Operations & Compliance (maintain employee records, payroll, and HR systems), Organizational Development & Change Management (help manage change, build company culture, and leadership pipelines), and Fair Environment (create a workplace that is fair and inclusive for all).
Top Programs:
University of Connecticut (Graduate Program)
University of Southern California (Online Master’s)
Boston College (Graduate Certificate)
Career Opportunities: Roles include HR managers, talent acquisition specialists, and employee relations coordinators, often in large corporations and HR consulting firms like Google, Meta, Salesforce, Microsoft, Amazon, Whirlpool, GM, Target, Walmart, Nike, Deloitte, Accenture, McKinsey, Pfizer, Mayo Clinic, United Nations, and the Red Cross.
5. Marketing
What It Is: Marketing involves promoting products and services, understanding consumer behavior to promote products, and developing strategies to drive sales and brand loyalty. This major is all about connecting businesses with their customers in appealing, effective, and ethical ways. Key areas of study include consumer behavior, brand management, advertising, digital marketing, market research, sales strategy, and public relations.
Top Programs:
Career Opportunities: Graduates work as brand managers, digital marketers, social media specialists, and market research analysts for Procter & Gamble, Google, and Coca-Cola.
6. International Business
What It Is: This major examines global trade, cross-cultural management, and international marketing, preparing students for business operations across borders. Key areas of study include global economics, international trade & finance, cross-cultural communication, global marketing, international business law, and supply chain management.
Top Programs:
University of North Carolina (Greensboro)
University of Florida (Graduate)
University of Illinois (Minor)
Career Opportunities: Graduates often become international trade specialists, global supply chain managers, or expatriate managers in multinational corporations including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Toyota, Samsun, Nestle, Unilever, and Siemens.
7. Entrepreneurship
What It Is: Entrepreneurship focuses on identifying business opportunities, innovation, and the creation of new ventures. This major helps students turn ideas into action to learn how to navigate the challenges of starting, funding, and scaling businesses. Key areas of study include idea generation & opportunity recognition, business planning, funding & financial management, marketing & sales, operations & management, legal & ethical considerations, and growth strategies.
Top Programs:
Erasmus University Rotterdam (Master’s)
Career Opportunities: Graduates may start their own businesses, join startups, become sales managers, business consultants, product managers, or work in venture capital and innovation roles. They can join companies like Shopify, Airbnb, and Stripe.
8. Real Estate
What It Is: Majoring in this field equips students with a comprehensive understanding of the real estate industry by blending elements of finance, urban planning, law, and entrepreneurship. Real Estate typically encompasses real estate finance & investment, urban planning & design, real estate law, market analysis, development, and property & asset management
Top Programs:
Career Opportunities: Graduates can pursue opportunities with Blackstone, Brookfield Properties, Tishman Construction, Cushman & Wakefield, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Zillow, Redfin, and Opendoor.
9. Supply Chain Management
What It Is: This field involves overseeing the production and distribution of goods, focusing on efficiency and cost-effectiveness to move products from their origin to the end consumer. The supply chain encompasses the entire journey from raw materials to the delivery of finished goods. Key areas include procurement, production planning, logistics, inventory management, demand forecasting, supplier relationship management, risk management, and sustainability practices.
Top Programs:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Master’s)
Career Opportunities: Roles include supply chain analysts, logistics managers, and procurement specialists in industries like manufacturing, retail, and logistics. Top companies who hire graduates in this major include Amazon, Deloitte, ExxonMobile, PepsiCo, General Motors, Toyota, SpaceX, Macy’s, Prada, and OTB Group.
10. Economics (Arts & Sciences)
What It Is: Economics examines the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, providing insights into economic behavior and policy. This field combines theory with real-world applications to analyze and address economic issues. Key aspects in the field of economics include microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics, international economics, public economics, development economics, and behavioral economics. Those majoring in economics develop strong analytical, quantitative, and problem-solving skills.
Often Economics can be housed within the College of Arts & Sciences, whereas at other universities it would live inside of the Business School, and finally there are other schools in which the Bachelor of Arts is in Arts & Sciences, and Bachelor of Sciences degree would be housed in the Business School. Discuss which pathway is right for you given the core concepts of what you want to learn and the course requirements based on the school.
Top Programs:
UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, CAL-Berkeley
Career Opportunities: Graduates often pursue roles in economic analysis, policy advising, and research in government agencies, think tanks, and international organizations and work for Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Federal Reserve, Department of Treasury, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, Walmart, Target, Costco, Nielsen, and Bloomberg.
11. Management
What It Is: Management focuses on planning, organizing, and overseeing business operations and resources to achieve organizational goals. It combines elements of strategy, leadership, operations, and human resources. Key areas of study include organizational behavior, strategic management, operations management, human resource management, financial management, marketing management, and entrepreneurship. Essentially management has to have an understanding of all facets of the business to effectively develop solutions for their organization.
Top Programs:
Carnegie Mellon (Master’s)
Career Opportunities: Graduates often become operations managers, project managers, or business consultants in various sectors and are hired by McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Proctor & Gamble, Tesla, and UnitedHealth Group.
12. Sports Management
What It Is: Sports Management involves the business aspects of sports and recreation, including event management, marketing, and facility operations. Key areas of study include promoting sports teams, events, and products, event management, facility management, sports & entertainment law, finance & budgeting, athlete representation, and public relations. This major helps students develop leadership, communication, and organizational skills specific to the sports industry.
Top Programs:
Career Opportunities: Graduates are often hired by the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL, while others are hired by athletic departments at universities, Octagon, Wasserman, IMG, AEG, Live Nation, ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, Hudl, Catapult Sports, and Special Olympics.
What is essential for any business major is to ensure that the skills they are learning in the classroom have room to grow in an internship. Applying for an internship between 1st and 2nd year should focus on field exploration. Applying for an internship between 2nd and 3rd year should deepen the experience. Students should choose to intern with a company that aligns with their ethos during the time between 3rd and 4th year because that final internship typically translates into a job offer.
If the above business major descriptions spark any interest, you may choose to follow our proven self-paced program to support your goals of applying to college as a business major…it is also very cost-effective (only $300 for a 12 month course).
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