Business management is a rather broad field. For people considering a postgraduate course in business management, the end goal can feel a little obscured. Luckily, there are a few very clear paths that a graduate in the field can take. A business management degree can set up a person for astute strategic thinking, technological innovation and tactical agility.
This articleintroduces potential candidates to some of the career paths open to them after they graduate. If you want to study outside of Nigeria in Europe or the United States, many top universities offer online business management courses that utilize the now familiar video conferencing technology to run seminars with students all around the globe.
Here are some of the best-paid and most-respected careers that a business management graduate can flourish in.
Management Consultancy
Management consultants are problem-solvers. They specialize in strategic advice. Businesses often turn to management consultants when they have hit a brick wall – if they are unable to grow, hire good staff or maximize income.
The best management consultants are extremely well paid – and for good reason. They can be the catalysts for change within an organization. In order to succeed as a management consultant, you’ll need to be a solutions-focused person, a great communicator and a sound business manager. A postgraduate business management qualification is a great way to break into consultancy. Masters and doctorate qualifications in business management are geared towards teaching students ways in which they can use innovative new techniques and technologies to solve complex problems and drive growth.
Project Management
Whether a student has traveled to university or studied business management online, they will be in a great position to work in project management. The roles of a professional project manager are extremely varied. Essentially, it is their duty to coordinate the completion of an entire project. This involves the management of budgets, timelines and people. In recent years, project managers have been able to call upon increased technological help in order to complete their work efficiently. Project management software has been a great boost. It allows project managers to see timetables, collaborations, progress and budget changes from one dashboard.
The best project managers are master multitaskers. They are great interpersonal managers and great communicators. Managing a project while keeping a company’s long-term strategic goals in mind is key.
Management Accountancy
A management accountant – much like any other form of accountant – is concerned with crunching numbers. What sets them apart from other number wranglers is the use of the numbers they work with.Management accountancy is primarily concerned with the creation of and understanding of data for use in strategic planning and analysis. They are also responsible for supervising large accountancy teams in bigger firms. This involves the collation of data collected and filed by every department in a business. Management accountants need the keen eye of a number cruncher and the long-term vision of a strategist or analyst.
Urban Planning
The management of space through development is a complex and highly sensitive field. A good urban planner must have the ability to see things from differing perspectives and to understand the cultural significance of space, as well as be versed in theory surrounding conceived and lived environments by trailblazers like Henri Lefebvre.
Urban planners also need to be sound financial strategists – managing grants, investors and tight budgets in their quest to create functional and exciting urban spaces. Although the challenges are many, the rewards are incredible. Urban planners have the opportunity to really make a difference – improving the public’s experience of the city. A qualification in business management will put a candidate in good stead when it comes to handling the complex budgetary and interpersonal elements that inevitably come along with any urban planning project.
Engineering Management
Engineering managers are some of the highest paid professionals about. They use their knowledge of physical processes and their management acumen to drive an organization into the future.
The engineering sector is huge and diverse, with plenty of senior roles. A talented engineer with great business management skills is a mouthwatering prospect for employers.
The engineering sector isn’t the only place where an engineering manager can find a home. Any business that relies upon the harnessing of physical processes may seek out a talented engineering manager who can bring a game-changing degree of technical knowhow to the table.
Engineering managers need to specialize early. If you want to go into engineering management, you’ll need to tailor your business management studies to your needs. Choose research projects and study modules that focus on the engineering, construction, manufacturing or transport sectors.
Business Technology Consultancy
Technology consultants are contracted by businesses to find solutions to specific strategic problems. Their work frequently revolves around the creation of cost-saving and efficiency-boosting matchups between technology providers and growing businesses. Businesses hire in third-party technology consultants in order to ascertain how their strategic goals can be achieved with the help of tech. Business management degrees can be steered in directions that can help foster a career in technology consultancy. Conducting research projects focused on innovations in Artificial Intelligence, automation and technology integration can help you build a good base of specialist knowledge.
Business Analysis
Business analysts – sometimes known as business architects – are invaluable to large organizations looking to grow. They are specialists in taking all sorts of disparate data about business performance into account before suggesting solutions to problems they have identified. Most commonly, business analysts specialize in solving Information Technology problems, but there are all sorts of specialist business analyst roles that cover nearly every field. Essentially, the role involves a clear understanding of organizational structures, aims and issues. A good business analyst will be able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture in order to strategize effectively.
A business management qualification is the perfect route to an analysis role. Graduates will be well-versed in strategic thinking, resource management and emerging technologies.
