By Steven Briggs
April 10, 2024
Introduction
As the world of business management continues to evolve, the opportunities and interest in the field has grown exponentially. As the field continues to grow and offer varied opportunities to skilled and knowledgeable candidates with a business management acumen, more people are taking up courses and degrees to upskill themselves in the relevant niches of business management.
What Is Business Management?
Business Management is an all-in-one discipline that covers a variety of needs that a business requires to achieve its goals and objectives. From planning to execution, and marketing to accounting, today there’s a growing demand for business managers in all fields.
According to a study conducted by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for business management is expected to grow manifold between the years 2022 and 2032. This brings up the question, which business management careers are the most fulfilling in 2024.
Top Business Management Careers Choices in 2024
If you’re looking to explore the field of business management and are yet to decide which direction you want to take your career in, here’s a list of top business management career choices that have come to the forefront of the field in 2024.
Project Manager
Project management is the process of managing the end-to-end delivery of a project. It’s a lot different from tasks that are a part of business in day-to-day life, often termed Business as Usual (BAU).
A project management career involves being involved in every process of a project’s life cycle till it’s executed successfully. As a project manager, your responsibilities can range from using your professional skills and knowledge to help the members of your team to initiate, plan, execute, perform and monitor, and finally close the project.
To become a successful project manager, you’ll require skills like communication, leadership, negotiation, adaptability, conflict resolution, organization, and critical thinking, apart from a professional business management degree in project management or at the very least a professional certification course.
The salary for an entry level project manager in the US ranges from $60,000 to $200,000.
Marketing Manager
If you’re a creative person with an acumen for business management, a career in marketing management will be the right choice for you. As a marketing manager, you’ll be responsible for creating, executing, and communicating the marketing plans and strategies for an organization.
As the person with control over all marketing and associated activities, you’ll often find yourself performing marketing research, finding more about your target audience, delegating content creation for your audiences, heading up marketing campaigns, and creating marketing strategies to grow the business.
Some of the most important skills that a marketing manager needs to have include strong leadership, knack for creativity, adaptability, ability to analyze trends, along with certain technical skills. It’s important to note that a professional degree in business management (marketing) can put you on the fast track to high paying roles. You can also specialize in one segment of the marketing mix, like social media or Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
The salary range for a marketing manager in the US is between $104,665 and $136,741.
Human Resource Manager (HRM)
Do you love talking to new people and getting to know them? Do you enjoy spending time with strangers in new settings? If yes, then being a Human resource manager will be a cakewalk for you. As an HRM, you’ll be heavily involved in managing the employees in your organization.
With the increasing need for a healthy workplace, the demand for HRM to ensure a smooth functioning organization is increasing day by day. As an HRM, you’ll be responsible for recruiting new staff, training them, making decisions about the compensation, as well as their retention and motivation. If you’re a qualified person, HRM may just be the career for you. Not only will it pay you well but also help you network with others.
But other than the people skills, you also need to be proficient in various HR software, onboarding, negotiation, strategic thinking, and workplace culture development skills, to name a few. For a successful career as an HRM, you’ll also require a business degree, specializing in Human Resources.
The average salary for an HR professional in 2024 in the US is $82000., while a seasoned professional with a few years of experience can earn close to $100,000.
Risk Manager
Risk management is a relatively new field in business management that is currently booming. With the rising need of risk management in industries like tech and finance, the need for risk managers has come to the forefront.
On a basic level, risk management is involved with identifying, assessing, and controlling the external and internal risks or threats to an organization. These could be any financial or legal lawsuits, or security breaches in the system. There need also arises when there are certain strategic mishaps or miscalculations in the management cycle.
As a risk manager, you need to be quick on your feet, have a strong understanding of the business, be able to work under pressure, have an acumen for finance, risk management abilities, as well as the ability to negotiate and be diplomatic. Since this is a specialized business management field, having a professional degree or certification course in the field can give you an edge over your competitors.
Apart from a 4-year degree in business management, many people also choose to opt for online executive mba for learning when they want to pursue a career in risk management but are currently employed or engaged elsewhere.
The salary for this role starts from close to $100,000 and can go up to $150,000 with further training and experience.
Operations Manager
Operations make up the foundation of any business. How a business is run says a lot about how long it will last and its success levels. The majority of operations management is concerned with earning consistent profits to keep the business viable and thriving and improve its processes.
If you decide to create a successful career in the field of operations management, you will be looking after multiple departments of the business and streamlining processes for a seamless workflow. You’ll also be responsible for maintaining relationships with internal and external stakeholders for smooth functioning.
As an operations manager, you’ll need an acumen for business apart from skills like strategic decision making, product development, technical management, budget management, staff management, and a strong hold over quality management. An MBA degree in operations will help you level up faster in the field.
An operation manager in the US earns an average base salary of $95,000 along with additional benefits.
Business Relationship Manager
The relative success of a business relies on the network and relationships that it builds with internal and external stakeholders. That’s where business relationship managers come in. As a business relationship manager, you act as the common point of contact between the upper management and the customers.
You’re supposed to utilize your customer facing skills to streamline processes and initiatives aimed at developing strategies for customer retention and satisfaction. By monitoring customer satisfaction initiatives, you can analyze what helps the business grow.
To become a successful business relationship manager, you need to be well versed in the art of relationship management and have a high emotional quotient (EQ). You’ll also require a customer-centric approach, business development, interpersonal communication, and technical and analytical competency. A BRM degree or certification will help you understand the nuances of business and various industries.
The base salary for this role lies between $61,000 to $150,000 in the US.
Finance Manager
The financial health of a company is one of the biggest indicators of its performance. As a finance manager, it’s your responsibility to employ strategies to ensure financial sustainability in the long run. This also involves creation and execution of the right financial tools for minimizing risks and forecasting future trends in your industry.
As a financial manager, you’re responsible for monitoring the cash flows, managing business expenses, creating a realistic budget, conducting market research, analyzing the financials of your competitors, and keeping up with the financial laws and regulations.
Some essential skills to become a financial manager include leadership, problem solving, data analysis, budgeting and forecasting, mathematical proficiency, and conceptual thinking. For a strong start in the field, a bachelor’s degree in finance management is preferable.
The salary range for a finance manager starts at a whopping $135,000 with a lead finance manager earning closer to $200,000 in the US.
Wrapping Up
Overall, the field of business management is continuously touching new heights. With the demand for professional business managers increasing every day, it’s important to learn which careers are booming and what you can do to earn your place in the field.
Whether you’re a tech-savvy person, or have strong people skills, there’s a career option for you in the field of business management. With continuous learning, and upskilling, you can position yourself as a strong contender in this dynamic field.
Steven Briggs is a Content Editor for the business and entrepreneur sector and is an avid writer of business and personal finance topics.
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Disclaimer: The ideas, views, and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of International Institute for Learning or any entities they represent.
