Options with your subject: Business and management studies

The skills gained on a business studies degree allow you to build commercial awareness and start contributing to your chosen employer quickly and effectively

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Chartered accountant
• Chartered certified accountant
• Chartered management accountant
• Corporate investment banker
• Insurance underwriter
• Management consultant
• Retail banker
• Risk manager

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Human resources officer
• Logistics and distribution manager
• Marketing executive
• Retail manager
• Systems analyst

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. To find out what jobs would suit you, log in to My Prospects.

Work experience

A business and management studies degree prepares you for a career in business, which may stretch across any sector or industry. Your career options are therefore varied. Decide on the area you want to work in and try to get relevant work experience. This may be in the form of a structured work placement, part-time job, voluntary work or even a period of work shadowing. Some courses include a placement in industry. Use this time to develop your skills further and to establish contacts within the industry.

Search for placements and find out more about work experience and internships.

It may also be possible to start your own business, but this involves many risks and you need to ensure you have covered all factors. For more information, see self-employment.

Typical employers

Industries as diverse as chemicals, utilities, fashion, health, grocery and construction all require functional managers with a clear understanding of systems, efficiency and operational issues. Opportunities exist in management and analysis roles with employers in the private, public and voluntary sectors.

Graduate training schemes offered by large employers frequently focus on ‘commercial’ roles and may be of interest to business studies graduates. Many give experience in several departments but others encourage specialisation from the outset. These recruitment schemes are advertised in directories available free from your careers service as well as online.

Find information on employers in business, consulting and management, accountancy, banking and finance, recruitment and HR and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

Studying for a business and management studies degree allows you to develop a broad understanding of business organisations and provides you with subject-specific knowledge in areas such as markets, customers, finance, operations, communication and information technology, and business policy and strategy. Business issues are often addressed at a European and international level.

Transferable skills gained on your course include:

• an understanding of organisational behaviour and structure;
• analytical and critical thinking;
• a creative approach to problem solving;
• decision-making;
• persuasive written and oral communication;
• numeracy and the ability to research, interpret and use business and financial data;
• self-reliance, initiative and the ability to manage time, projects and resources;
• appreciation of the causes and effects of economic and other external changes.

Further study

Some graduates choose to undertake further study in subjects such as marketing, finance, human resources, computing/ICT and international business management in order to develop their expertise in a particular area of business. Studying for an MBA is another option.

Those combining study with a job often work towards a professional qualification, for example in accountancy, usually supported by their employer. Professional qualifications popular with business studies graduates are provided by organisations such as the:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)   
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)  
• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)  
• Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)  
• Chartered Management Institute (CMI)  

Other options for further study include the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Common Professional Examination (CPE) for conversion to law.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research.

What do business studies graduates do?

Around two-thirds of business studies graduates are in full-time employment six months after graduation. Of this number, around a fifth work as business and finance professionals in areas such as chartered accountancy, business consultancy, tax, banking, city markets and insurance.

For a detailed breakdown of what business and management graduates are doing six months after graduation, see What Do Graduates Do?  

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

AGCAS

Written by AGCAS editors

Date: 

February 2012

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