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Business career options: Outlook, wages, and entry requirements

Lindsey Ice and Sofia Laycock | January 2025

Diverse opportunities. Strong projected growth. High wages. The field of business has plenty of fast-growing, well-paying prospects. It includes dozens of occupations that focus on analysis, finance, management, and other specialties across a range of industries.

Employment in lots of business occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Moreover, BLS data show that the median annual wage in many business-related occupations, including those covered in this article, was higher than the median wage for all occupations in 2023. (The median annual wage indicates that half of workers in the occupation earned more than that amount, and half earned less.)

What are some of these business careers? And how can you prepare to enter them? Keep reading to see if there’s a business occupation that’s well suited for you.

Employment outlook and wages

In a broad sense, workers in business occupations help organizations to operate, manage resources, and achieve objectives. This article highlights occupations that are concentrated in the business and financial operations and management groups.

Combined, occupations in these groups encompass more than 1 in 10 jobs in the economy. Workers in business and financial operations occupations are involved in the day-to-day activities of running a business or with matters related to money. Managers establish plans and policies, direct business activities, and oversee people, products, and services. You may find occupations in these groups attractive either for their projected fast employment growth or for their higher than median wages—or both.

Fast-growing employment

In 2023, BLS counted more than 24 million jobs in occupations across the business and financial operations and management groups. Employment in these occupations is projected to grow faster than the 4.0-percent average for all occupations from 2023 to 2033, adding about 1.7 million new jobs over the decade. These new jobs will create openings that, together with those that arise when workers retire or leave an occupation permanently, are expected to total roughly 2.1 million openings each year, on average.

Chart 1 shows 10 business and financial operations and management occupations projected to have faster than average employment growth from 2023 to 2033.

In half of the occupations shown in chart 1, employment is expected to increase more than four times faster than the average for all occupations. Strong growth in healthcare services will increase demand for medical and health services managers to organize and oversee medical information and staff in hospitals, medical offices, and other healthcare settings. Projected employment growth for financial examiners reflects a continuing need to ensure that banking institutions comply with federal regulations.

High wages

BLS wage data show that business careers pay well. In fact, nearly all occupations in both the business and financial operations and the management groups had annual wages that were higher than the $48,060 median wage for all occupations in 2023. The median annual wages for the two groups were $79,050 for business and financial operations occupations and $116,880 for management occupations.

Chart 2 shows 10 of the highest paid business occupations in 2023: five in the business and financial operations group and five in the management group. (Toggle between occupational groups to see charts with detailed occupations.)

As chart 2 shows, the selected management occupations earned significantly more than the median annual wage for all occupations. Management positions typically require more experience, and the higher wages may reflect a premium for the increased skill these workers have gained. Chief executives—among the highest paid occupations in the United States—was the top-paid business occupation, earning more than four times the national median wage.

The highest paid business and financial operations occupations made at least double the median annual wage for all occupations. In addition to having projected fast-growing employment, the occupation of financial risk specialists was among the best paid in this group. These specialists evaluate investment opportunities, study market trends, and identify and reduce investment risk.

Keep in mind that the wage data shown here are medians, and they don’t include self-employed workers. Wages for entry-level positions in business, as in most fields, typically are lower than the median for the occupation. In addition, other factors may affect a specific job’s wages, including its industry and geographic location.

Preparing for a business career

Education and experience requirements for entering business occupations vary. According to BLS, most occupations in the business and financial operations group and the management group need at least a bachelor’s degree, sometimes in a particular field of study. Nearly half of all workers with a bachelor's degree in business were employed in these two occupation groups in 2022.

Many business occupations also require experience in a related occupation or, after hiring, training on the job. A few require both experience and training.

Education

Degree programs in business encompass several areas of study, including business administration, accounting, and marketing.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, postsecondary schools have conferred more bachelor’s degrees in business than in any other field of study since at least the 1980–81 academic year. (See chart 3.) Business programs are also a popular choice among postgraduate students pursuing a master’s degree.

The popularity of a business degree may be due, in part, to its flexibility: Not only is the degree useful for careers in business, but it’s also broadly applicable to a variety of other fields. Depending on your interests, skills, and posteducation training and credentials, you may be able to work in other types of occupations, such as in education, sales, or computer and information technology.

Business degree programs are versatile by design, blending hard and soft skills that workers may need in business and financial operations or management occupations. Skills commonly required in these occupations include communication, adaptability, leadership, problem solving and decision making, critical and analytical thinking, mathematics, and computers and information technology.

Some jobs in business require certifications or licensing in addition to a bachelor’s degree. For example, certain project management specialist positions require job candidates to be certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs). Jobseekers may also voluntarily pursue certifications to improve their job prospects or to demonstrate professional competency.

Experience in a related occupation

Business occupations vary in the level of experience typically needed to enter. Some do not require experience in a related occupation, meaning that there may be entry-level positions in these occupations for qualified candidates who have a limited work history.

In contrast, other business occupations—including nearly all management occupations—typically require work experience in a related occupation to qualify for entry. Some of these occupations also may require expertise in a particular field unrelated to business; others may benefit from experience, even if it’s not required. For example, some construction managers have worked in construction or may have taken construction-related courses in their bachelor’s degree program prior to becoming a manager.

Experience required: None. Table 1 shows 10 business and financial operations and management occupations that are projected to have many occupational openings each year and that may be suitable if you’re just starting out in a business career.

Of the occupations shown in table 1, accountants and auditors is projected to have the most openings: about 130,800 annually, on average. These workers will be needed in firms across most industries to prepare and examine financial records. Mathematics skills are important for accountants and auditors to succeed in their careers. Being detail oriented and having strong problem-solving and decision-making skills and computer and information technology skills is essential for all of the occupations in table 1.

Experience required: Less than 5 years. Table 2 shows business occupations that workers typically enter after gaining several years of experience in a related occupation. These options may be a good fit if you have a bachelor’s degree, have up to 5 years of business experience, and are looking to advance in your career. For example, someone who has worked for 4 years as a wholesale and manufacturing sales representative may apply to become a sales manager in wholesale trade.

Of the occupations shown in table 2, management analysts has the largest employment (about 1.0 million jobs in 2023). This occupation is projected to have an average of 95,700 openings annually, supported by high demand for consulting services. These workers, also known as management consultants, advise managers on improving organizational efficiency. Skills important for the occupations in table 2 include adaptability, critical and analytical thinking, and writing and reading.

Experience required: 5 years or more. Management occupations dominate business careers that require considerable work experience for entry. (See table 3.) Because they typically require more than 5 years of experience to enter, these occupations may offer opportunities after you’ve worked in the field for some time. For example, after working as a human resources specialist for 5 or more years, someone may wish to advance to a position with greater responsibilities, such as a human resources manager.

Based on your skills and interests, you may decide to move into a different occupation or a related management job. For example, general and operations managers work in nearly every industry and typically have a range of responsibilities, such as establishing organizational goals and policies and directing operations. Leadership, adaptability, and expertise in problem-solving and decision-making are critical skills for workers in the management occupations in table 3.

For more info

Explore the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) for detailed information about job duties, typical education requirements, wages, job prospects and more for the occupations highlighted in this article—and for hundreds of others.

Use the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics profiles tool for more BLS wage data by occupation. And visit the BLS skills data page for information about which skills are most relevant for more than 800 detailed occupations.

The business field of degree page provides additional data and information on workers with a business degree. You can also explore a variety of other academic disciplines on the BLS Field of Degree pages.