Most common destination first. Every card carries the national median annual wage, projected employment change and openings over 2024–2034, and the typical education people already in the job hold.
What Can You Do With a Business Administration Degree?
Below are 15 occupations that business administration graduates commonly move into, most common first. General and Operations Manager leads at $105,770 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025); across the whole list the middle occupation pays $102,320 and 0 of 15 typically need a graduate degree. A major is a body of study, not a job assignment, so treat every entry as a common destination rather than a promise.
What the degree actually involves: Accounting, operations, strategy, organisational behaviour, and group projects.
Business administration is the generalist degree, and its destination list is the least predictable of any major here. Graduates spread across operations, sales, marketing, finance, HR and procurement, and which one you land in is usually decided by your internships rather than by your coursework.
- Common destinations
- 15
- Median pay range
- $69,280–$166,790
- Projected to grow
- 15 of 15
- Need a graduate degree
- 0 of 15
15 with a full profile page
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP typical entry, 2024–2034
How this list was built
- The destinations are the occupations business administration graduates commonly move into. They are ordered by how common the destination is, not by what it pays, so the ordinary outcomes sit at the top where they belong rather than being buried under the flattering ones.
- Every destination is matched to a real occupation in the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. A destination that does not resolve to a bank occupation is dropped rather than shown without data.
- All pay, growth, openings and education figures come from that bank: BLS OEWS May 2025 for wages, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 for projected change, annual openings and the typical education needed for entry, and O*NET 30.3 Database for what the work involves. Nothing is estimated and no figure here is generated by an AI model.
- Destinations whose BLS typical entry education is a master’s or a doctoral or professional degree are marked Graduate study on the list. That flag is read from the federal data, not asserted by us.
- What this list is not: a ranking of which destination you should pick, a statement of how many graduates reach each one, or a promise that the degree entitles you to any of them. Read the full methodology.
15 careers a business administration degree commonly leads to
1. General and Operations Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $105,770
- Growth
- +4.4%
- Openings/yr
- 308,700
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of public or private sector organizations, overseeing multiple departments or locations.
General and Operations Manager salary & outlook →2. Management Analyst
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $101,860
- Growth
- +8.8%
- Openings/yr
- 98,100
- Education
- Bachelor's
Conduct organizational studies and evaluations, design systems and procedures, conduct work simplification and measurement studies, and prepare operations and procedures manuals to assist management in operating more…
Management Analyst salary & outlook →- Median pay
- $72,080
- Growth
- +0.3%
- Openings/yr
- 114,800
- Education
- High school
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals.
Sales Representative, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products salary & outlook →4. Human Resources Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $75,940
- Growth
- +6.2%
- Openings/yr
- 81,800
- Education
- Bachelor's
Recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization.
Human Resources Specialist salary & outlook →5. Project Management Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $102,320
- Growth
- +5.6%
- Openings/yr
- 78,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis.
Project Management Specialist salary & outlook →6. Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $78,760
- Growth
- +6.7%
- Openings/yr
- 87,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Research conditions in local, regional, national, or online markets.
Market Research Analyst and Marketing Specialist salary & outlook →7. Accountant
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $83,680
- Growth
- +4.6%
- Openings/yr
- 124,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others.
Accountant salary & outlook →8. Sales Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $148,270
- Growth
- +4.7%
- Openings/yr
- 49,000
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate the actual distribution or movement of a product or service to the customer.
Sales Manager salary & outlook →9. Marketing Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $166,790
- Growth
- +6.6%
- Openings/yr
- 34,300
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate marketing policies and programs, such as determining the demand for products and services offered by a firm and its competitors, and identify potential customers.
Marketing Manager salary & outlook →10. Administrative Services Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $114,130
- Growth
- +4.6%
- Openings/yr
- 23,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate one or more administrative services of an organization, such as records and information management, mail distribution, and other office support services.
Administrative Services Manager salary & outlook →11. Purchasing Agent, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $77,710
- Growth
- +5.8%
- Openings/yr
- 52,200
- Education
- Bachelor's
Purchase machinery, equipment, tools, parts, supplies, or services necessary for the operation of an establishment.
Purchasing Agent, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products salary & outlook →12. Supply Chain Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $107,230
- Growth
- +6.1%
- Openings/yr
- 18,500
- Education
- High school
Direct or coordinate production, purchasing, warehousing, distribution, or financial forecasting services or activities to limit costs and improve accuracy, customer service, or safety.
Supply Chain Manager salary & outlook →13. Training and Development Specialist
Business and Financial Operations
- Median pay
- $69,280
- Growth
- +10.8%
- Openings/yr
- 43,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Design or conduct work-related training and development programs to improve individual skills or organizational performance.
Training and Development Specialist salary & outlook →14. Financial Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $166,570
- Growth
- +14.8%
- Openings/yr
- 74,600
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate accounting, investing, banking, insurance, securities, and other financial activities of a branch, office, or department of an establishment.
Financial Manager salary & outlook →15. Human Resources Manager
Management
- Median pay
- $149,280
- Growth
- +5.0%
- Openings/yr
- 17,900
- Education
- Bachelor's
Plan, direct, or coordinate human resources activities and staff of an organization.
Human Resources Manager salary & outlook →
Does a business administration degree decide your career?
For most people, no. Federal survey data has consistently found that only a minority of US graduates work in a job closely related to their degree field, and that share falls further with each year after graduation. The exceptions are the fields where a licence sits at the end of the degree, and they are exceptions precisely because the route is fixed.
The practical reading of the list above is this: every destination on it lists a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034), so the decisions that matter after the degree are about experience rather than more study.
Not sure this is the right major in the first place? Take the free college major quiz — fifteen questions that score what you like doing against what each major actually asks of you, and show the same real occupations underneath every match.
Business Administration degrees: FAQ
Do you need a master's degree after a business administration degree?
Not for the destinations on this page. BLS Employment Projections (2024–2034) list a bachelor's degree or less as the typical entry requirement for all 15 of them. Individual employers can still ask for more.
What is the highest-paying career a business administration degree leads to?
Of the 15 destinations on this page, Marketing Manager has the highest national median wage at $166,790 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), against $50,980 for all US occupations. Typical entry education for it is bachelor's. A median is the midpoint of everyone in the job today, so a first salary normally sits well below it.
Which of these careers hires the most people each year?
General and Operations Manager, with about 308,700 projected openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034). Across all 15 destinations on this page the combined figure is roughly 1,206,600 openings a year. Openings include replacing people who leave, not just new jobs, which is why a slow-growing occupation can still hire heavily.
Is a business administration degree worth it?
That depends on the price you pay for it, which this page cannot know. What it can tell you is where the destinations sit: the middle occupation on this list pays $102,320 a year against $50,980 for all US occupations, the range runs $69,280–$166,790, and 15 of the 15 are projected to grow over 2024–2034 (BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034).
How was this list of careers put together?
The destinations were curated as the occupations business administration graduates commonly move into, ordered by how common rather than by pay, then matched against the 923-occupation NueCareer career bank. Every figure shown comes from that bank: wages from BLS OEWS May 2025, projected change and annual openings and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, and occupation descriptions from O*NET 30.3 Database. Nothing is estimated, and no figure on this page is generated by an AI model.
What can you do with other degrees?
- Computer Science
- Nursing
- Mechanical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Finance and Accounting
- Marketing
- Psychology
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Education
- Communications and Journalism
- Graphic Design
- Political Science and Pre-Law
- Environmental Science
- Kinesiology and Exercise Science
- Social Work
- Mathematics and Statistics
- Hospitality and Event Management
- Criminal Justice
- Sociology
- Public Health
- Philosophy
- Health Science
- History
- Anthropology
- English
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Art History
- Information Technology
- Human Resources
- Economics