10 places a business degree can take you

Whether you’re dreaming of the corporate world, working at a start-up or launching your own business, a business degree can give you the knowledge and skills you need to hit the ground running. 

From finance to sport, to fashion to non-profits, all industries need business-savvy leaders, managers and consultants. 

Here are just a few of the areas within business you can choose to explore.

Every business needs good financial management – so if you’re a numbers person, specialising your studies in accounting or finance can put you in high demand.

With a major in accounting, you can pursue a career as:

• an accredited accountant
• a business analyst
• an auditor
• a financial advisor.

The skills you'll gain can help you make smart financial decisions for a wide range of businesses in Australia or overseas.

If you choose to focus on banking and finance, you can explore a range of career paths across areas including:

• financial planning
• banking
• stockbroking
• risk management
• superannuation
• insurance
• funds management.

Leadership and innovation are essential for a successful business. A business degree can put you on the path to a career in management, where you’ll be responsible for providing structure and strategy in the workplace, making smart business decisions, and leading teams towards shared goals. 

If you’re an ideas person, are good with people, and have the drive and organisation to get things done, management could be a great career path for you.

If your dream is to launch your own company, studying business can be an excellent way to get the foundational skills and knowledge you need to turn your idea into a reality.

There’s a lot to consider – from designing your business plan, to understanding the financials, to marketing your brand, to learning how to effectively run your company, to strategies for scaling up and more.

Focusing your studies on management, innovation and entrepreneurship can give you a toolkit to help you jump right in. 

Marketing is a great way to combine creativity with business thinking. There are a lots of diverse roles within marketing, advertising and communications that will make use of your knowledge across finance, management and business decision-making, as well as your creative branding skills.

This could be a rewarding career path for you if you get excited by creative ideas, love digital media, and are interested in the psychology of consumer behaviour and connecting with people’s needs and desires. 

People are the most important resource a business has – so human resources plays an important role in any company’s success. If you’re passionate about supporting people and good at solving problems, this could be a fulfilling career path for you.  

Your business studies can prepare you for the different elements of creating a positive and well-functioning workplace, such as:

• managing people and relationships
• working with HR systems and analytics
• creating policies and procedures
• managing organisational change
• promoting diversity and wellbeing.

Are you looking for a career with opportunities to travel, socialise, spend time outside, or give people memorable experiences? Studying business can lead to lots of career opportunities in tourism and hospitality – a busy but rewarding industry with plenty of variety.

In your business studies, you might learn about things like:

• developing and managing tourism products
• managing hotels and resorts
• planning impactful events
• managing budgets and making financial decisions
• trends in contemporary tourism and hospitality.

Event management can be an exciting and (sometimes) glamorous career, perfect if you love being around people, enjoy working at a fast pace, have an eye for detail and are excellent at organising complex projects.

By specialising your business studies in events, you can learn essential skills in event planning, promotion and operation – from corporate events to live performances and everything in between.

You’ll also get a good grounding in current trends across tourism, hospitality and events, so you can let your creative ideas flow and start designing events that make a splash.

Information systems management and business analytics are fast-growing areas of business with lots of opportunity – perfect if you love data, analysis and technology.

A business course specialising in these areas can give you in-demand skills across:

• data management and visualisation
• project management
• business analytics
• programming and modelling
• digital commerce
• machine learning
• artificial intelligence.

If you’re all about the practicalities and making things happen, supply chain management (also called logistics) could be a great area of business to explore.

Supply chain management is all about the production, shipment and distribution of products.

In your studies you’ll learn about things like:

• purchasing and procuring materials
• inventory flow and control
• economics of transport
• supply chain analytics.

Want a business career with a global perspective? Studying business can open the door to a thriving career in international trade, where you’ll develop strategies and build relationships with companies around the world. 

When you study international trade, you’ll gain knowledge in:

• international economics and finance
• market analysis and competition
• international trade practices and policies
• strategic trade operations.

This can prepare you for in-demand roles in areas such as:

• global business management
• global marketing
• supply chain management
• trade finance.