If you are currently working in another field of industry and feeling overwhelmed and are either looking to eventually open your own company or else join a globally successful business and make your own positive and more ethical changes, then you have certainly come to the right place.
Here, for your information and for a way of ascertaining both the likelihood of you attaining your dream job role within the business arena, is a guide to the top eight careers in business.
1. Business Advisor
The role of a professional business advisor is a complicated and multi-faceted one, which essentially centers around the sole responsibility of executing and initially devising innovative and effective business strategies to boost the profits and overall efficiency of an individual company.
General duties of a business advisor include, amongst others, the analysis of the company’s financial records, the recommendation of operational changes, the identification of future opportunities for growth, and expansion and performing regular risk analyses.
The average salary of a professional business advisor in the United States ranges between $85,000 and $90,000 per year and is, therefore, one of the lowest-paid career pathways into business. However, the role of a business advisor is a fantastic springboard into career roles further up the hierarchical structure of a company.
Business advisors are at the heart of the business and are professionally connected to everyone who works in the company across different departments, especially those senior executives and stakeholders higher up in the chain. You must also have excellent time management skills, as well as be highly adept at prioritizing tasks.
2. Distribution Manager
Another, more high-powered, if you will, role within the world of business which is as necessary now as ever before is that of a distribution and logistics manager.
Distribution managers strive to make both the distribution and continuous storage of products and goods as efficient, safe, and as secure as possible, as well as making sure that every order is fulfilled correctly and on time.
Distribution managers earn approximately between $98,000 and $116,000 per year and are also responsible for agreeing and negotiating contracts, managing, and liaising with staff members, managing quantities of waste, and monitoring inventory and stock.
To become a distribution manager, any applicant must possess a high school diploma as well as an undergraduate bachelor’s degree, the latter teaching the individual about commonly used logistics software, database management, system dynamics, and operations. Distribution managers work in an array of different industries, including technical and scientific services, wholesale trade, manufacturing, and even within the federal government.
3. Stockbroker
A qualified and professional stockbroker can work in a wide range of different industries and physical locations and often splits their time between smaller, individual businesses and larger companies.
Stockbrokers essentially center their services around three main sections; advising on prudent investments; execution, selling, or buying stocks and shares on the instruction of their client; and discretionally roles which means they are responsible for all the company’s stocks.
On average, an experienced stockbroker who has been working professionally in the United States for five years or more can expect to be earning approximately $155,000 and $210,000 a year.
Typical roles and responsibilities of a stockbroker include, as well as the three fundamental duties above, the interpretation of financial reports, the monitoring of both national and global performance of stocks and shares, and the evaluation of their client’s holdings.
4. Business Administrator
One career pathway in business which is always necessary for any business that is expecting to grow and expand and experience longevity is that of a qualified and expert business administrator.
Business administration, often alternatively referred to as business management, in the field of business concerns itself with the direction of day-to-day business operations and involves a plethora of different roles and processes.
If you are interested in entering the field of business administration, you must successfully acquire an undergraduate bachelor’s degree before moving to enroll in a prestigious and renowned MBA in Business Administration, from either an online or in-person college or university.
Once graduated and accepted into the role, the average salary of a business administrator begins at around $56,000, with the annual pay increasing drastically as you gain more experience and knowledge surrounding the role.
Duties of a business administrator include, amongst a myriad of others:
• Handling communications with clients, stakeholders, other senior executives, and members of the board
• Educating new and existing clients on services and products the company offers
• Arranging employee travel and quickly dealing with any issues
• Preparing structured plans for the improvement and streamlining of operations
• Connecting calls to the right departments and helping clients directly
• Collating company information and data
• Sending invoices to clients
5. Actuary
The actuary of a business is an often forgotten or even unknown role within the business unless, of course, you either hold the position or have indeed done so in the past.
In essence, the actuary of a business uses their mathematical and accounting expertise to perform calculations to assess the varying likelihood of different possible outcomes relating to anything from customer and client demand and investments to illnesses and accidents.
Typical duties of the actuary of a company involve the estimation of likely financial costs of different events, compiling and collating data and statistics for analysis in the future, explaining findings and proposals to senior executives, and administering policies to reduce risks.
Extending your technical knowledge beyond your higher education is also crucial, and participating in various online and offline courses can be highly beneficial. In addition, professionals in this field often prepare for FINRA-administered exams such as the SIE. To facilitate preparation for the SIE, Career Employer’s study guide can provide valuable insights into the exam’s requirements and areas to focus on while studying.
On average, the annual salary of an actuary varies between approximately $120,000 and $129,000. If you are interested in becoming the primary actuary of a business, you will be happy to know that there are several different routes into the career.
However, it is standard to always possess an undergraduate degree in mathematics or at least another related subject with mathematics as the primary major. Alternatively, you can also instead apply for an actuarial apprenticeship at a reputable and established location.
6. Project Manager
The title of project manager, which can be applied to the leader of a high school project, or the director of a federal government project in healthcare and medicine, is as diverse in responsibility and duties as it is in settings and locations.
Regardless of the industry in which a company operates, project managers play an integral role in the directing and planning of projects and seeing them through from the design process to the execution.
To become a professional and crucially, exceedingly employable project manager, there are a key set of skills and even personality attributes which are necessary for a successful career in the field.
Such skills and requirements include:
• Detailed working knowledge of popular computer software packages
• Strong communication skills both internally and externally
• A recent and up-to-date PRINCE II or PMP certification
• Professional education in engineering or computer science
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• A solid working technological background and knowledge base
7. Development and Training Manager
As you are probably already fully aware, a company can never hope to continue to expand and grow its profits and customer or client base without a strong network of loyal, trustworthy, and high-performing employees.
To ensure a business has access to highly trained and crucially, employees who are up to date with changes to the industry, the role of the development and training manager is vital.
Roles and duties of the development and training manager of a company include conducting regular assessments, modifying training programs as and when necessary, ordering and facilitating training, development of supplies, and coaching and training the managers themselves.
The typical annual salary of a development and training manager ranges between $98,000 and $109,000. To become a development and training manager, you should possess natural skills in leadership, be open to change and constantly, be able to adapt to new pressures and situations, have good customer service skills, and have experience in teaching and training.
8. Marketing Manager
With the advance of social media platforms and their integration into business and how companies across the spectrum of industries, marketing has changed beyond all reasonable predictions and involves the internet as much as other sales and marketing tools.
On average, a marketing manager who has been working in the role for several years in the United States can earn between approximately $114,000 and $122,000. As with other high-profile roles within the arena of business, there are certainly some key skillsets and requirements which will help the progression of an aspiring marketing manager.
Individuals who want to pursue a career as a marketing manager should have an innate ability to understand and even, at times, predict what the consumer or client of a business wants and needs, to understand the entirety of the sales process and possess strong networking and communication skills.
Other advisory skillsets for an aspiring marketing manager include a strong working knowledge of social media management, strategic thinking, and being adept at data collation and analysis. Although modern technology has led to big changes in this area, there is plenty of scope for a successful career for the right kind of person.
