Business Administration & Management

Types of Degrees Business Administration & Management Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many business administration and management graduations there were in 2018-2019 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	172,408
Master’s Degree	128,188
Associate’s Degree	60,528
Basic Certificate	34,964
Undergraduate Certificate	6,490
Graduate Certificate	4,965
Doctor’s Degree	2,604

What Business Administration & Management Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, business administration majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Business Administration Majors

Business Administration majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Business Administration Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to business administration:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Business Administration Majors

As you progress with your business administration degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Business Administration & Management Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with business administration:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Administrative Services Managers	10.1%	$96,180
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	4.7%	$66,040
Brownfield Redevelopment Specialists and Site Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Clinical Research Coordinators	9.9%	$123,860
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Computer and Information Systems Managers	12.0%	$142,530
Construction Managers	11.1%	$93,370
Cost Estimators	10.5%	$64,040
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	3.4%	$55,810
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	3.8%	$39,630
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Logisticians	6.9%	$74,600
Logistics Analysts	6.9%	$74,600
Logistics Engineers	6.9%	$74,600
Logistics Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Management Analysts	14.3%	$83,610
Natural Sciences Managers	9.9%	$123,860
Purchasing Managers	5.4%	$118,940
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Sales Managers	7.5%	$124,220
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Social and Community Service Managers	18.0%	$65,320
Storage and Distribution Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Supply Chain Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Transportation Managers	6.8%	$94,730
Water Resource Specialists	9.9%	$123,860
Wind Energy Operations Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Wind Energy Project Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration & Management?

This is one of the most frequently chosen business majors. It is the 1st most popular in the country with 172,102 students graduating with a bachelor’s in business administration in 2019. Roughly 46% of the graduates are women, and 54% are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of business administration majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	11,683
Black or African American	18,923
Hispanic or Latino	25,128
White	89,005
International Students	10,443
Other Races/Ethnicities	17,226

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Business Administration. About 6.1% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• India
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Vietnam

How Much Do Business Administration & Management Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2017-2018 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration have a median salary of $40,200 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $35,100 (25th percentile) and $44,375 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in business administration, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Business Administration majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $71,670 to $123,880 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Business Administration & Management

Some careers associated with business administration require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for business administration careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.6%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	12.0%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	5.8%
Some College Courses	9.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	44.6%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	3.7%
Master’s Degree	10.9%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.2%
Doctoral Degree	3.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.4%

Online Business Administration & Management Programs

In the 2018-2019 academic year, 2,725 schools offered some type of business administration and management program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	1,168	371
Certificate (1-2 years)	661	207
Certificate (2-4 Years)	17	2
Associate’s Degree	1,821	654
Bachelor’s Degree	521	236
Post-Baccalaureate	1,168	371
Master’s Degree	1,755	950
Post-Master’s	96	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	213	56
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	11	2
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	3	1

Is a Degree in Business Administration & Management Worth It?

The median salary for a business administration grad is $103,110 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 158% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,264,200 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Business Administration & Management

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to business administration.

Major	Number of Grads
Accounting	105,123
General Business/Commerce	58,451
Finance & Financial Management	56,186
Marketing	51,241
Human Resource Management	26,823
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	23,738
Business Support & Assistant Services	19,483
Hospitality Management	19,042
Management Information Systems	14,747
Entrepreneurial Studies	10,427
International Business	10,181
Business/Managerial Economics	6,345
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	5,873
Other Business, Management & Marketing	5,834
General Sales & Marketing	5,734
Real Estate	5,700
Construction Management	3,664
Insurance	2,218
Taxation	1,783
Business/Corporate Communications	968
Telecommunications Management	71

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.