Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many retail management graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	468
Bachelor’s Degree	212
Undergraduate Certificate	122
Master’s Degree	96
Associate Degree	61

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, retail management 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 Retail Management Majors

Retail Management 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.
• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Retail Management Majors

retail management majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Retail Management Majors

Retail Management majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with retail management:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	3.8%	$39,630
General and Operations Managers	9.1%	$100,930

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

The major attracts more women than men. About 76% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of retail management majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	10
Black or African American	24
Hispanic or Latino	55
White	106
International Students	4
Other Races/Ethnicities	13

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Retail Management, too. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Retail Management majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $45,080 to $123,880 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

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

Some degrees associated with retail management may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for retail management careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	3.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	20.0%
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)	6.4%
Some College Courses	10.4%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	8.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	15.2%
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.	6.9%
Master’s Degree	6.5%
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.	1.7%
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	22.0%

Online Programs

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)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	58	7
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	38	7
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a retail management grad is $103,330 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 159% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,268,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to retail management.

Major	Number of Grads
General Business Administration and Management	343,412
Organizational Leadership	15,220
Interior Design Management	13,728
Supply Chain Management	10,601
Operations Management	6,424
Project Management	4,189
Office Administration	3,577
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	2,736
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management	939
Transportation/Mobility Management	641
E-Commerce	469
Science/Technology Management	359
Research and Development Management	284
Customer Service Management	178
Risk Management	37

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.