Completing your online MBA opens a world of opportunities. However, choosing a career path is a crucial step and one that you should give some serious thought to. While making your decision, you’ll need to ask yourself where your interests lie and how well-suited you are for your desired role.
Let’s look at the top 10 jobs that you can consider after completing your MBA.
1. Business Operations Manager
2. Marketing Manager
3. Financial Manager
4. Investment Banker
5. Sales Manager
6. Health Services Manager
7. Information Technology Manager
8. Public Relations Manager
9. Management Consultant
10. Entrepreneurship
Business Operations Manager
As business operations manager, you would be responsible for the operational activities at every level of the organization. You will oversee the effective use of materials and ensure the employees are doing their best work. You’ll also ensure that all operations throughout the organization run smoothly.
You will make an excellent business operations manager if you can:
• Communicate well
• Understand financial data and make a budget
• Use project management software
• Work with databases
An MBA in operational management, supply chain management or human resources can help with this pursuit.
As a business operations manager, your efforts will most likely be focused on rising to the role of Chief Operations Officer (COO). Leadership is one of the essential skills you need to develop to get to the COO level.
Marketing Manager
As a marketing manager, you will ensure that the right marketing strategies are chosen and executed to achieve the organization’s goals. You will also need to accurately identify target audiences, create strategies to increase the demand for your product, analyze market trends, and come up with marketing ideas to maximize product adoption witin the defined marketing budgets.
You will make an excellent marketing manager if you can:
• Analyze raw data and extract meaningful information from it
• Communicate your ideas (verbally, in writing, via a presentation) effectively
• Optimize marketing tools on social media platforms
• Inspire your team to perform their roles well
It will be ideal to have an MBA in marketing or strategy.
After you’ve proven yourself in the marketing manager role and demonstrated skills worthy of a bigger role, the next big step for you would be Marketing Director with a focus on rising to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The essential skills you will need to develop are leadership and communication. Your work will drive sales and increase demand for your organization’s products.
Financial Manager
As a financial manager, you would be responsible for understanding the organization’s financial operations and implementing improvements to maximize efficiency. You will also be responsible for making financial statements, forecasting financial trends, budgeting, managing cash flow and investments.
You will make an excellent financial manager if you can:
• Analyze and retrieve meaningful information out of financial data
• Communicate and present data effectively
• Make rational decisions
• Be a detail-oriented professional
It would be ideal to have an MBA in finance, accounting or strategy.
The likely eventual goal for a financial manager is Chief Financial Officer (CFO). You will need to develop your critical thinking and leadership skills as you will be responsible for accurate financial reporting for your organization.
Investment Banker
As an investment banker, you will help clients raise money or help enable mergers and acquisitions. You would also be advising them on investment opportunities. The term “investment banker” encompasses junior and senior roles in the profession. You will most likely start as an analyst or associate.
You will make an excellent investment banker if you can:
• Analyze the market and have a firm grasp of mathematics and finance
• Have a strong work ethic
• Deal with a high-pressure environment
• Come up with innovative approaches to investing
It would be ideal to have an MBA in finance.
As you climb the investment banking ladder, you will probably strive to reach the Managing Director (MD) position. An MD is at the top of the investment banking hierarchy. You will need to develop your critical thinking and communication skills. Your expertise will be crucial for the financial growth of your client.
Sales Manager
As a sales manager, you will focus on helping the organization achieve its sales targets. You will also need to set the sales quotas for your team, train them and determine commissions for the sales staff. You and the marketing team will also work on promotions and marketing strategies to achieve organizational objectives.
You will make an excellent sales manager if you can:
• Analyze sales data and forecast trends
• Create sales plans to maximize profits
• Communicate effectively with your team and customers
• Work in a challenging and high-pressure environment
It will be ideal to have an MBA in marketing, product management or project management.
After you’ve proven yourself in the sales manager role and demonstrated skills worthy of a bigger role, you should strive to become a sales director with an eventual transition to Chief Sales Officer. You will need to develop your leadership, communication and critical thinking skills throughout your career. Your work will be crucial to driving sales and profits for your organization.
Product Manager
In this role, you will need to work with multiple departments to build and launch new products for your organization. Your job would be to help create products on time and preferably under budget. You will need to decide on the features of the product, its marketing strategies and have an in-depth knowledge of every aspect of the product.
You will make an excellent product manager if you can:
• Communicate your ideas effectively and coordinate between multiple teams.
• Think strategically and anticipate customer needs to decide on product features.
• Analyze market data to see which product is selling well
• Make rational decisions
It would be ideal to have an MBA in marketing or project management.
After you’ve proven yourself in the product manager role and demonstrated skills worthy of a bigger role, you will be ready to take on a director position in the organization. As you progress to the next role, your communication, critical thinking and leadership roles will progress with you.
Information Technology Manager
As an Information Technology (IT) manager, your primary duties will be keeping your organization’s technology services up to date, maintaing and updating software, and maintaining secure networks. You will create IT rules and procedures that everyone in the organization would need to follow.
You will be an excellent IT manager if you can:
• Manage your time well and schedule software and hardware-related work without disrupting any work
• Come up with innovative solutions to technical issues
• Simplify technical procedures and communicate them effectively to employees
• Understanding budgeting
It will be ideal to have an MBA in IT management.
After you’ve proven yourself in the IT manager role and demonstrated skills worthy of a bigger role, the next step is IT Director. To prepare for the role, you must consistently develop your problem-solving, critical thinking and communication skills. Your work will ensure that your organization is technologically updated and secure.
Public Relations Manager
In this role, you will coordinate all public relations activities for the organization. You will also be leading the media relations strategy. You’ll want to ensure that your organization is placed prominently in online, broadcast and print media. You will also direct your team to engage with the organization’s audiences.
You excel as a public relations manager if you can:
• Build strong networks with media professionals
• Understand industry trends that are impacting the organization and its customers
• Monitor and analyze the performance of public relations activities
• Communicate ideas and strategies effectively
It will be ideal to have an MBA in public relations or marketing.
After you’ve proven yourself in the public relations manager role and demonstrated skills worthy of a bigger role, the next step is public relations director. You will need to continuously develop your communication and leadership skills as the next step will require you to work with and lead even more people. You will be crucial in maintaining a good brand image for your organization.
Management Consultant
As a management consultant, you won’t be working for a single organization. You will be part of a consulting firm or working individually on a contract basis. Your primary duty would be to provide insights for your client and resolve short-term and long term business challenges. These can be turning points such as rebranding or obstacles such as reduced sales.
You will make an excellent management consultant if you can:
• Come up with innovative solutions to unique problems
• Communicate your ideas and strategies effectively
• Analyze various types of data and documentation and get meaningful information from it
• Implement strategies to improve processes
It will be ideal to have an MBA in consulting, entrepreneurship or strategy.
As you go through your management consulting journey, you will develop your problem-solving and communication skills. This will prepare you to take on corporate roles in any organization if you choose to move on from consulting.
Entrepreneurship
After completing your MBA, working as en employee is not the only option you have. An MBA can be a starting point for building that exciting idea you’ve wanted to work on and becoming self-employed. As an entrepreneur, you will do everything you need to help your venture succeed. This includes finance, marketing and anything in between.
Entrepreneurship is a good option for you if you can:
• Think creatively and come up with innovative ideas
• Solve a problem for your target group
• Understand finances and how to effectively budget
• Work in a challenging and high-stress environment
• Communicate effectively
It will be ideal to have an MBA in entrepreneurship, marketing or finance.
There is no ceiling to growth as an entrepreneur. Your development is what you make of it. However, as you grow, you will need to consistently develop your communication, critical thinking, leadership and problem-solving skills.
These are just some of the best jobs you can get after your online MBA. However, this is not an exhaustive list; there are many careers not listed that you can also explore.
Every job after an MBA requires you to consistently develop your leadership, communication, critical thinking or problem-solving skills. To experience rapid professional growth, you can look at Harappa School of Leadership’s Accelerated Management Program (AMP).
The AMP is a 6-month program that will give you all the skills you need to pursue high-growth roles in India’s top organizations in product, data marketing and more.
The program has a unique curriculum that has been handcrafted to put you on track for the leadership roles of your choice. The curriculum will be taught to you by senior industry leaders and world-class academics in a 100% live environment.
You will experience communication, leadership, and other crucial business skills like never before!
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