Throughout the entire country and the world, companies, and businesses of all kinds, for-profit and not-for-profit alike, are in need of competent and trustworthy business managers. These professionals are responsible for managing, coordinating, and organizing comprehensive business operations. They have knowledge and experience in marketing, accounting, and finance, as well as unique capabilities in leadership, and are capable of directing an institution towards its full potential. Business Managers are responsible for administering and guiding teams of all sizes and bringing efficiency and simplicity to complexly intertwined processes. Depending on the type of environment and profit margin in which business management professionals work, this is often an incredibly lucrative career path.

In the movie “A Bug’s Life,” the villain, Hopper, was quoted as saying “First rule of leadership: Everything is your fault.” Truer words have never been spoken, and when considering a degree in business management, you must have tough skin when entering the world where “you’re the boss.”. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are a must. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, top senior executives in business management must have “highly developed personal qualities and must be able to communicate clearly and persuasively.” You must also be able to listen effectively and empathize with the people you are managing, which are your colleagues. Understanding how to communicate at various levels of seriousness is a trait of a good team leader, whether it involves an unfortunate personal situation an employee is going through or an employee not performing to their full potential.

Sure, sometimes you pass up in salary, and maybe it’s a lesser player, but it’s all based on what a team has as far as value in that person.” – Brett Favre. Okay, so let’s face it, this is one of the first questions a degree seeker wants to know the answer to. You wouldn’t want to work for peanuts, so let’s check out some figures together. Of course, the salary levels vary greatly with a business management degree depending on the type of “business managing” you are looking to go into. You also will want to consider the bachelors vs. masters degree as well but we will delve into both.

An associates degree is a very popular degree to claim. More and more people are opting for this program over the time consuming and costly tuition of a bachelor’s or four year doctorate degree. Also, many employers are requiring their potential employees to have some sort of collegiate background on their resume. Upon completion of the generally two year time span it takes to complete an associates degree program, you have a choice to make. Should you go straight to work or further your education? Is the time and funds required to further your education going to yield you a high return on your investment? What careers are available with my associates degree?