The competition in the workforce and business industry is now so strong that it’s often no longer enough to just have a bachelor's degree. If you want to have that edge against thousands of other fresh graduates and applicants, it’s a good idea to take your studies one step further. Rather than jumping right into working, take the time to complete a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

 

At the moment, MBA programs are very popular because of their effectiveness in beefing up one’s portfolio. Whether you intend on joining the workforce as an ordinary employee or you’ve got plans of opening up a business of your own, there’s certainly a merit to this edge. The ROI of an MBA is, still, strong and good. All those extra two years spent completing your master's degree won’t just go to waste.

 

Holding an MBA can open you up to well-paying, fulfilling, and interesting career options. Here are some of the jobs you can choose from:

1. Marketing Manager

A marketing manager is often demanded for by businesses that are struggling. Hence, all the more that this demand has been strengthened, given the business challenges that the pandemic has brought. With so many businesses struggling to get by, a marketing manager is necessary so that companies can get back on track. There’s no room now, financially, to make mistakes due to wrong marketing campaigns as the possible trade-off would be the business eventually closing down.

 

Today, having a marketing manager on board is an asset. This is the brains behind successful ads and ideas that can lift struggling businesses back to the market position they once held.

 

Will marketing managers always be in demand even when the economic effects of unprecedented global events, like the pandemic, are over?  Yes. For as long as there are products and services to sell, there’ll always be something to market and promote.

2. Management Consultant

A management consultant is that professional tasked with the responsibility of helping business organizations solve their problems, maximize their growth potential, and improve their overall performance. Basically, the job circles around creating the right strategies, as well as the management of every department in the company.

 

That said, some of their specific work responsibilities include:

• Working in close communication with the clients to keep them up-to-date with whatever changes and progress are happening within the organization to serve them better

• Undertaking the data collection process to have a deeper understanding of the organization

• Leading and managing members of the team as a whole

• Facilitating workshops

• Managing periodic programs and projects that the company may have

Another advantage of working as a management consultant is that you’ll also have the opportunity to work in a specified niche that interests you, such as healthcare, information technology, retail, or education. This would also depend on your specific program specialization during your MBA.

3. Business Operations Manager

As its name implies, a business operations manager handles the operations side of a business. A more pressing and recent example of this, for instance, is how, at present, there’s that need to change from an in-person operation to a virtual one.

 

As of late, businesses are in need of business operations managers to help foresee this change so that it’s a successful switch. Then, when physical distancing measures subside, a business operations manager can also foresee that springing back from online to physical operations.

 

Even without this switch in mode of operations, a business operations manager will, still, be needed to manage the logistics of a company, from the opening hour until it closes at the end of every day. That way, all deadlines are met and the proper quality standards are also enforced.

4. Operations Research Analyst

An operations research analyst is that professional hired to be a member of a company’s team with the responsibility of improving business practices through strategies centered on the following:

• Cost-effective techniques

• Efficient product distribution

• Compliance with labor requirements

To meet these, one must have sufficient reasoning skills so as to think critically and provide the correct solutions. At present, an effective operations research analyst also knows how to use the latest technology to the company’s advantage by applying advanced techniques, like mathematical modeling, data mining, and optimization.

On a daily basis, the job functions of an operations research analyst are:

• Communicating the results and recommendations to colleagues and superiors

• Analyzing pertinent data and information

• Interpreting the analysis of data and information

• Making operations-related decisions

• Utilizing one’s full creative thinking abilities.

5. Financial Advisor

Generally, the job of a financial advisor focuses on the money goals of an individual. They provide advice on anything related to finances, be it for personal, or for corporate and business purposes.

 

With the expertise of a financial advisor, you, their client, can have a sound and well-developed financial plan not just for the present but also for the future, both short- and long-term. You don’t have to be a multi-millionaire to see one, as these professionals offer advice even for things as simple as budgeting to planning your retirement.

 

Specifically, a financial advisor can help in the following areas of finance:

• Debt management: Debt is that number one factor that can seriously complicate your financial situation. A financial advisor helps not just with the strategies on how to manage your debt, but also on how to get rid of it entirely so you don’t go back to the same vicious cycle.

• Health and long-term care planning. Your finances don’t just circle around money per se. A very important aspect of having your finances in order also has to do with being able to afford good health and long-term care. This can be costly without proper financial planning.

• Retirement. This is that end part of life wherein you get to enjoy everything you’ve worked hard for all those years. But, you can’t enjoy your retirement if you don’t plan well enough for it. Remember that this is unlike your younger years when you’ll still have income coming in.

Conclusion

An MBA in your arsenal gives you the chance to hold top positions in the business industry or run your own business successfully. It tackles more practical experience and theories than the basics you’ve touched on in your undergraduate degree. Hence, if you’ve already started working, but you really want to learn more or you now have familial obligations, there’s no stopping you from obtaining one, for as long as you’re dedicated to this pursuit. Soon enough, you’ll be on the road towards enjoying any one of those jobs above.