
The working world is becoming more competitive with each passing year and creating barriers for just about everyone. It is harder than ever to make your place in a fast-paced work environment than it has ever been before.
Not only is this a hard time for fresh graduates, but for experienced professionals as well. However, this article isn’t here to scare you about the facts you already know. But rather give you an idea that there is a lot you can still do with a master’s degree.
An MBA is an extremely versatile degree that can help you in almost any field you wish to enter. Therefore, it would be wise to consider it a viable option if you have the time, finances, and desire to pursue higher education.
So without further ado, let’s discuss a few high-paying careers if you are an MBA graduate.
Finance
It should come as no surprise that finance is an option that will always be open to you. Not only is it viable, but it’s also one of the highest-paying fields within the business industry.
If you have sound accounting knowledge and an MBA, chances are you can start your career at a mid-level position and grow from there. An MBA degree focusing on finance allows you to grow in ways you never imagined.
Yet, the business environment will remain extremely competitive, and you will have to strive to keep the position you have earned. However, it’s considerably easier to hold a post than to strive to achieve it in the first place.
A career in finance has a relatively standard trajectory. Manager, Senior Manager, Director, and then Vice President. These apply to structures with traditional organizational charts.
Executive Search
The Executive Search industry can be extremely rewarding, especially for fresh grads. If you start working in a growing company, you will probably start at a higher salary than most of your university batchmates.
Executive Search is the modern name for what we once knew as headhunting. A lot more research and consultation now come with the job, so reducing it to just headhunting might not be wise.
The real money is in retained executive search. This means you will likely have a higher salary at the end of the year. The other option is a contingent executive search which requires you to place a candidate and then get paid.
These targets are often hard to meet and cause a fair degree of stress. If you can choose between retained and contingent, always go for retained.
Here are some of the top search firms in North America. Most of them are almost always hiring.
Management Trainee Programs
Management Trainee programs are mostly for bachelor’s graduates, fresh out of college and looking to start their career in a stable company. Most MT programs apply to fresh college grads.
Starting an MT program gives you immense job security and a potential lifelong job in the company. Moreover, you start at a reasonably competitive salary and only work your way upwards. The catch is that you should complete at least a year to move up the ladder and exit the program.
After completing the MT program, the next step will probably be a managerial role with a tenure of around 1-2 years. However, this is a quicker way of progressing compared to an entry-level position.
Moreover, once you complete a Management Trainee Program, you can start working in the same company as a manager. Most companies like promoting staff they have trained as they are aware of the ins and outs of the company. Moving onto a managerial role is advantageous not just for the company but for you as well.
After a few years of experience under your belt, you can move on to another company that offers you a more lucrative job and growth opportunities.
Management Consultancy
If you have what it takes to work in a fast-paced work environment, you may want to consider management consultancy as an option. However, please note that these can be extremely stressful jobs, and you may often have to work after hours.
However, you start as a respectable associate or consultant with a salary that of a senior manager or junior director.
Yes, Management Consultancy firms pay extremely well at the entry level, which only increases once you move further up the ladder.
Nowadays, everyone has their eyes on the Big Three firms, but they are extremely hard to get into. If not those, some of the other top ten firms as options as well. Again, these are very competitive jobs, so don’t feel bad if you don’t succeed.
Sometimes thousands of people apply for a single role, and even then, the vacancy isn’t filled.
Research
Nothing is stopping you from entering the field of research; most graduates did not even know that this field existed. Research is the backbone of consultancy; therefore, it is an essential part of business functions.
Not just that, but you can also consider economic and developmental research for the public sector.
These are high-paying jobs and give you extremely diverse and vital exposure.
They can help you secure a place in government organizations and still allow you even to start your own consultancy firm. Research is a very important skill you should have as part of your credentials, as it comes in handy in every job.
Moreover, experience in research also helps you apply for more diverse roles in most industries.
Conclusion
There we have it; some of the best career options we think you should consider if you’re an MBA graduate. As we said earlier, it is a tough market out there, but if there was ever an ideal degree to tackle the market with, it’s an MBA.
It is an extremely sound and versatile degree, regardless of your chosen path. Just remember to explore your options thoroughly before selecting a career path.
Sometimes we are in such a rush to find a job that we forgo better options, not knowing what is out there. Take your time, weigh the options, and gauge which suits you best.
We hope you learned something from this article. If you think we missed anything, please let us know in the comments below.