Would you like to start a job-secure course of study and prepare yourself for the world of work? No problem with business administration! Business administration not only offers you a basic education for your understanding of how companies operate, but also specialist knowledge in a specialization that interests you. In the following, we will show you the focus of the Bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration and what career prospects await you. Have fun!
All business administration courses have one thing in common: they provide comprehensive basics and create the necessary qualifications to be able to successfully start your professional life with a bachelor’s degree. At the same time, universities offer their students the opportunity to acquire their first specialist knowledge and individual specialization in the chosen areas with various specializations. This allows you to qualify for the job market at an early stage and take a career direction of your choice. With an additional master’s degree, this expertise can be further expanded.
These specializations are available in business administration studies
There are quite a few specializations in the field of business administration. But which one suits you?
You should go according to your personal interests and preferences. Are you enthusiastic about numbers and can you think logically? Do you see yourself more in the media industry and communication is one of your greatest strengths? Or are you interested in the latest inventions that are currently being made, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Or are you much more drawn out into the big wide world and want to make a career on the international stage? Depending on your wishes, you can cover all these aspects by specializing in business administration.
Here we show you the most common bachelor specializations offered by universities and colleges:
- Marketing Management
- Human Resource Management
- Accounting & Controlling
- Finance
- Supply Chain Management
Marketing Management
Marketing management is about communicating with the customer and turning a brand into a kind of personality. This includes the conception and execution of customer- and market-centric activities, such as product development, determining suitable sales channels, and the selection of communication channels. Marketing is much more than just advertising. In the digital age, online marketing is also very much about tracking: tracking social media campaigns, website views, and much more! The most important thing in this area is to know and be able to use tracking tools. Google Ads, for example, is a comprehensive and much-used tool for targeted advertising.
In any case, marketing is intended to implement all decisions made in a company about the market, the consumer, and their needs. Marketing is intended to achieve the company’s goals better, faster, and more effectively. Of course, this also has an impact on the company’s sales, which good performance promotes.
A few examples of possible modules in marketing management are the following:
Marketing
- Marketing Theory
- Brand management and brand communication
- Online Marketing
- Strategic Management
- Product marketing and service marketing
- Innovative marketing for brands and media
- Marketing law and contract drafting
- Service Marketing
Marketing
- Market research
- Cross-media strategies for brands and media
- Customer Relationship Management
- Consumer behavior and advertising’s impact
- Marketing and Sales Controlling
- Sales Management & Account Management
Job prospects
Professionally, there are so many different directions for you to go in marketing! You can go into product management, market research, consulting, or sales management. Or how about public relations, public relations (PR)?
Advertising agencies, communication agencies, market research institutes, management consultancies, and marketing and sales departments of companies in all industries are definitely suitable for you. After all, every company needs a marketing and sales department or a person to take over this area. So why not you?
Human Resource Management
Human resources are essential for any business. Application processes are often lengthy and involve a lot of administration: Nowadays, written applications, job interviewsan assessment center, and group discussions are standard. Therefore, there are digital solutions to simplify processes: e.g. through applicant portals and software that analyze applications.
The job of a recruiter or human resource manager (also known as a human resource manager) is to check a candidate’s attitude and values to find out if that person could fit into the team. The HR manager is therefore responsible for recruiting personnel internally or externally and deploying these personnel efficiently. Also, HR managers are responsible for all activities related to human resources: for example, collaborating with universities on projects that promote the company to potential candidates.
Course content revolves around:
- Staff
- Human resource management
- Human resource management
- Human Resources / Human Resource Management (HR)
- Personnel Psychology
- Human resources
These modules deal with topics such as personnel development, personnel management, labor law, occupational psychology, employer branding, and rhetoric, presentation, and communication techniques.
Job prospects
Typical professions in this field are:
- Human Resources Officer
- HR Business Partner
- Personalbearer/HR Consultant
- Human Resources Developer/Talent Manager
- Personnel Dispatcher
- Personnel Marketing Manager
Accounting & Controlling
Of course, a company wants to make profits and operate efficiently in the long term, considering the defined corporate goals. At the same time, investment decisions must be made and new financing options must be developed. Analyzing, planning, managing, and controlling – if you have a penchant for numbers, you are in particularly good hands here. Through analysis, for example, statements are made about the expected return and at the same time, expected risks are named and assessed.
Are you interested in accounting? We’ve put together all the basics for you.
The specialization content for Accounting & Controlling is as follows:
- Growth and internationalization strategies
- Management theories
- Group Financial Reporting
- Investment, service, and divisional controlling
- Capital Market Theory
- Appraisal of business
- Corporate governance and organization
- Cost analysis, cost management, and process management
- Accounting and balance sheet analysis, balance sheet policy
- Risk management
- Strategic Corporate Management
- Cost and performance accounting
- Cash flow statement
- Tax Statement of Operating Expenses and Operating Income
Would you like to learn more about this specialization and job prospects? We have an all-round guide to business administration and control up our sleeve for you.
Finance
New developments in the financial sector, such as green banking or halal banking, do not bring the banking and insurance industries to a standstill. There are always new challenges regarding identifying and assessing emerging trends. Also, individual customer advice, the preparation of extensive offers for customers, and the corresponding service require constant discussion of the topic of finance.
Here’s what you can expect:
- Financial Services or Financial Consulting
- Operation Management
- Banking Regulations
- Asset Management
- Specialization in the lending business
- Bank Management
Job prospects
In this area, you can look after private clients, provide investment advice, become a financial analyst, trade securities. Controlling is also not excluded and strategic corporate management. Typical employers are insurance companies and banks, but corporate auditing could also be exciting for you or transaction advice on mergers and acquisitions. A multifaceted sector!
Supply Chain Management
A smooth running of logistics and supply chain management must guarantee all entrepreneurial activities, among other things. Supply chain management simply explained: SCM is the integrated process-oriented planning and control of the flow of goods, information, and money across the entire value and supply chain (supply chain) from the customer to the raw material supplier.
Formerly used as a synonym, supply chain management, in contrast to logistics, goes beyond the boundaries of a company. Here are the four sub-areas of logistics, which are thus part of supply chain management:
Logistics
- Procurement logistics
- Production logistics
- Distribution
- Waste disposal logistics
SCM has a cross-company view of all business processes. Here are further modules:
Supply Chain Management
- Procurement
- Production
- Distribution
- Planning
These include topics such as:
- Strategic planning and management
- Leadership for digital transformation
- IT systems
- Project and process management
- Financing (debt financing, equity financing, venture capital)
- Business and Information Law
Job prospects
Whether as a supply chain manager, supply chain planner or as a procurement logistics specialist: Supply chain is very versatile. You should definitely like numbers and Excel to do these professions. There are further career opportunities, for example, in the areas of inbound or outbound logistics, digital operations management, and supplier management, for example. Feel free to take a look around to see which positions are currently advertised.
You can also deepen your knowledge with your bachelor’s thesis. If you are thinking about a career in an export company, then make your first contacts in your bachelor’s thesis through qualitative interviews to make yourself known. Thematically, you can also go in a strategic direction for you to learn more about an area and get in touch with people.
Find universities and colleges
Basically, you should ask yourself what kind of study suits you best. Can you imagine starting a dual-study program with a company? This would mean that you have very good job opportunities and a varied everyday life by switching between work and study. Getting to know a company internally is worth a lot to know what you have in mind for the future. However, a dual-study program may also involve more work than a classic full-time study.
One advantage of studying privately is the connections that a private university has. It happens that companies are especially fond of hiring students from a particular private institution of higher education, as they have many years of good experience with them. The disadvantage, of course, is quite clear that private studies cost several thousand euros per year.
Or would a distance learning or evening course also be an option for you?
As soon as you have decided, you can continue with the choice: Where do I study business administration or an in-depth course of study such as International Management? Find your perfect university or college!