What Can You Do With an MBA?

What can you do with an MBA degree? An MBA, or Master of Business Administration, is a graduate-level degree that can help you pursue a wide range of career opportunities. Unlike industry-specific graduate degrees which tend to dig primarily into one field, an MBA program takes a more generalized approach, encompassing a wider range of subjects and disciplines. If you’re still wondering, “What can I do with an MBA?” it’s reassuring to know that the versatility of an MBA degree allows it to be applied toward many different career paths, including those intended to lead to senior-level management positions.

To further answer the question of what to do with an MBA and help you become more familiar with the careers you may want to pursue, here are some of the fields where an MBA degree can be applied, along with a brief explanation of what each involves and a sampling of corresponding MBA jobs.

Business administration is a career path for which MBA degree holders may find themselves readily suited, though it is by no means their only option. This discipline focuses on managing the day-to-day operations within a corporate setting. After earning this degree, you may be able to consider a number of positions, including ones related to helping businesses make the kind of well-informed decisions that can lead to growth and increased profitability. This may include the management or analysis of business operations, the development and management of new marketing opportunities, or the management of products. You also may be prepared to take on a position that directs information technology (IT) operations, manages stakeholder-driven projects or even launch your own business.

Possible job titles include:

Finance focuses on the management of money, particularly through the investment of business funds. A finance professional may be involved in evaluating and managing a company’s new investments and play a role in selecting what projects and acquisitions the company should pursue for a positive return on its investment. An MBA with a Specialization in Finance from DeVry and its Keller Graduate School of Management may help you gain an understanding of today’s complex financial markets and help you prepare to pursue a career role in bank management, investment banking, financial planning and analysis, or commercial or residential lending.

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Accounting involves tracking money that flows through a business. Accountants both in private practice and in accounting departments of businesses manage funds, prepare financial reports and make sure taxes are being paid properly. They may also perform internal audits that enable them to refine bookkeeping procedures or recommend changes in the organization’s financial management.

An MBA with a Specialization in Accounting may help you prepare to pursue a broad variety of career roles in accounting, accounting management, auditing or payroll operations. Earning an MBA in Accounting can also be one of the ways you work toward the educational requirements for the CPA exam and eventually pursue opportunities that require CPA licensure.

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The broad field of marketing focuses on the branding or image of a company and its products or services. It also seeks to establish new markets or distribution channels for a company’s existing products or help develop new ones. Marketing professionals may work on campaigns that help customers understand the benefits of the brand or product, or foster greater brand loyalty through incentives and promotions.

An MBA with a Specialization in Marketing may prepare you to pursue a wide variety of roles in marketing or brand management, advertising, search engine optimization (SEO), public relations and digital marketing, helping to increase the awareness and sales of products and brands. You may elect to pursue a career in market research, an important aspect of the marketing process that measures consumer opinion to develop new products or improve existing ones.

Possible career paths include:

Human resources focuses on the management of a company’s relationship with its employees. This may involve recruiting, hiring and onboarding new talent, retaining existing talent and managing employee benefits programs. Recruiters and other HR professionals interface regularly with operations managers at their companies. An MBA with a Specialization in Human Resources may prepare you to pursue HR-related roles in the management of employee compensation and benefits, recruiting and hiring, an organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or its learning and development (L&D) initiatives. 

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The healthcare industry relies on business professionals to help keep facilities like hospitals, group medical practices and surgery centers running smoothly. Administrative leaders on the business side of healthcare ensure that services are being delivered safely, efficiently and in compliance with state and federal regulatory guidelines, all while providing the highest level of patient care. This MBA specialization can help you prepare to pursue a number of careers in the administrative management (vs. the clinical management) of administrative or medical services or in the compliance area of healthcare management.

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Information systems managers oversee teams of IT professionals and help to ensure that an organization’s software, networks and computer systems are running smoothly. They are also responsible for identifying when system upgrades are needed to improve business functionality.

An  Information Systems Management MBA specialization may prepare you to pursue important information technology roles that interface with other IT professionals, providing data-driven advice on how a company can expand or refine its operations based on its current and projected needs, and identifying vulnerabilities or areas needing improvement. Database management is another important specialty within this field, focusing on the operation and safeguarding of databases that many enterprises rely on, particularly those in e-commerce.

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Project managers in many industries use a combination of technical and workplace skills, like time management, critical thinking and organization and analytical skills to oversee teams that work on both small and large-scale projects and report their progress to project stakeholders.

An MBA with a Specialization in Project Management can help you prepare to pursue various project management roles on single projects or wide-ranging programs, or focus on specific vertical aspects of project management like operations, supply chain management, regulatory affairs or compliance.

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Because an MBA is a graduate-level degree, it has a number of potential benefits that a bachelor's degree may not offer. In particular, MBA graduates may be able to consider higher-level opportunities when it comes to jobs. In some cases, they may even be able to bypass entry-level jobs when they enter the workforce, depending on the position, employer and specific job requirements.

Other potential MBA benefits that you may experience include:

If you're interested in pursuing a career in the field of business, an MBA degree can not only help you develop interpersonal and leadership skills, but can also help you stay abreast of current industry trends, acquaint you with technology used in the field and teach strategy, negotiation and other important business skills.