The MBA Jobs and Careers

An MBA can generate all kinds of new career opportunities for you. Read about some MBA career paths and meet a number of recent MBA grads through “Day in the Life” profiles.

Marketing Careers
There are an huge amount of career opportunities and options for people with marketing MBAs. The most common are business positions such as marketing manager, brand manager, market research analyst, and new product manager. Persons with strong financial skills could seek a career in strategic or market related planning. Additional corporate positions such as sales manager, advertising manager, PR (public relations) director, and marketing communications manager are also common.

In marketing or advertising agencies, numerous opportunities exist in advertising, direct marketing, and communications specialization. Consulting firms also hire marketing MBAs as new market developers, strategists, and customer segmentation specialists.

Product management careers as well as brand management careers classically require that an applicant have an MBA, even at the entry level. However, some companies that focus intensively on sales promote these positions internally from highly successful sales legislature.

Product and Brand Managers
The product manager is completely responsible for the profitability and market growth of a product line. The product manager could be considered the CEO of a particular product. They typically coordinate and oversee a number of diverse divisions of a corporation to ensure the efficient and timely flow of a creation to market. While some product managers have international responsibilities, most product management positions focus on product and market development domestically. Product managers often will see encouragement to director or manager of a group of products or even to the position of VP of marketing.

Marketing Managers
The marketing managers responsibilities are similar to those of the product manager, but are focused on servicing and managing an ongoing relationship with existing customers. The marketing manager utilize skills in international marketing, client satisfaction and retention, market strategy, and emerging technologies. This position can be highly demanding and require intensive knowledge of market research and customer management.

Account Management Specialists
While it is not often requisite, having an MBA can be very beneficial in obtaining a position in account management roles. The account manager is responsible for a large number of the functions of a product manager, but on the advertising agency side of things.

Finance and Accounting Careers

Accounting or financial managers are the people responsible for supervision and maintaining the financial policy and history of a company. The accounting manager is paying attention more on financial reporting, while the financial manager is focused on strategy and money management. Finance has been one of the more popular choices for MBA focus or concentration.

A finance MBA can offer frequent possibilities and can be an effective tool to help with promotions in the professions discussed below. Most prospective jobs for finance MBAs fall within investment banks, corporations, and securities firms. Many finance MBA graduates also follow careers in the consulting industry.

Accounting Managers
Accounting managers working in a corporate setting perform responsibilities relating to tax reporting and management, and creating income statements inside of controller and audit groups. This career path may bring one to the positions of corporate treasurer, corporate controller, or CFO (chief finance officer). Professional accountants working for a public accounting company will perform functions similar to those performed by sovereign audit or tax consultants. An educational history or background based in accounting, either as a Masters degree or as a finance MBA, will give you some of the coursework you need to have in order to take the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) exam.

Financial Managers or Financial Analysts
Financial analysts and managers use historical (accounting) data in their decision making, however the number one role of the financial manager is to oversee the production of financial analysis and reports to help the company with decision making, business development, strategic planning, and alliance management. Through the use of these reports, the financial analyst helps to shape the companies investment and business growth. Cash management strategies developed and implemented by the financial analyst help the company to grow efficiently and allow for maximum profitability in its investments.
Financial analysts and mangers play an important part in mergers and global financing and expansion. Highly specialized knowledge in these areas is an important asset to the financial manager and his or her employer to maximize potential profit and reduce risk. Many companies utilize globally active consulting firms exclusively for these purposes.

Corporate Controllers
A controller is someone who is in charge of preparing a companies financial reports to forecast and sum-up the companies financial situation. The statements a controller would get together consist of balance sheets, income statements, earnings analyses, and expense analyses. Regulatory agencies may also require special reports from companies. Controllers arrange these reports. In addition, a controller will frequently be over the budget, auditing, and accounting departments of a company.