Career services recommends these roles to business majors seeking high pay and strong futures

College and university career service office professionals know that it is easier for those majoring in business to find well-paying jobs upon graduation than for some other majors, and that some of those jobs have brighter futures than others. But it’s not like those students can walk into any place of employment and demand a job with high pay and job security. Just like those in other majors, they must play to their strengths and be realistic about the kinds of jobs, pay, and job security available.

Business majors walk into the job market with a toolkit that employers across almost every industry value. Whether it is analyzing numbers, shaping strategy, or leading teams, these students bring a mix of practical and people-focused skills that can take them in a lot of different directions. That flexibility is a gift, but it can also leave new graduates wondering where to start, especially when they want to make a smart move right out of the gate.

For students who care about earning power, the good news is that business training pairs naturally with many of the best compensated roles out there. Finance, consulting, sales, technology, human resources — they all reward strong business thinking and a comfort with solving messy, real-world problems. These are some of the roles new graduates should target to build meaningful careers, create impact, and set themselves up for long-term success:

Sales Manager

Strong sales leadership is one of the most valuable assets a company can have. As CEO of Bemana, I can tell you Sales Managers are consistently among the highest earners we place, often outpacing many technical and operations roles. The truth is, revenue is the lifeblood of any manufacturing business, and great sales leadership directly drives that revenue. When you can influence the top line, your earning potential rises fast.

Sales Manager roles are a perfect fit for any business major who wants:

• Control over your income in the form of commissions and bonuses
• A fast-track to leadership opportunities
• To develop highly transferable skills (negotiation, account management, etc.)
• Opportunities to work closely with cross-functional teams and learn the industry inside-out

This is also an industry that rewards people skills over technical skills. If you have curiosity, grit, and the ability to build trust, Sales Manager is one of the most recession-resistant, high-income roles we recruit for.

Linn Atiyeh, CEO, Bemana 

Investment Banker

I’ve watched thousands of career paths unfold across industries, and few offer the earning potential, upward mobility, and long-term career versatility of investment banking. It’s one of the most powerful career paths a business major can pursue to land on a high-income trajectory, and one of the only fields where new graduates can realistically cross into six-figure total compensation in their first year.

Analysts often earn upwards of $120,000 once bonuses are factored in, and associates and VPs can earn multiples of that within a few years. Business majors already have the foundational skills to succeed in this path, and you end up getting paid to learn in one of the most competitive business environments, where you’ll be exposed to complex financial models, M&A deals, and corporate strategy. It’s essentially a hands-on graduate compensation and, while the pace is intense, it makes you highly recruitable and open the door to elite career opportunities. 

Matt Erhard, Managing Partner, Summit Search Group

Project Manager

Project management is among the most practical career paths for someone with a business background. Great Project Managers are the operational glue holding all the pieces of a project together so that it can succeed. This requires core disciplines that you’re trained in as a business student—areas like risk management, strategic planning, scheduling, budgeting, and leadership. In my experience placing candidates, these are areas where business majors naturally excel.

In terms of earning potential, entry-level Project Coordinators usually start in the $50K-$65K range, and it’s one of the fastest paths to a $100K+ salary in the construction field, especially, without requiring you to hold an advanced degree. You’re also driving strategy and solving projects in real time, giving you the variety, autonomy, and influence that business majors often look for. It’s truly a career where strong business fundamentals can turn into real-world results.

One tip I’ll give here is that project management isn’t one-size-fits-all. Each sector has its own areas of expertise you’ll want to develop, from supply chain and operations in manufacturing organizations to the safety requirements and trades knowledge of construction PMs. Picking an industry to focus on early can help you develop the right kinds of expertise to make even faster career progress.

David Case, President, Advastar

Financial Analyst

I would say Financial Analyst roles are a natural high-value path for business majors, especially in fintech. Financial Analysts rely on core skill sets that business majors develop as a matter of course, from KPI tracking and data interpretation to financial modeling and competitive analysis.

The earning potential is strong at every step of this career path. Usually you’ll start in a role like Junior Analyst, Operations Analyst, or Finance Associate, where you can expect to earn $55,000-$70,000 a year. Then once you’re a full analyst, typical salaries go up to the $85,000-$100,000 range, and can open the door to even higher-growth careers in corporate development, investor relations, or FP&A. The truth is, this skill set is highly portable across sectors, from startups to tech companies, banks, and venture–backed fintech firms.

My advice for anyone considering this path is to start by taking a role as a Junior Analyst or Finance Associate, where you’ll help with basic modeling, reporting, and variance analysis. This will let you get a hands-on feel for whether you’re suited to this kind of work, and you can quickly build up from there into roles with a much higher salary potential.

Rob Reeves, CEO, Redfish Technology

Business Intelligence Manager

Business majors have a unique edge in business intelligence because they occupy the intersection of strategy, analytics, and communication. Many people have the misconception that business intelligence is just crunching numbers, but in reality BI Managers serve as their company’s analytical center of gravity, turning data into insight that can guide executives and other leaders. While they do often oversee data analysis and performance metrics, they are also at the helm of the entire data infrastructure, including forecasting, scenario modeling, data governance, and the design and upkeep of executive dashboards.

Companies today are sitting on mountains of data and desperately need individuals who can interpret it to decide where to invest, when to expand production, how to optimize operations and supply chains, which assets to upgrade or retire, and how to model regulatory and pricing risk. That is a huge amount of potential impact that someone can have in this role. In my experience placing candidates, individuals with degrees in Business Analytics, Finance, Economics, and Management Information Systems are particularly positioned to thrive in these positions. 

Jon Hill, Managing Partner, The Energists  

Human Resources/Talent Strategy Director

Leadership roles in talent strategy like HR Director, Head of People, or Talent Strategy Director are among the most strategic and high-earning career paths for business majors. These roles aren’t just about managing payroll or benefits. You’re aligning talent with corporate strategy and driving organizational performance, areas that demand expertise in analytics, operations, finance, and organizational strategy. In short, the role leverages the core competencies of any business major. 

While this role is needed in a wide range of sectors, industries that rely heavily on skilled talent or operate in high-growth, competitive markets often pay top dollar. These include industries like:

• Technology – Particularly software and fintech, where strong competition for talent drives higher compensation
• Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals – Compliance and workforce complexity create premium demand
• Energy and renewables – Strategic HR leadership is required to manage a skilled technical and operational workforce
• Financial services – High-stakes, performance-driven environments reward HR leaders who can attract and motivate top performers

As you develop this combination of business acumen and people strategy, it makes you a highly marketable executive, leading to further career versatility as you gain experience. 

Jim Hickey, Managing Partner, Perpetual Talent Solutions

Business Development Manager

In the IT sector, where competition is intense and solutions are complex, Business Development Management is the bridge between technology and business. The role of BDM leverages the core skills business majors develop—things like strategy, negotiation, marketing, and finance, all things that are critical to identifying new opportunities, structuring deals, and closing sales. This makes it a natural fit and one with a solid base salary, plus the opportunity to build on it with commissions and incentives. 

Many of the BDMs we place get their start in entry-level sales or customer-facing roles like Sales Development Representative or Account Coordinator. From there, it’s often a relatively rapid progression, and one that doesn’t stop at Business Development. There’s a definite path into senior sales leadership and executive roles that make strategic decisions at the corporate level.

For anyone considering this path, you can increase your odds of fast advancement and high earnings by building a broad skillset. BDMs need to be equally comfortable cultivating relationships as they are interpreting sales pipeline KPIs or performance metrics, and it also helps to be familiar with technology like cloud platforms, cybersecurity, and IT. 

The bottom line: for business majors who value both measurable results and relationship building, Business Development Manager is a high-reward, high-growth career path. 

Travis Lindeeoen, Managing Director, Nexus IT Group

Insurance Underwriter

We regularly place underwriters in our work at Spencer James Group and, frankly, it’s a career path I often recommend to business students who aren’t sure what career to pursue. Insurance underwriting is a highly rewarding career path that’s often overlooked, and can absolutely earn a six-figure salary with 5-8 years of experience. Entry-level underwriting roles usually start around $50,000 (and could earn more) so professionals can also start their careers with a relatively strong salary even as an assistant underwriter or risk analyst.

Salary potential is one of the reasons I often recommend this career path to business majors. It’s also well-aligned to the skills those professionals often bring to the table, things like risk analysis, economics, accounting, analytics, relationship building, and organizational thinking. Underwriters are essentially the CFOs of every deal, evaluating data, assessing financial risk, and making judgment calls that directly impact profitability, so there’s a lot of intellectually stimulating work involved and it’s a role where decisions have a real impact. The long-term demand is strong, too, so it’s a smart and stable future-proof choice for today’s business graduates.

Steve Faulkner, Founder & Chief Recruiter, Spencer James Group

Controller

I see firsthand which roles offer strong long-term earning potential, stability, and upward mobility, and the Controller role ranks near the top for business majors. Controllers oversee all financial reporting, accounting operations, audits, compliance, and internal controls. This gives them a critical role in maintaining the business’ financial health, and companies are willing to pay a premium for strong talent. 

Controllers regularly earn $110K-$180K, and larger companies pay well above that. It’s one of the few business-focused career paths where high earning potential doesn’t depend on commission or sales performance. It’s steady, reliable, consistently in demand, and offers a clear upward path into executive leadership. Many of the CFOs we place started their career in controllership, and once you’re at that level the compensation potential increases dramatically.

Ben Lamarche, Managing Director, Lock Search Group

Wealth Manager

My advice for business majors: if you’re ambitious, relationship-driven, and comfortable taking full ownership of your professional growth, wealth management is one of the few career paths where your earning potential scales directly with the value you create. 

Once they’ve built a client book, a six-figure salary is honestly the baseline for a Wealth Manager. Compensation is tied to AUM (assets under management) so your income grows alongside your reputation and your value compounds as your clients succeed. People continue to need advice regardless of market conditions, too. If anything, demand for high-quality Wealth Managers increases in uncertain times. Specialists can further increase their earning potential. If you develop expertise in a niche like high net worth global families, cross-border clients, or tech professionals with equity compensation, you can accelerate your path to a high earning potential.

At CitizenX, we see every day how global restructuring, diversification, and smart planning can change someone’s life, and Wealth Managers are the people guiding these decisions. It’s not necessarily ideal for students who want instant gratification, but if you want a career where your influence and income compound with time, it’s one of the best paths for business majors. 

Alex Recouso, CEO, CitizenX 

Management Consultant

Business majors are trained in strategy, finance, operations, and analytics. Those are exactly the skill sets consultants use to help companies optimize performance, reduce costs, and drive growth. Consulting lets you apply these skills across industries and business functions, making it both a very versatile and high-potential career to pursue. 

This role can also be a stepping stone into upper leadership positions. As a consultant, you gain a deep understanding of market trends, operations, and regulatory compliance, things that make you highly marketable for executive or project leadership roles. Consulting accelerates learning, giving you exposure to large-scale project management from day one and setting you up for rapid career progression. For business majors who want to do impactful work while earning upwards of $110,000 within their first couple of years, I don’t know that any other career path offers the salary and advancement timeline of consulting. 

Jason Grable, Principal, Tall Trees Talent