What’s the best business major…for you?

Illustration of people and arrows indicating decisions

You’ve decided to take the next step in your education. Excellent. You’ve also decided that business is the path you want to follow. Even better. The possibilities are endless and your future’s so bright. You may have even selected a school for the next step in your education. But what about a major? If you’re asking, “What’s the best business major?” maybe you should dig a little deeper and ask, “What’s the best business major…for me?”

What’s the use: How useful is a business major?

Before we share thoughts on the best business major, let’s explore the worth of any business major. Whether you’re thinking finance or marketing, an international business major or domestic, is a business degree worth the effort and expense?

Consider the skills you’ll gain. Whether you choose accounting, business administration, statistics, or even business law, you’ll acquire skills in communication, leadership, problem solving, decision making, analytical skills, networking, strategic thinking, time management…skills that will work for you regardless of your ultimate professional destination.

You’ll learn how to learn, how to build a business while you build your resume and your credibility. You’ll understand business fundamentals and be able to react to industry changes (because there will be industry changes).

Next, consider the demand for employment. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,¹ employment in the business and financial sectors is predicted to increase 7% by 2031—ahead of the average growth rate for other occupations.

And then there’s the matter of compensation, which for some students is at the core of the discussion.

There’s good news: according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers,² business graduates from the Class of 2024 will have an average salary projection 3% higher than 2023–up to $63,907.

Better still, business majors account for “six of the top 10 degrees most in demand among employers at the bachelor’s degree level.” More than 60% of employers surveyed plan to hire finance, accounting, and computer science majors.

top degrees in demand; one: finance, two: accounting, three: computer science, four: business administration/management, five: information sciences and systems, six: marketing, seven: mechanical engineering, eight: electrical engineering, nine: logistics/supply chain, ten: sales

What can you do with a business degree? (What can’t you?)

A business degree prepares you for the world, for work, and for just about any professional role. Coursera recently reported on 10 in-demand jobs for graduates with a business degree in 2024:³

Medical and Health Services Manager
Information Security Analyst
Operations Research Analyst
Market Research Analyst
Financial Manager
Fundraiser
Management Analyst
Human Resources Specialist
Marketing Manager
Accountant/Auditor

The Advisor

What's the best business major?

What’s the highest paid business major?

What is the best business major for the future?

Is there a shortage of business major jobs?

U.S. News & World Report piggybacked on this with seven unexpected job possibilities for business grads (MBA holders in particular):⁴

Government and Law Enforcement
Health Care and Law
Data Analytics
Higher Education Management
Entertainment
Food and Beverage Industry
Company Founders

Is it smart to be a business major? IYKYK

It’s both smart and takes smarts to major in business. ZipRecruiter asked recent graduates, “What are the most and least regretted majors?”

Not surprisingly, in the Top 10 Most Regret-Free College Majors sat Business Administration, Management, and Finance.⁵

Results from the study also noted that “44% of all current job seekers with college degrees regret their college major choice,” while business as a field of study joined computer and information sciences, engineering, and health care as less likely to regret.

Interestingly, the study also seemed to point toward the best business majors for jobs. Of those questioned, the most highly paid respondents were much more likely to be happy about their college major choice.

Among communications graduates, those who were happy about their field choice earned 1.6 times more than those who chose a different major. The same goes for marketing management and research grads.

“Those who are satisfied with their major choice are making 3 times more than those with regrets.” —ZipRecruiter

So, what business major should I choose?

“What’s your major?” is a question you will hear over and over during your time as a student.

While the easy answer may be “business,” you’ll need a more specific answer when asking yourself the same question. The response you decide on for “What business major should I choose?” will determine the smartest and best business courses to take during your undergrad tenure.

Instead of letting a dartboard or roulette wheel make your decision, consider your interests, skills that you may already have, salary expectations, and career aspirations.

Taking each into consideration will help point you in the direction of one of today’s more common business majors. The following are majors offered today by the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business:

Accounting

Accountants follow the money—where it is, where it comes from, and where it goes.

“An accounting degree stands out as exceptionally versatile in the business world due to its widespread demand across industries. Graduates acquire fundamental skills in financial management, regulatory compliance, and strategic decision-making, rendering them indispensable assets in any organizational context.”

Lisa Dutchik, Director of Undergraduate Studies & Associate Professor of Instruction, Accounting, Tippie College of Business

Business Analytics & Information Systems

90% of today’s data was created in the last two years. That number won’t stop growing, which means that people who make sense of the data will be in-demand far into the future. Business Analytics & Information Systems is a great major for anyone interested in business, whether you love puzzles and problem-solving, you have coding skills, or you enjoy communicating and presenting ideas in different mediums.

Economics

Now more than ever, it’s important to be able to think analytically and critically about how individuals, businesses, governments, and nations make choices. Economists use their understanding of economic relationships to advise everyone from CEOs and stockbrokers to presidents and lawmakers.

“I absolutely loved my first-year introduction courses for microeconomics and macroeconomics. I have always been math- and science-oriented and wanted to lean towards that with my business degree. I also knew that an economics degree could lead me to politics if I ever wanted to go down that path.”

Paige Reynolds, University of Iowa

Finance

Every part of the financial cycle—from where to get money, how to invest it, how much to price and pay for things so that your company (or your household) stays in business—involves a financial decision. Bankers, brokers, analysts, and planners who make those decisions studied finance.

Major in finance and you’ll gain the skills to make decisions in the face of uncertainty, the fundamentals to solve financial problems, and the ability to clearly communicate your recommendations.

Management

Managing people is one of the most rewarding (and challenging) parts of doing business. But there’s more to it than being a born leader. Skilled management requires careful study of current research-based best practices. You’ll gain the communication, strategy, and leadership tools you need to run teams, divisions, even entire businesses. A management major is perfect if you’re looking for a supervisory role in the future.

Marketing

When a product, service, or idea is positioned to meet a growing consumer need, marketing makes it happen. Marketers guide pricing, drive effective communication, and identify how to reach an audience in the right place at the right time. Marketers are different from other roles in business because they represent the needs of the customers.

“Something that has surprised me about the marketing major is how many opportunities we have to get real world practice and gain experience that will translate into the business world. I want to eventually go into entertainment marketing but will be starting that journey as a product marketing associate and using my network to expand my horizons in the future.”

Patty Wozniak, University of Iowa

Risk Management and Insurance

To make smart decisions about any project, businesses need to look at what might go wrong and come up with strategies that help them control possible downsides. That's risk management. Risk management & insurance professionals help companies and individuals identify risk exposures, determine how (and how much) it could impact them, and put processes and protections in place—like insurance contracts.

Show me the money. What is the highest paying business major?

If you’re still reading, you’re passionate about a future in business, as an expert in finance or accounting or marketing or even as an entrepreneur. But you probably want to know how that passion is going to pay bills. Let’s take a look at the highest paying business majors. According to Indeed,⁶ the following are the highest paying business programs (as of date of publication).

“Business” cuts a wide swath through career aspirations and future earnings. While salary shouldn’t be the only determinant for the major you choose, setting expectations now can help avoid financial surprises after graduation. Salary projections for 2024 show a 3 percent increase over 2023 for average salary overall for business majors with bachelor’s degrees, from $62,069 to $63,907.⁷

Which type of business has the highest salary?

We’ve talked about majors and salaries and the average salary for a business major out of college, but what business types offer the highest salaries? When the time comes to start your job search, that search may be less about your major and more about the type of business you aspire to join. What industries are the highest paying? According to Forbes,⁸ the top three are Finance and Banking, Information Technology, and Healthcare.

Finance and Banking

Insurance, banks, asset management, investments…the financial industry is wide-ranging and offers countless opportunities for business majors, whether you aspire to be an entry-level analyst or CFO.

Information Technology

Tech is everywhere, and advances in AI are taking it into the stratosphere. Even if you’re not a technical person, there are no shortage of opportunities, from product manager to data analyst.

Healthcare

When you see healthcare, you probably think doctor or nurse, but what about the people who keep the hospitals and clinics up and running? Administrators, accountants, information managers, and others all play important roles in this vital industry.

So demanding. Which business major is most in demand?

If you want to know which business majors are most sought after, you might be better off determining what will be the best business majors for the future. Do you want a job today that may be obsolete down the road? Do you want a position that’s set up for growth or stagnation? The Bureau of Labor Statistics⁹ projected employment for the next decade with the following business professions showing promising growth:

financial managers: 16 percent, management analysts: 10 percent, human resource specialists: 6 percent, accountants and auditors: 4 percent, managers: 3 percent

With these numbers in mind, majors in finance, management, business analytics, human resources, accounting, and auditing hold promise for this year, next year, and years to come.

What business degree should I get to start a business?

What’s the best business major for business owners, proprietors, or franchisees? Many would simply say “business.” It’s versatile because it preps you for multiple fields: marketing, accounting, economics, communications, finance…all degrees unto themselves, but also all covered at some point under the business degree umbrella.

But maybe you want something that will help you in setting up a plan and marketing your company. If that’s the case, then, you guessed it, a marketing degree may be your best bet.

What if you want to focus on the greater economy and its effect on your business? Economics may be the way to go.

Need work on fiscal responsibility, profit and loss, or investing? Finance might be your best bet, or accounting.

If your business needs a strong leader, then a degree in management or business administration can help give you those skills.

It’s also important to note what happens outside the classroom.

“Students can do a lot of things to prep themselves for a career in business by being intentional and planful with professional associations, certificates and licensure, leadership roles, volunteer opportunities, but also talking with professionals and alumni already in the field to better understand industry, roles, trends, and such.”

Cindy Meis, Director, Tippie Undergraduate Career Services

Owning your own business is exciting…and exhausting. The right degree can ensure that your business continues its trajectory up and to the right.

What is the best degree to make a business?

Looking to innovate? Are you full of unique ideas and ready to conquer the world (or maybe just your hometown)? Let’s consider the best business degrees for anyone who proudly calls themselves an entrepreneur.

A degree or certificate in entrepreneurship is the obvious place to start. Students at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business who pursue a Certificate in Entrepreneurial Management or the university’s new major in entrepreneurship develop a solid foundation in entrepreneurial management, professional leadership, and communication skills that prepare them for a variety of career opportunities or to start their own venture.

You can apply their innovative problem-solving and critical thinking skills to contemporary issues, to develop strategies that seize upon opportunities, and to build and lead successful teams. Other majors that can serve budding entrepreneurs include accounting, business, business law, and economics. Additionally, courses in marketing, finance, communications, and even psychology pay dividends when entrepreneurial dreams become reality.

Hard or hardly? What is the hardest major in business?

If you’re determined to pursue a business education but are undecided on a specific major or business degree type, you’ll likely consider which major is the most difficult. The simple answer may be “the one you’re least familiar with” or “the one that challenges you the most,” but when the question was posed on Reddit and Quora, the answers were far from conclusive:

“MIS, Accounting and Business Econ are the three harder majors. Finance, marketing and mouth breathing are next...With Business Admin and Business management being the easiest.”
“Accounting is one of the more difficult business majors. Easiest would be business administration.”
“Finance is harder.”
“I have business, accounting, and finance degrees and accounting was unquestionably the most difficult of the three.”
“The subjects that you do not find interesting or stimulating will be the most difficult.”

It may better to simply accept that no business major is easy and that any business major will feature difficult classes and moments…just like a career in business. Instead of your goal being to find the easiest business major, remember to ultimately pick the major that best suits your career goal, regardless of difficulty.

Are business majors worth it? Make a move like Jagger.

We’ve shared a lot of statistics, dollar amounts, and bullet points, including the best business majors for the future, but you may still be wondering, “Is a business major worth it?”

For a moment, think less about pay and job offers, and instead consider the intangibles a business degree presents. You’ll learn the skills and strategies necessary to understand the inner workings of a business: operations, marketing, accounting, and human resources. You’ll be come an expert at communicating and collaborating. You’ll understand business ethics. You’ll acquire the beginnings of a professional network–something that will pay dividends for you again and again.

And you’ll have the makings of a leader. What do Nike co-founder Phil Knight, former president George W. Bush, Sheryl Sandberg, and Mick Jagger have in common? They all went to business school. That’s right, Mick Jagger, economics scholar.

Is a business major worth it? Look at the list of folks above. Then look inside yourself.

As a business major, the world is your oyster…and your business. The job possibilities are as specific or as wide ranging as you want them to be.

Which major is best? The one that prepares you best for your career aspirations.

What's the highest paid major? The one that’s connected to the job offer you accept. Think less about highest and best and top, and think more in terms of “what is the most useful business degree for my future?”

Are you ready to take the next step in your education and in your career? Do you have questions that need answers? If you’re still asking, “What’s the best business major?” click the link below.