What Can I Do with a Doctor of Business Administration Degree?

Are you wondering what you would like to do with the rest of your life? Maybe you are looking for a career path to study, or perhaps you have advanced as far as you can go in your current career. You’ve heard lots of great things from friends and acquaintances you’ve met along the way who have pursued a doctoral degree in business administration. You have been told that this one degree opens a myriad of doors for you, but you are wondering where those doors lead. What exactly can you do with a doctor of business administration degree? Here are a few suggestions to get you started on your quest.

Upper Level Management

One of the interesting facets of studying for an advanced degree once you have four years under your belt is that you can take graduate courses (degree programmes) online. Distance learning has become the new norm for professionals seeking to progress in their careers, and this is something you may want to accomplish if you are seeking to advance in your career. In fact, a DBA course in UK from a renowned school like Aston University is well respected both here and abroad. Benefits of learning online include:

• Lower associated costs
• Ability to choose your learning environment
• No need to leave your current position
• Avoid the commute
• Ability to transfer credits

No matter what industry you are currently working in and seeking to advance in, a DBA can give you both the tools and prestige you need to climb the corporate ladder. Are you seeking a position in upper level management? This is the degree to pursue!

Market Analyst

While it is said that some people are natural born leaders, there is nothing quite like having a solid foundation in the principles of business finance and administration. With a DBA, you can work as a market analyst or a market research analyst so that you have the tools to work in an advisory position. Fundamental principles an upper level administrator should master in the area of finance would be:

• Investment principles
• Leverage fundamentals
• Capital management
• Capital budgeting

You can see how an administrator working in the capacity of a market analyst would necessarily need to have a sound working knowledge of those principles, all of which can be learned in a doctoral programme.

It is a fact that we live and work in a global market, and so there are a number of factors to analyse which were never before as important as they are today. If you are tasked with researching and analysing a market or industry, a DBA will give you the foundation you need to seek and analyse factors affecting a business, a country or even a global market. Market analysts are in great demand, so your future is all but assured with a DBA focused on global finances.

College Professor

While most teaching jobs can be obtained with a four-year bachelor’s degree, once you reach the college or university arena, a master’s or doctorate is required. Teaching business administration in today’s universities is a way of preparing students for a more solid financial future. Business administration is one profession in great demand given all the factors affecting today’s companies and even national governments. Bear in mind that leadership is an important component of a DBA degree, as are finances and a better understanding of markets. Finance and leadership are two important factors in today’s economy and as a college professor, you are preparing today’s students for a solid financial future.

Director of Human Resources

If you have ever worked in an HR department, you understand the scope of what it is they do. Not only are they tasked with hiring and training staff, but they also advise and answer to the directors and owners of a company. Their jobs are not always easy because so many factors affect literally everything they do. Not only is HR responsible for finding the right talent for jobs open at any given moment, but they also are tasked with:

• Recruitment
• Training
• Annual Employee Assessments
• Payroll
• Benefits Packages
• Advising the Board of Directors

And those are just some of the tasks that fall to HR. Now you can see how a doctor of business administration would better prepare an HR administrator for the job! Don’t forget that everything they do must fall within a budget, and often HR serves in an advisory position to the Board when it comes time to set the next fiscal year’s budget.

Financial Strategist

One of the most important tasks of a business administrator is to plan for the financial wellbeing of an organisation. An administrator will analyse research they have gathered in order to set a budget going forward. A business administrator can work as a financial strategist in the private as well as in the public sector. A DBA gives an administrator the tools they need to make sound financial forecasts based on current data available and the direction of market movement.

Business Adviser

One of the career paths that a business administrator with a PhD can pursue is to work as a business adviser. They can help SMEs plan budgets, secure funding, and devise lean operating procedures. Many startups are unprepared for actually running a business and so they turn to business advisers to guide them in the initial years. With a PhD in business administration, you can work as an independent contractor or freelancer to advise startups in those early days when they are learning how to actually run a business. Many startups are tradesmen venturing out on their own with ideas on how to improve on products or services, but have little knowledge of what it actually takes to operate a business at a profit.

An Open Door to Success

What can you do with a doctor of business administration degree? As you can see, you can choose the area of business administration that most interests you to build a lucrative career in the field. You can work in the public, corporate, or private sectors, and you can work for yourself as an independent contractor or freelancer.

The level of knowledge you’ve gained in the course of your studies as well as the prestige of the university from which you’ve earned your degree will often be just what it takes to land the perfect position. You can further your degree while maintaining your job and if you so desire, you can use this greater level of knowledge to climb the corporate ladder in your current employment. A DBA will present many doors to your future. It’s up to you to choose which door to open. It’s your future, so you choose!