What Can You Do With a Business Degree?

Of all the degrees which open doors in the new post-pandemic world, a business degree is one of the most highly regarded. It is sought after by employers looking to bolster their companies’ recoveries after a devastating two years for commerce.

A recent study by the UK Government and the Institute for fiscal studies found “that the overall average discounted present value (DPV) of enrolling in an undergraduate degree is around £100k for women and £130k for men. In percentage terms, this represents a gain in average net lifetime earnings of around 20% for both men and women.

Real-world business management, combined with work-integrated learning, attracts not just a high calibre of candidate, but international students who stay in Australia after their university studies. International business and supply chains benefit from fresh ideas and thinking in a global business environment, and human resources management now encourages career skills development across a range of specialities.

Paid internship in Australia for international students is in high demand across the world as work experience in the two biggest industries – tourism and mining – mean exposure to international business under the wing of a large and organised company.

International student internships are usually for a year and if the student is liked and impresses, permanent placement is offered, saving the need to apply formally for a job.

This is a very attractive type of program across the world and there is huge competition for training and resources. Working for an Australian company is highly regarded as a keystone in a range of careers.

Business internships can now be virtual arrangements too, so these can combine remote learning with working from anywhere. Summer programs are also available for undergraduates who want to add some practical skills to apply to their theoretical knowledge.

Campus recruitment teams often scout for students who are looking for an internship opportunity – especially in their penultimate year when they have a better idea of exactly what path they want to follow.

There are many specialist internship programs offered by companies across Australia, but the most valuable of these are finance internships which involve a department taking on an accounting intern.

These programs are often run by leading financial institutions. In the Asia Pacific region, these participate in summer internships and are now beginning to offer the virtual internship opportunities as well.

Government virtual internship programs and technology intern programs are proving particularly popular – especially in the field of taxation and actuarial skills. With the rise of grants, subsidies and other initiatives to get businesses back on track after COVID, virtual experiences working with world data and corporate finance help the allocation of resources and give a positive impact to the problem whilst gaining part-time exposure to commerce for the undergraduate.

Most vacation programs are centred on Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and the other major cities where employers have a relatively large staff and can be more flexible about using part-time graduates to gain exposure – especially in their penultimate year at university.

Let’s face it, financial accounting jobs with leading financial institutions can seem boring, even stifling. Providing work experience accounting internships in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region allows graduates to get a taste of what life would be like if they took these work experience opportunities onboard full-time.

Any recent graduate looking at an accounting intern program with an industry leader, or one of the top accounting firms, is making a wise choice. If they then decide that the job is not for them this will have a positive impact on their later choice of new jobs. Jumping into a full-time career in accounting without doing your due diligence could be a huge and costly mistake.

Many recent graduates who have done an internship part-time – virtual, or working directly with a firm – would agree that the unique opportunity this affords them either confirms their choice or allows them to regroup and bring their resources into other careers.

One alternative area of work which is getting a lot of traction at the moment is search marketing services.

With the increasing use of social media and influencers to reach ever wider audiences, companies have realised that paying vast sums to Google and Facebook for paid ads may not be the most cost-effective long-term strategy for their businesses.

Digital savvy and numerate business graduates are beginning to take a greater interest in search engine optimization and social media marketing.

As the big search engine platforms increase their stranglehold on digital marketing services there is an increasing need for dedicated account managers by digital marketing agencies to produce and run their digital marketing strategy plans.

This involves coordinating social media advertising across all the popular platforms, using search engine marketing to closely target key demographic and data point audiences. The majority of any digital marketing agency’s spend these days is on ads.

Unfortunately, more and more companies are realising, post-pandemic, that once their ad spend runs out, so does their exposure.

By putting together an online marketing strategy targeting SEO services locally – Google local services in the form of “Google My Business” is a prime example – it is possible to get top search engine results with little or no real ad spend at all.

This method of gaining organic traffic through clever marketing management services is an area of massive growth in Australia. It encompasses content marketing, web design, search engine optimisation itself,and (although not directly affecting SEO) email marketing.

For any graduate who is looking for an alternative to accountancy, or an allied field, it’s worth taking a look at search engine land.

SEO marketing embraces link-building tactics with web vitals study and analysing organic search results and checking online presence. Using the Google search console to check online presence and reach, engagement and open rates can be much more absorbing than, say, spreadsheet actuarial work in a large accountancy firm.

As a digital marketing executive, you have far more autonomy and can learn about SEO strategy and technical SEO. This can make a huge difference to your company’s bottom line – in fact – often more than a clever tax accountant could deliver with trusts and covenants and other whizzy financial moves.

Your call.