Most B.S. programs require students to attend undergraduate studies for a full four years and complete both university requirements, including approximately 120 credit hours, as well as specific business school requirements, such as 30 credit hours in your business specialization. Many universities offer business degree track courses online and on campus to facilitate the education of working professionals as well as full-time students.
A B.S. in business administration can open up several different career paths that may largely depend on your specialization while in college. Careers include business management consultants, employee benefits specialists, customer service specialists, budget analysts, accounts managers, as well as careers in marketing, advertising and even technical and editorial writing. In 2010, financial managers made a median salary of $99,330, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while the median salary of a human resources manager came in at $96,130 and the median wage for a financial analyst at $73,150. Variations in starting salary will depend primarily on the exact field and application of the degree.
The bachelor's degree in business provides a wide knowledge base for graduates heading into the workforce. Employment is expected to go up by eight percent between 2008 and 2018 for financial managers with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and expected to increase as much as 23 percent over the same period for those in the field of human resources, training and labor relations management, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 2007 through 2008, more business degrees were conferred than any other degree, according to National Center for Education Statistics. Bachelor's degrees in business accounted for 335,000 degrees conferred in the United States out of 1,563,000 degrees total. Class sizes will vary, but at the University of California-Berkeley Haas School of Business, average class size is 23 students. There are several reasons for the popularity of the business degree, including its applicability to a wide range of careers, from office management to entrepreneurship.