Undergraduate Career Paths

Whether you are uncertain about your career or already know exactly what you want to do, our team in the Undergraduate Business Career Center is here to help. Read about typical career paths students pursue for each of our 10 majors:

Accounting

Accountants play an important role in every type of organization, spanning size and industry. Accountants often perform a range of activities from creating and analyzing financial statements to evaluating a company’s efficiency and profitability. Accountants often initially pursue one of two career paths: audit or tax. Audit focuses on analyzing and testing the financial statements of an organization in a team setting. Those in the tax industry may prepare tax forms and help in tax planning for individuals, estates, trusts, corporations, and partnerships. A major aspect of accounting is understanding the increasing compliance regulations enforced by the government, including controls over accounting information systems.

Sample Careers for Accounting Majors:

  • Public accounting (Audit, Tax, and Advisory Services)
  • Government accounting
  • Private corporate accounting (Controller, Internal Audit, and Tax)

Companies that Hire Accounting Majors:

  • Public Accounting Firms (KPMG, PwC, Eide Bailly, Baker Tilly)
  • Public & Private Companies (Target, 3M, Cargill, Land O'Lakes)

Entrepreneurial Management

Entrepreneurs must understand first and foremost what it takes to manage and run a successful business. Entrepreneurs often wear many hats in their company and must accept leadership and responsibility for all activities that take place. It's their job to develop a business plan and course of action for the company, and to be familiar with the industry. They often work directly with their customers on a day-to-day basis.

Sample Careers for Entrepreneurial Management Majors:

While a small number of students start their own businesses directly upon graduating from the Carlson School of Management, the majority choose to gain experience first by working for an organization. Positions such as consulting or account management provide multi-faceted, strategic experience. Participation in the Entre in Action course provides students with real-life experience starting a business and has resulted in sustainable businesses.

Finance

A career in a finance-based field requires a good understanding of economic theory and the stock market. Financial analysts will frequently work with complex computer programs to project financial data into the future and analyze trends. Making substantial investment decisions is a key characteristic of a financial-related position and career. Most people in a finance career will eventually specialize in a distinct area, such as, investment analysis, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, or real estate. Others will lean towards careers that involve advising clients on financial matters.

Sample Careers for Finance Majors:

  • Financial analyst
  • Financial consultant
  • Commercial banker
  • Corporate finance
  • Financial planners

Companies that Hire Finance Majors:

  • US Bank
  • General Mills
  • Ameriprise
  • Wells Fargo
  • Piper Jaffray

Finance & Risk Management Insurance

Individuals who enter the combined field of Finance & Risk Management often find themselves analyzing the risk of accidents, incidents, and catastrophes. They are also responsible for monitoring large scale issues and their impact on the economy. Once these risks have been identified, they look for ways to reduce the probability of occurrence. This career will regularly involve working with complex statistical and financial models to design and price insurance policies.

Sample Careers for Finance & Risk Management Insurance Majors:

  • Corporate Risk Manager
  • Risk Management & Insurance Consultant
  • Claims Adjuster
  • Insurance Agent
  • Chief Risk Officer

Companies that Hire Finance & Risk Management Insurance Majors:

  • Travelers
  • State Farm Insurance
  • Ameriprise Financial
  • Allianz
  • Insurance Companies
  • Most banks, including Wells Fargo and TCF

Human Resources and Industrial Relations

Human Resource professionals work with employment issues such as recruiting, staffing, training, compensation and benefit packages, and health and safety in the workplace. HR professionals must have a solid understanding of the field of psychology as they are often called to explore sources of workplace tension and motivation, and practice techniques for resolving conflict. A component of the job is learning labor and employment law as well as understanding and working with labor unions.

Sample Careers for HRIR Majors:

  • HR Generalists
  • Compensation Manager
  • Employee Benefits Manager
  • Recruiters
  • HR Consultants

Companies that Hire HRIR Majors:

  • Polaris
  • Target
  • Datacard
  • Most companies have an HR department that hires graduates of this major

International Business

A career in international business involves thinking globally about the business environment. A global mindset involves a multifaceted approach to understanding cultural differences, governing bodies, and financial variances that are experienced in the international market place. International business primarily deals with managing multinational business and turning local and national companies into international success stories.

Sample Careers for International Business Majors:

  • Customs Broker
  • Export Sales Representative
  • Global Sourcing Specialist
  • International Account Representative
  • International Buyer
  • Product Manager
  • International Trader/Broker

Companies that Hire International Business Majors:

There are many different types of companies that hire international business majors. Typical companies include most multinational companies, U.S. companies with an international presence, or companies that do business outside of the United States.

Marketing

Marketing professionals may work in sales careers where they build relationships with customers and clients, understand how to price products, research competitors, and present information to customers to persuade them to buy. Other marketing professionals may specialize in brand management where they create, manage, and promote a specific brand or product line. They must know why consumers buy the things they do, what types of advertising is effective, and who the target market is. Another category of marketing professionals focuses on market research where conducting surveys, researching buying trends, and studying the effectiveness of advertising campaigns is typical.

Sample Careers for Marketing Majors:

  • Sales Representative
  • Retail Buyer/Merchant
  • Market Researcher
  • Advertising Account Representative
  • Brand Coordinator/Manager
  • Business Analyst
  • Customer Relationship Manager
  • Event Planner
  • Promotions Manager

Companies that Hire Marketing Majors:

  • Almost every organization (corporate, non-profit, and government) that produces either goods or services employs marketing majors to provide market research, strategy, and sales.
  • Consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers such as General Mills, Nestle, and PepsiCo hire for account management and marketing analyst positions.
  • Advertising firms such as Campbell-Mithun, Carmichael Lynch, and Colle-McVoy hire marketing majors for account management and media planning.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

MIS professionals are often the problem-solvers of an organization’s IT issues. MIS professionals must have an interest in technology, but positions range from being highly technical (programmer or information security analyst) to more people-oriented (project manager and business analyst). A typical role as a business analyst involves working within an organization to establish or improve processes, acting as an intermediary between the user and the programmer. MIS professionals often are the ‘translator’ between an IT department and the business, working to align business objectives and IT strategy.

Sample Careers for MIS Majors:

  • IT Consultant
  • Information Security Manager
  • End-user Support Analyst
  • Project Manager
  • Business Analyst
  • IT Auditor

Types of companies that hire MIS majors

  • Technology organizations (Google, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Sony, Amazon)
  • Banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, US Bank, and Wells Fargo)
  • Consulting firms (Accenture, Bain, BCG, Deloitte, IBM Global Services)
  • Public and Private Corporations (3M, Target, Cargill, General Mills)

Public/Nonprofit Management

A career in public and nonprofit management focuses on learning how to manage business concerns of nonprofits including board development, facility administration, grant writing, personnel administration, program planning, service delivery, volunteer utilization, and public relations for not-for-profit organizations. Unique challenges include finding creative ways to generate operating finances, attracting high caliber professionals and volunteers without the lure of big money, maintaining goodwill, and finding meaningful evaluation tools with which to measure success and indicate areas for improvement.

Sample Careers for Public/Nonprofit Management Majors:

  • Volunteer Coordinator
  • Grant Writer
  • Strategic Planner
  • Financial Analyst/Budgeting Specialist
  • Fundraising Coordinator
  • Programming Coordinator
  • Director of Development
  • Director of Marketing and Communications

Companies that Hire Public/Nonprofit Majors:

  • City, county, state, and federal government organizations
  • Social non-profits such as St. Paul Children's Hospital Foundation, Second Harvest/Heartland, Lutheran Social Services, American Red Cross, National Marrow Donor Program, and United Way
  • Environmental non-profits such as the Sierra Club and Nature Conservancy
  • Private Foundations such as McKight Foundation, Bush Foundation, and Carl & Eloise Pohlad Foundation
  • Corporate philanthropic foundations such as Travelers, Target, Best Buy, Children's, and many others

Supply Chain & Operations Management

A career in supply chain and operations management involves managing and coordinating the day-to-day movement of raw materials and other resources throughout a business or an organization and on to the end customer. Supply Chain professionals must be effective problem solvers as they are called to establish business processes that provide efficiency in areas such as purchasing, transportation and logistics, budgeting, inventory and quality control, plant operations, and sourcing. The field of supply chain and operations requires that individuals develop relationships with business partners such as suppliers, logistics coordinators, wholesalers, retailers, and customers. Individuals in supply chain and operations management should also expect to communicate and collaborate with internal business functions such as marketing and sales, product development, and other departments within this field.

Sample Careers for Supply Chain and Operations Majors:

  • Forecasting Specialist
  • Supply/Demand Planner
  • Procurement and Purchasing Manager
  • Inventory Control Manager
  • Operations Analyst
  • Buyer/Purchasing Agent
  • Sourcing Analyst
  • Logistics Management Analyst

Companies that Hire Supply Chain and Operations Majors:

  • General Mills
  • Best Buy
  • Cargill
  • 3M
  • C.H Robinson
  • Manufacturing companies
  • Most companies that have supply chain, operations, and logistics as part of their business will hire this major