Degree Spotlight: Applied Business Management

BYU-Pathway Worldwide is designed to meet the unique needs of online students. In addition to foundational PathwayConnect courses, BYU-Pathway offers more than 40 online certificates and degrees , in association with BYU-Idaho and Ensign College, completely online! This article is the first in a series to help you see what each degree has to offer you, your family, and your future employers.

If you’re interested in learning how to manage a business, from finances to marketing to hiring, then a bachelor’s degree in applied business management may be for you!

Introductory certificate

The applied business management path is one of the more diverse and customizable degrees BYU-Pathway offers, offering you your choice of one of 12 introductory certificates. These certificates teach skills in basic accounting , entrepreneurship , project management , social media marketing , and more! You would start an introductory certificate, either in your third semester of PathwayConnect (if you take the preferred path) or immediately (if you go straight into an online degree program).

Patrick Antwi , a BYU-Pathway student from Ghana, said, “My dream job would be to become a manager, maybe in finance. Doing the administrative assistant certificate has taught me to use Excel and spreadsheets to communicate and integrate relevant data. Most businesses need administrative assistants to effectively use those things to effectively and diligently interpret the data.”

Advanced certificates & additional courses

After completing your introductory certificate, you will complete courses focused on business skills, in addition to general education courses, electives, and an internship. All your courses will ultimately help you earn two more advanced certificates ( business and leadership skills and business administration ).

All of these courses teach skills that can benefit your life and career. Rebekah Hoopes, a BYU-Idaho online instructor, shared how even her writing courses apply directly to students’ jobs: “I have students tell me that they’re already using the principles that we’re learning at work, that their bosses are really pleased with them and starting to give them more assignments. Communication is something that everyone does. I think that learning how to write clearly and concisely, especially in business, is a very valuable and marketable skill.”

Potential employment

Many employers list the skills you’ll learn in applied business management courses as the most valuable skills they seek in employees, including communication, leadership, teamwork, learning/adaptability, self-management, organization, computers, and problem solving.

Depending on the introductory certificate you choose, with this bachelor’s degree, you may qualify for employment as a sales manager, social media marketing lead, shift supervisor, software developer, hospitality coordinator, human resource manager, and so on. Here are some applied business management students who got jobs in these kinds of positions!

Malvin Kadzomba
While earning a degree, Malvin was promoted to roles as a finance and operations assistant, stock controller, and finally a restaurant manager. He also used the skills he learned to open his own business!

Jason and Jeanette Hayes
After graduating, Jason and Jeanette saw immediate career results. Jason even got two promotions that landed him in a sales role working with large companies like FedEx, Google, and Amazon.

Raul Hidalgo
Raul was blessed professionally as he worked toward his degree: “I received several promotions at my work. I have been promoted again and again.” He was even able to go to law school after earning his degree.

Your future

Remember, your degree is not meant to force you into just one career or field; you can make of your degree whatever you choose!

For example, Chad and Kameron Lemon started their own trucking company and an alfalfa hay farming business, and the skills they learned in their coursework increased their capacity to run their businesses and to lead their family.

Kameron mentioned that BYU-Pathway not only “gave [her] the confidence and motivation to be a leader,” but it also “helped [her] become a better mother and teach [her] children self-worth.”

To learn more about a degree in applied business management and the certificates that stack into that degree, visit our website.