DBA Degree Salary + Best Jobs After

Earning your doctorate in business administration, or DBA, can yield a multitude of rewarding career opportunities. A professional who earns a DBA can expect to qualify for roles in executive positions, and also for leadership roles in academia and research. A DBA is a very flexible degree, and it will offer you the opportunity to work in many different fields and varied career paths.

The majority of those career paths will be in business and finance. These fields are experiencing robust growth in the US as of 2017. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that employment in these fields will rise by a solid 8% by 2024, with at least 632,000 jobs created. BLS states that a stronger regulatory environment is increasing the demand for auditors and accountants who prepare and examine financial documents.

If you decide to earn this advanced, prestigious business degree, below are some of the best jobs that you can hope to find after you graduate:

#1 Management Analyst

A management analyst proposes various ways to improve the profits and the efficiency of various organizations and businesses. In some cases, these business professionals may be called management consultants. They provide advice to upper level managers and executives on how to reduce costs and boost revenues.

Common job duties include the following;

  • Collect and organize information about a business problem that needs to be solved.
  • Conduct interviews of employees, managers and other stakeholders to determine the equipment, business methods and workers that are needed to improve business processes
  • Analyze various types of business data to propose new business solutions, such as financial, tax and price information

Many DBA holders are highly experienced business professionals with many years of work experience and education. That is the reason that the DBA professional may work as an independent management consultant with his or her own business. Others may work as consultants for large consulting organizations.

The median salary in this field is $81,330, and the top 10% with the most education earn more than $149,000 per year.

#2 Top Executive

Top executives of companies create strategies and policies that ensure that the company meets its goals and profit targets. They are largely responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the operational activities of many types of companies and organizations.

Top executives almost always have an MBA, and some have a DBA. Their common job duties include the following:

  • Set up and carry out the organizational or departmental goals of the company
  • Provide direction and oversight of the financial and budgetary activities of the company
  • Manage the general activities of the company that are related to providing services and products to customers
  • Work with other managers, staff and senior executives about the operations of the company
  • Effectively negotiate agreements and contracts for the company so that company goals can be realized
  • Perform the analysis of financial statements and sales reports to drive strong business decision making

The exact responsibilities of the company will depend somewhat upon the size of the organization. For instance, the CEO or senior executive for a small company may handle everything from hiring, purchasing and QC to handling day to day activities. But at a big company, top executives work more on long term, strategic plans.

There are several types of top executives that are common:

  • Chief executive officer
  • Chief operating officer
  • Operations manager
  • General manager

Pay for top executives will vary a lot based upon the size and industry. The median wage according to BLS is $181,200, with the top 10% earning above $208,000.

#3 Market Research Analyst

A market research analyst is charged with studying market conditions to examine the sales possibilities of a product or service. Market research analysts help companies to better understand the products that people desire. They also help companies to determine the possible market size for a new product or service, and what a fair price will be.

Some of the most common duties in this field are:

  • Forecast and monitor sales and marketing trends for different products and services
  • Measure how effective other strategies and marketing programs are, both at your and other companies
  • Evaluate innovative methods to collect data about market trends, such as surveys, opinion polls and questionnaires
  • Analyze complex data and translate it into graphs, tables and written business reports

Market research analysts play a critical role in gathering and analyzing data that helps a company to market products and services. The expertise of a DBA is extremely valuable in helping companies to make major investment decisions into new products and existing products, or services.

The median salary for this profession is $62,500 but the top 10% will make more than $121,000 per year.

#4 Operations Research Analyst

An operations research analyst uses highly advanced analytical and mathematical methods to assist companies in solving their problems and to make better business decisions.

As an operations research analyst, you will be deeply involved in how to best allocate a business’s resources, and how to effectively manage the supply chain for maximum profits. These professionals might, for instance, use their DBA knowledge to help a company determine the most profitable ways to organize the products in their store.

Operations research analysts are experts in business software such as databases and statistical programs, as well as modeling packages. These programs are important to help companies to break down business challenges and solve them.

The median salary for this profession is $79,200, and the most educated and experienced earn $132,000 per year.

#5 Operations Manager

An operations manager is responsible for planning, directing and coordinating the business operations of public and private sector organizations. Some of the responsibilities of this position include:

  • Formulate policies that maximize the profitability and efficiency of daily operations
  • Managing the daily operations of the entire company, including assembly lines, assigning workers to different roles, managing production schedules and more
  • Effectively plan the use of human resources and materials

Operations managers also need to work very closely with a broad set of employees and team members. Operations managers must be able to interface effectively with the heads of various departments and help them to meet company goals. These managers also need to present findings to senior executives, and also train and supervise new workers.

In many organizations, there is a CEO who hires an operations manager to handle to day to day. In others, the roles of CEO and operations manager may overlap.

The media salary for operations managers is $122,090 per year.

Summary

Earning your doctorate in business administration will help the experienced business professional to stand out from most business professionals who have their MBA. The DBA is still quite rare, and the skills and knowledge you develop in this doctoral program are well worth the time and money. Professionals with more than 10 years of business experience and a DBA usually earn at the very top of the payscale for most business professions.

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