A bachelor杏吧专区檚 in business management can prepare students to lead, manage, and grow new or existing companies, and even their own businesses.
Courses in finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, and accounting help students develop a range of business management skills.
Upon graduation, students can pursue careers across a broad selection of fields, including:
- Management
- Human Resources
- Entrepreneurship
- Sales
- Analyst
- Marketing
- Retail
- Account Management
- Project Management
- Consulting and Training
- Operations and Logistics
- Insurance and Risk Management
- Banking and Finance
Students also build the foundation needed to pursue an MBA. Now with the option of earning a bachelor's in management online, students can balance work and family lives to complete their degree.
Meet some of the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 business management graduates, who are advancing through careers they love with skills gained in the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration.
Willie Lago, 2010 graduate
Corporate Environmental, Health and Safety Manager
employs more than 640,000 people worldwide. UL Lafayette graduate and former athlete Willie Lago is one of them, responsible for OSHA and EPA compliance as well as safety at some of Amazon杏吧专区檚 fulfillment centers in Atlanta, Georgia.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 not just making sure everyone stays safe, but making sure the building is operational and open in compliance with federal and state regulations to workplace safety,杏吧专区 Lago says. 杏吧专区淚 do that in a number of ways 杏吧专区 I杏吧专区檓 in charge of training, inspections, audits, risk assessments, and preventative maintenance schedules.杏吧专区
He杏吧专区檚 also responsible for reporting on several key performance indicators and incident metrics to 杏吧专区渃ontinuously drive improvement.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淎mazon is very data driven so you have to be great with numbers,杏吧专区 he says.
Lago excelled within his first 10 months with the company, advancing to Regional Environmental, Health and Safety Manager.
杏吧专区淚 like the opportunity to grow within a company. In June, I杏吧专区檒l fully go into my regional role, which will be my third progressive move in my time here. If you do well, it杏吧专区檚 a company that will reward you accordingly.杏吧专区
That means keeping up with the pace and adapting to change. Lago杏吧专区檚 new move will also give him the opportunity to work remotely.
In April 2019, LinkedIn recognized Amazon as one of the most desirable workplaces on its 2019 Top Companies list, spanning nine countries, including the U.S., UK, Australia, India, Japan, China, Canada, Germany, and Mexico.
杏吧专区淭hey杏吧专区檙e not limited by 杏吧专区榟ow it杏吧专区檚 been;杏吧专区 they杏吧专区檙e not afraid to be different,杏吧专区 Lago says. 杏吧专区淚 like that innovative and forward thinking.杏吧专区
What does it take to earn a role a major company and advance? Building skills and building relationships.
Lago started that process at the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration and never stopped.
杏吧专区淔irst job out of college was through networking at the 杏吧专区,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淔rom there to progress to where I am, it was learning and being curious, continuously improving myself.杏吧专区
Similar careers:
- Employee training and development
- Business analyst
- Data analyst
- Human resources manager
- Project manager
- Risk manager
- Compliance officer
Melody Weiss, 2009 graduate
Marketing Agency Director
Melody Weiss says the best description she杏吧专区檚 heard for her job is 杏吧专区渏uggling chainsaws,杏吧专区 but she杏吧专区檚 not relegated to some sideshow.
Weiss is front and center of business development, operations management, analytics and strategy for full-service marketing firm, .
杏吧专区淒ata analysis is actually one of my favorite things to do, but it杏吧专区檚 a small business so I wear many hats as we help other local businesses, growing alongside them or being a part of an exciting moment in their journey. It's energizing and so rewarding!杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭he idea of living in one lane doesn杏吧专区檛 work for me.杏吧专区
Weiss proved early she was adept at performing a balancing act, forging her own path to her degree after she had her daughter.
杏吧专区淢anagement is such a flexible degree that杏吧专区檚 well respected, and such a well-rounded degree,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t provided the credentials I needed to walk in the door and for people to expect me to accomplish what they needed.杏吧专区
But in business, she says, the education never stops.
杏吧专区淢y mind will always be sharp in what I do by working in small business because everything is changing so frequently, you just don杏吧专区檛 have a choice,杏吧专区 Weiss says. 杏吧专区淚 do so many different things and I learn so much day-to-day that it never gets boring. It is always a challenge, it杏吧专区檚 always forcing me to think.杏吧专区
Weiss says no matter where someone is in their professional development, they杏吧专区檙e creating valuable relationships and skills that can be translated into a future career.
杏吧专区淚f you杏吧专区檙e in the service industry, you杏吧专区檙e serving people, you杏吧专区檙e learning customer service skills that will translate into just about everything you do,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淵ou always need to remember the person your serving could be someone who opens a professional door for you. Always have your game face on. You never know who you杏吧专区檙e going to meet.杏吧专区
Similar careers:
- Employee training & development
- Business analyst
- Manager
- UX analyst
- Data analyst
- Business development manager
- Project manager
- Consultant
Cullen Crochet, 2018 graduate
Medical Device Sales Representative
Working hand-in-hand with physicians and observing surgeries may not sound like a sales function, but for Cullen Crochet, it杏吧专区檚 one of the tiers of quality assurance and customer service.
Crochet is a medical device sales representative for , specializing in orthopedic instruments frequently used in treating sports related injuries.
Crochet enrolled at UL Lafayette knowing he wanted a career in medical device sales. He got his job offer the day before he graduated. Now he works with doctors at five area hospitals, providing cutting edge tools and products.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 in all of those cases with my doctors as they use our products to be able to perform the surgeries 杏吧专区 the instruments, the screws, the plates, and any other products that are implanted into the patient during the operation,杏吧专区 he says.
杏吧专区淭he cases can range from college athletes, which we do a lot of, all the way to older patients.
I杏吧专区檓 in the case, stepping the doctor through the entire procedure from start to finish as well as the nurses and the scrub techs who have to assist the doctor during the operation.杏吧专区
To earn his position and succeed, Crochet says, it杏吧专区檚 taken networking, marketing, and sales skills.
杏吧专区淣etworking in this field is huge, and I did a lot of that through my business courses,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淵ou also have to market yourself and your products. My sales classes really helped, as well, with the way I speak, the way I present things.杏吧专区
Crochet says there are opportunities in the medical device sales field for those who think they杏吧专区檇 be a good fit for the fast-paced field.
杏吧专区淭he market is there,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 not going anywhere.杏吧专区
Similar careers:
- Sales representative
- Business development manager
- Product manager
- Account manager
Rachel Thibodaux, 2016 graduate
Database Management, Regional Economic Development
Sitting in her graduate-level BSAT course, Rachel Thibodaux was certain this was not what she was going to be doing in the future. But that杏吧专区檚 exactly what she杏吧专区檚 doing a year out from earning her bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in management and then her MBA.
Thibodaux is the Database Manager for , an economic development organization based in Lafayette and serving nine parishes in South Louisiana.
杏吧专区淲e use our CRM with our accounting system, our events systems, with member investor relations, with business development 杏吧专区 it plays a part in every single team throughout the organization so anything they might need within the system as far as tracking, invoices, or reports, that all falls under my scope.杏吧专区
Frequently, Thibodaux says, her role is cleaning up data or finding how to organize it to fit a specific purpose.
杏吧专区淲hen it comes to certain aspects of data cleanup, sometimes it杏吧专区檚 more like a puzzle 杏吧专区 what piece am I missing to make this report, or invoice, or ticket do what I need it to do? It杏吧专区檚 kind of fun trying to figure out what it is that I need to apply,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淥nce I do figure it out and have it all done, there杏吧专区檚 a sense of accomplishment there.杏吧专区
Thibodaux says her time in UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 management program prepared her to embrace and adapt to a range of leadership styles and team members.
杏吧专区淲ith any job, besides whatever your day-to-day obligations are, there杏吧专区檚 also working as a team, understanding that if you杏吧专区檙e needed elsewhere, you lean in,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淎 lot of management classes we studied prepared me for different leadership styles and work dynamics.杏吧专区
For those preparing for their own job search, Thibodaux says not to skip UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Office of Career Services.
杏吧专区淚nterviews are scary,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淯L Lafayette offers so much to help you have some sort of idea what you杏吧专区檙e getting yourself into and to make sure your resume looks professional. And it杏吧专区檚 all free, so definitely take advantage of that.杏吧专区
Similar careers:
- UX analyst
- Data analyst
- Marketing research analyst
- Project manager
Nicholas Brewer, 2015
Banking and Personal Finance
Nick Brewer has a personal mission statement: constantly improve. And he says that杏吧专区檚 what he杏吧专区檚 done as he杏吧专区檚 explored careers in insurance, personal finance, banking, and now marketing since graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management.
Though he杏吧专区檚 held distinct roles, he says the core critical skills have been the same: verbal and written communication, problem solving, and networking.
杏吧专区淓very day you could have a different problem, and you have to be able to think critically to resolve them,杏吧专区 he says. 杏吧专区淎s you move up, you杏吧专区檙e always going to need those skills 杏吧专区 you杏吧专区檙e going to have to communicate and problem solve effectively.
杏吧专区淭hat translates anywhere you want to go.杏吧专区
Brewer says his time as a student helped him those develop critical skills to progress in the business world, including his current position as a brand ambassador with .
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 a natural introvert, but my business courses forced me to be outside of my normal comfort zone. It forced me to take a look at myself and say, 杏吧专区業 may have to do something different than I杏吧专区檓 comfortable with,杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿 he says.
杏吧专区淕oing through that was important to develop networking skills and be able to get the positions I did.杏吧专区
Similar careers:
- Financial analyst
- Guest services manager
- Event marketing specialist
- Budget analyst
- Human resources manager
- Business development manager
Annie Perret, 2012 graduate
Local Government Executive Assistant
Annie Perret, of Lafayette, always knew she wanted to work in the public sector. In choosing her major, however, she wanted a program that would allow her to explore other interests during her college years and beyond.
杏吧专区淚 chose Management as my major because I felt it was broad enough because I could choose any career path, whether it杏吧专区檚 managing people or supply,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 general enough where people can go into anything.杏吧专区
Today, Perret serves as the Executive Assistant to the , Ray Bourque.
Perret and Bourque both began their roles Jan. 2, 2019, when Bourque was sworn into office.
She says although her job is still developing, her days are a blend of scheduling; participating in development meetings with architects, engineers, and local business leaders; and attending after-hours events to represent the mayor and serve as a liaison for other city officials.
杏吧专区淚t always makes me happy to get a call from a citizen of Broussard saying, 杏吧专区榯hank you for assisting me with my request,杏吧专区 whether it杏吧专区檚 a drainage issue or if they need assistance contacting the right person on a parish or state level,杏吧专区 Perret says.
Perret says the skills to excel at those functions 杏吧专区 organization, prioritization, time-management, networking 杏吧专区 are skills she learned during her time as a management student.
The B.I. Moody College of Business Administration杏吧专区檚 real-world, personalized approach were significant factors in preparing her to take on her role in local government.
杏吧专区淚 learned not to settle, that anyone can be anything that they set their mind to,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 was encouraged to use skills to really make this world a better place.
杏吧专区淚t wasn杏吧专区檛 just entrepreneurship, it was how to be an adult, how to go into the workforce and be an effective leader within the community.杏吧专区
For those interested in pursuing a similar path, Perret says to prepare to listen.
杏吧专区淵ou definitely have to be a people person,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淢y management degree prepared me to be a good listener; to listen to other people杏吧专区檚 wants and needs.杏吧专区
Similar careers:
- Public relations manager
- Business analyst
- Manager
- Human resources manager
- Project manager
Request more information today to begin your path to a new career in business through UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 online business management degree program.