Top 7 Career Options in Management To Choose [For Freshers & Experienced]

In my experience, I’ve witnessed the increasing allure of management careers among both young aspirants and working professionals, and it’s well-founded. The world of management offers a wide array of exciting and rewarding career options, placing you in roles that revolve around people and granting you a respected position in the workplace, alongside a substantial annual salary package. 

A career in management paves the way for climbing the corporate ladder and attaining top management positions within companies. This journey empowers you to bring about meaningful changes through data-driven business strategies. For instance, you’ll find yourself adept at implementing resource optimization, streamlining business operations, overseeing staff performance, devising strategic business campaigns, and much more. These career options in management provide an avenue for personal and professional growth, making it a promising path for mid-career professionals looking to elevate their careers. 

Read: Essential management skills for a successful career

Typically, organizations offer a wide range of managerial positions, ranging from front-line supervisory positions (Sales Manager, R&D Executive, General Manager, etc.) to the top executive level such as CEO, COO, and CTO. Managers in all tiers within a company are together responsible for its smooth functioning as an efficient and successful business entity.

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The bottom line is – management roles are here to stay. So, if you plan to capitalize on the ever-evolving and emerging career options in the management domain, now is the time to kickstart your journey!

Top Career Options in Management

As we mentioned earlier, management job roles not only promise job satisfaction, but they also come with hefty annual packages. Plus, most management jobs have an upward-sloping career graph – the more you upskill and the more experience you accumulate, the higher up you go on the career ladder!

The most rewarding aspect of pursuing a career in Management is that you acquire transferable skills that apply to all industrial sectors. Moreover, there are plenty of management specializations to choose from, including Marketing Management, Human Resources Management, Business Management, Finance Management, IT Management, Retail Management, Hotel Management, Management Consulting, and International Business Management, to name a few.

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Here are the top seven career options in Management that you should look out for:

1. Marketing Manager

Marketing Managers play a pivotal role in creating brand awareness, expanding brand reach, and promoting a company’s products/services to the target crowd. They largely determine the look and feel of a brand and how it communicates with its target audience.

The marketing manager’s responsibilities are communicating the brand’s story or raising product awareness. The main aim remains to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.

How? Where? When? To whom? The product or service that should be placed is the marketing manager’s concern. They identify the target segment and strategize the ways to market that the product or service looks appealing to the segment.

Marketing Managers manage internal teams, plan & design the company’s marketing/sales campaigns, determine seasonal promotional offers/discounts, and liaise with the marketing team to promote the brand’s messages on print, digital, and social media channels.

Since marketing is an integral aspect of all sectors, Marketing Managers can find employment opportunities in retail, media & advertising, hospitality, healthcare, finance, IT, etc. Candidates with a creative mind and strong business acumen are best suited for this management role. Plus, good communication and leadership skills are two vital prerequisites for Marketing Managers.

Businesses understand the importance of marketing and pay good compensation to their employees in the marketing domain. As good marketing will bring higher customer satisfaction, expand the business create a brand image, affects brand loyalty and helps the organization at large.

Some of the skills that are expected from a marketing manager are mentioned below-

1. Analytical
2. Communication
3. Negotiation
4. Technical
5. Understanding of sales process

It is considered one of the high-paying careers. The salary ranges from 2.4 LPA to 23.0 LPA, and the average salary is 7.3 LPA (Source). The pay could be higher owing to higher skill sets, experience and more upskilling.

Read: Product manager career path and its scope

2. Sales Manager

A Sales Manager is primarily responsible for managing and supervising a company’s sales team, creating and accomplishing sales targets, and increasing sales by expanding the brand reach. Apart from designing sales strategies and campaigns, Sales Managers spend a significant amount of time building relationships with clients and business partners.

The role requires them to collaborate with product development and marketing teams to create the right campaigns to boost customer-brand engagement and drive sales. 

Sales managers are responsible for their teams to meet their sales targets. It is their responsibility to train, plan, and execute their plan to achieve the target. 

They make sure to motivate their team and bring out the best in their teammates. Some of the skills that are required from a sales manager are-

1. Analysis skills
2. Strategic planning
3. Leadership skills
4. Delegation skills
5. Negotiation skills
6. Team building skills
7. Organizational skills

Sales Managers must be well-versed in marketing, business management, business administration, and customer relationship management. They should possess exceptional communication skills, team spirit, and a passion for driving the company forward.

There are various types of management jobs in the market. Sales management is one of the high-paying careers. The average salary is 5.0 LPA, and the salary ranges from 2.2 LPA to 14.0 LPA (Source). The compensation may be higher owing to high skill sets, experience, and other factors.

Read: Management Free Online Courses with Certification

3. Financial Manager

Financial Managers manage all finance-related matters of a company. In this capacity, they develop short-term and long-term financial goals and devise data-centric strategies to achieve them. They work with Project Managers and departmental managers to determine the company’s critical financial decisions, including budget planning, resource allocation, investment plans, etc.

Financial Managers create detailed financial reports, implement strategies for budgeting and forecasting, brainstorm on fund procurement, perform risk assessment, monitor key metrics, and evaluate the organization’s financial performance. 

Looking after the financial health of the organization is their responsibility. They monitor, manage and produce accurate results or predictions. 

There are various finance management studies jobs available, and a finance manager is one of the top paying ones. There are various skills that are required from a finance manager, such as-

1. Business acumen
2. Finance knowledge
3. Numeracy skills
4. Analytical skills
5. Problem-solving skills
6. Negotiation skills

Finance Managers must possess an advanced degree in relevant domains like Mathematics, Economics, Accountancy, Finance, and Business Studies. Also, they must have excellent problem-solving, analytical, and technical skills.

It is considered one of the high-paying careers, the finance managers see high employability as considered a high-paying career.  The average salary is 13.0 LPA and the salary ranges from 3.5 LPA to 30.0 LPA (Source).

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4. Computer and Information Systems Manager

Computer and Information Systems Managers are in charge of a company’s technology functions and requirements. They are also sometimes called IT Managers who work closely with top executives to determine their computer, and IT needs. Once the provisions are drafted, Computer and Information Systems Managers create specific goals and plans to meet the company’s tech-related (both software and hardware) needs. 

They monitor the organization’s computer-related activities. They are responsible for overseeing the budgets and information security and integrating new technology into the system.

On a larger scale, the systems engineer eases out the operations and technology usage of a company. On a smaller scale, the system manager looks after the daily technological needs of the organization.

Being a highly tech-oriented job role, a Computer and Information Systems Manager must be fully aware of the latest technology trends. They must also possess in-depth knowledge of mathematics, software development, network security, cybersecurity, Internet operations, etc. 

Some of the skills that are required in this field are mentioned below-

1. Network Management
2. IT support
3. IT management
4. Project Management
5. Analytics
6. Leadership
7. Communication

The average salary for a systems manager is 13.0 LPA and the salary ranges from 3.3 LPA to 29.0 LPA (Source). It is considered one of the highest-paying management jobs. With the right skill sets, one would not find any lack of opportunities in this field.

5. Public Relations Manager

Public Relations Managers focus on building and maintaining a favorable public image for their client or employer. They plan, create, and oversee the campaigns and content directed at enhancing a company’s public image.

The PR managers identify their client’s stories and portray a message to the mass. They hold a knack for business and devise a strategy that will catch the positive attention of the public.

Public Relations Managers write press releases, field media questions, write appropriate speeches for their client for product launches/media events, prepare articles for corporate newsletters, prepare media kits, and organize conferences. They must counter any negative publicity and handle any PR-related crises.

Through their efforts and skills, they are able to create a brand image that makes the brand grow exponentially. With the branding skills of the PR managers, they need to manage the budget as well as they are required to stay within the budget.

PR Managers must have a degree in Journalism, Communications, or Public Relations. They should have commendable communication, presentation, organizational, time-management, and leadership skills.

Some of the skills that are expected from a PR  manager are mentioned below-

1. Communication
2. Verbal and written
3. Marketing
4. Analytical
5. Budgeting
6. Media understanding
7. Problem- solving

In various options and types of career management, PR management holds a name for being a high-paying field.  The average salary of a PR manager is 7.5 LPA, ranging from 4.0 LPA to 16.4  LPA (Source). The salary could be higher contributed to various factors such as experience, skill sets, projects and many more.

Must Read: Highest Paying Cities for Management in India

6. Human Resources Manager

HR Managers direct and manage a company’s human resources (employees). They are the link between the company’s top management executives and its staff. Together with the top executives, HR Managers strategize on recruiting, interviewing, and retaining employees.

HR Managers perform many other diverse functions such as boosting employee morale and productivity in the workplace, creating talent acquisition plans, monitoring employee performance, evaluate employer-employee relations, crafting HR policies, conducting annual salary surveys, developing training programs, etc. 

In essence, HR Managers are responsible for the smooth functioning of a company’s human resources. They ensure that all HR policies and plans adhere to the company objectives, vision, and goals. HR Managers must have excellent listening, negotiation, and communication skills.

Some of the skills that are expected from an HR manager are mentioned below-

1. Verbal and written skills
2. Conflict resolution
3. Problem- solving
4. Analytical skills
5. Interpersonal
6. Negotiation
7. Active listening
8. Organisational and planning

HR management is also a high-paying career where the average salary is 7.0 LPA, and the salary ranges from 3.0 LPA to 18.0 LPA (Source). With high experience and skill sets, the salary bracket increases.

7. General Manager

As the name suggests, a General Manager is in charge of managing a specific unit within a large organization. A General Manager’s role is pretty standard in MNCs or large corporations that divide the business into multiple divisions within the company.

Since General Managers are the top leaders of a particular business unit, they are responsible for planning and executing its strategy and budget, allocating resources, supervising running projects, monitoring staff performance, formulating policies, liasing with vendors and stakeholders, identifying new business opportunities, hire new employees, etc. In other words, General Managers are all-rounders who manage all aspects of a business unit.

General Managers should possess excellent commercial awareness, communication, organizational, and leadership abilities. They must be proficient in using computers and office tools like Excel, Outlook, Drive, etc.

Why study a management course?

If you wish to build a strong foundation in Management, the best pathway is to enroll in a management course. PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) courses are trending now, thanks to their thorough training and 360-degree career support.

Most PGDM courses are 2-year programs that aim to help students gain both general and niche skills while enjoying hands-on experiences. Like any management course, PGDM courses promise overall personality grooming to prepare students for the job world and help them climb the promotional ladder. 

upGrad’s PGDM course, in collaboration with the Birla Institute of Management Technology (BIMTECH), is one of the best online PGDM courses in the country. The 2-year program allows you to specialize in four tracks – business management, retail management, banking insurance & finance service, and information technology.

It covers relevant industry topics like Marketing Management, Financial Management, Economics, Strategic Management, and Supply Chain Management. Not only will you get dedicated mentor support and personalized feedback, but upGrad also promises placement assistance to each candidate. After completion, you will be ready to bag job opportunities in sales, marketing, business development, retail, BFSI, healthcare, etc. 

Check out our Marketing courses online from the World’s top Universities. Earn Masters, Executive PGP, or Advanced Certificate Programs to fast-track your career.

Top Courses and Specializations in Management Education to Pursue

In my experience, I’ve navigated the diverse landscape of management education and can provide insights for mid-career professionals seeking the right path. Here are some top options to consider: 

• Master of Business Administration (MBA): An all-encompassing program that provides a comprehensive understanding of management, encompassing areas like finance, marketing, and strategy. 
• Marketing Management: Ideal for individuals interested in brand management, market research, digital marketing, and consumer behavior analysis. 
• Human Resource Management: Focuses on talent acquisition, employee development, labor relations, and shaping organizational culture. 
• Financial Management: Specializes in finance, covering topics like accounting, investment strategies, risk management, and financial analysis. 
• Operations Management: Concentrates on supply chain management, logistics, process optimization, and efficient resource allocation. 
• Project Management: Equips professionals with essential skills to lead and execute projects efficiently, from initiation to completion. 
• International Business: Perfect for those aiming to work in global markets, emphasizing international trade, cross-cultural management, and global business strategy.

Choosing the right management course or specialization is pivotal. It depends on your career goals, interests, and whether you’re a fresher or an experienced professional. Each path offers unique insights and opportunities to excel in the dynamic world of management, helping you achieve your professional aspirations. 

Conclusion:

The management world holds many opportunities, offering roles that are financially rewarding and fulfilling. From positions in human resource management, financial management, marketing, and project management, to the broader realm of top management, this field opens doors to diverse and impactful roles. It allows professionals to lead with data-driven strategies, streamline operations, and inspire teams to achieve business goals. 

 For mid-career professionals, embracing career options in management is not just a strategic choice; it’s a pathway to personal growth, professional success, and a fulfilling future in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of business.