Why Study Business?

The combination of academic challenge and practical focus makes the prospect of studying a business degree highly appealing for those attracted to the competitive, yet collaborative learning environment offered by many business schools and departments.  

Business graduates go on to work in myriad different sectors, and not all of them are those you would typically associate with business.  

Typical careers with a business degree include roles in accounting and finance departments, which take in large numbers of business degree graduates. For example, business engineering graduates from the University of Antwerp have gone on to take up key roles in the shaping of digital innovation and the managing of business transformation, working as consultants, managers, analysts and controllers, amongst other roles.  

Other sectors with high demand for business graduates include marketing and advertising, as well as retail, sales, human resources and business consultancy. The diversity and plenitude of careers with a business degree underlies the subject’s appeal for many students. 

If you’re unsure of how to start developing your career after graduation, you may consider looking into the career development programmes that are offered by universities or business schools. Or you can join one of the many graduate schemes which many large and international companies run. These often allow graduates to spend time completing traineeships in different parts of the business, and often different regions of the world, before opting for a particular career track to pursue. 

You could also use your business degree to pursue roles within SMEs (small- to medium-sized enterprises), innovative new start-ups, charities, non-profit organizations and NGOs. If you have a bright idea and the knowledge to back it up, you may even consider launching your own business. 

Depending on your area of interest and the specialization of your business degree, possible careers with a business degree include: 

As mentioned earlier, earnings potential plays an important role in the job-hunting process of many business students. While you shouldn’t expect a huge business degree salary as soon as you graduate, the skills and knowledge gained from a business degree should facilitate your career progression, making it easier to climb into management-level positions with higher salaries. 

However, a business degree itself does not automatically mean a high salary – though graduating from a highly reputed business school with strong grades is certainly likely to open up some interesting opportunities and perhaps a large business degree salary. You’ll still need to prove yourself, and be ready to work hard, if you want to reach your career and salary goals – and be prepared for plenty of competition. 

If a top salary is important to you, it may be worth researching the latest salary trends and forecasts for different business specialisations, as well as looking into the regions of the world which are reporting the highest demand for business graduates.  

During your business degree, you’ll develop a broad knowledge of business operations as well as gaining targeted skills in your specific field, such as customers, markets, finance, operations, strategy, business policy, communications and IT.  

You’ll typically also be challenged to explore these fields within an international context, though in some cases it will be advantageous to specialise in their application within a particular country or world region. 

You can also expect to gain many valuable transferable skills, which can be put to use in both everyday life or if you decide to take a completely different career path. The skills gained from a business degree are likely to include: 

• An understanding of how organizations operate 
• Strong communication skills (oral and written) 
• Analytical and critical thinking 
• Problem solving 
• Decision making 
• Logical thinking 
• Presentation and report writing skills 
• Numeracy and an understanding of how to interpret and use financial data 
• Self-motivation, initiative and effective time management 
• Project and resource management 
• A close understanding of economic fluctuations and other external changes affecting business 

Thanks to their unique combination of skills, business graduates are highly sought after by graduate employers and in many cases, final year students have already signed a job contract before graduating.  

In fact, over the past ten years, more than 96 percent of UAntwerp's business engineering students have found a job within six months after graduation. Others go on to start their own company or start a career in research. 

If, after reading this article, a business degree sounds appealing to you, the University of Antwerp has a variety of business degrees on offer, at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. 

The university’s Faculty of Business and Economics is AACBS and EQUIS-programme accredited, and is appreciated for its high value for money. As a student, you’ll be studying in one of the most innovative business cities in Europe. Plus, you're only 45 minutes away from Brussels (the headquarters of the European Union, NATO, etc.), and two hours away from cities like London, Paris or Rome. 

As you might expect, the university is extremely diverse, with 20 percent of students coming from outside of Belgium and representing more than 130 nationalities. Studying at the University of Antwerp will prepare you to work in an internationally focused business environment. 

This article was originally published in January 2014. It was last updated in August 2022. 

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