Best Degrees for Entrepreneurs
When we hear the word entrepreneur, we often think about business owners and successful people starting their businesses. Both things are in line with entrepreneurship. Are you a self-motivated individual with confidence and some great business ideas? If so, entrepreneurship might be the right career choice. The ideal preparation for this type of career is finding the best degrees for entrepreneurs.
This article provides valuable information on this career, including the various fields aspiring entrepreneurs can choose. We’ve also listed what we consider some of the best degrees for entrepreneurs, all of which are online degrees. You will also find potential wages and career growth graduates can expect as reported by the BLS in 2021.
15 Best Degrees for Entrepreneurs
1. Business
A business degree is probably one of the most versatile degrees an entrepreneur can earn. Whether you’re starting your own business or working for a company to gain business experience, a business degree will be invaluable. A business degree teaches students about starting a business, running a business successfully, accounting, human resources, stock markets, marketing, and so much more.
What Type of Businesses This Degree is Good For: The great thing about a business degree is that it can be used in a variety of industries, including retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and marketing, among others.
Why it’s the Best: A business degree is one of the best degrees for entrepreneurs because it’s beneficial for many fields, it can be earned online, and it’s offered at several degree levels. It can be beneficial whether you’re working for someone else or are self-employed and starting up your own business. Jobs in the business and financial occupation are predicted to grow seven percent from 2021-2031 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The bureau also states that business-related jobs pay higher than most other jobs.
2. Marketing
If you’re running a business, you’ll be doing some sort of marketing because every business is trying to sell something, which requires a good marketing plan. A marketing program can teach you about marketing strategies, determining your target market, and so much more. With the increasing popularity of online shopping, a marketing degree is ideal for an aspiring entrepreneur.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: Marketing is a degree that can really benefit an entrepreneur, especially one interested in owning his or her own business. Although a marketing degree can be helpful in many businesses, it can really benefit an entrepreneur with an online store. Marketing managers are expected to see job growth of ten percent between 2021 and 2031. As of May 2021, marketing managers earned about $127,150 on average.
Why it’s the Best: A marketing degree is one of the best degrees for entrepreneurship because it teaches individuals the importance of setting up a marketing plan and sticking with it. It’s an affordable degree that can be earned online, which makes it even easier to earn. It also puts students in a position where they can be successful entrepreneurs and stay ahead of the competition.
3. Economics
Some might say that an economics degree is almost a must for anyone starting a business or hoping to become a successful entrepreneur because it teaches students about so much more than just the economy or economics. It also focuses on marketing, financing, and other business-related topics.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: An economics degree can be beneficial in jobs in human resources, manufacturing, banking, accounting, research sales, marketing, and more. It’s also particularly beneficial for those interested in online sales.
Why it’s the Best: An economics degree is an affordable degree that can be completed online. Students can earn an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree online, but entrepreneurs seem to benefit from the bachelor’s degree the most. Economists, who are expected to see a six percent job growth between 2021 and 2031, earned an average annual wage of $105,630.
4. Communications
A communications degree program helps students develop good oral and written communication skills. It also teaches them how to build good working relationships with employees and business associates.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: Graduates with communications degrees are qualified to work in business, human resources, management, and the media. Communication is a necessity in any business, which makes it a valuable degree for entrepreneurs in any business.
Why it’s the Best: A communication degree can be earned online and is an easy degree to obtain. Many colleges offer low tuition for online communication degree programs. Media and communications jobs are expected to grow six percent by 2031. Graduates with a communication degree have the potential to earn $62,340 or more, which was the average annual wage for these professionals in 2021.
5. Engineering
An engineering degree program teaches students about engineering principles but also focuses on areas like business management, market research, customer relations, leadership, accounting, and finances. This program also offers many concentrations, such as civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and software engineering, among many others.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: Since engineering can be found in almost all areas of our lives, an engineer can find work in many businesses. Engineering jobs are expected to grow four percent by 2031. Individuals in this profession earned an average annual wage of $79,840.
Why it’s the Best: This is a degree that can be earned online, allowing students to decide how long the degree will take to complete. It’s also for a career that’s constantly growing while offering various areas of concentration.
6. Finance
A finance degree teaches students how to be financially smart not just in their personal lives but also in business. It’s a very important degree for people interested in becoming self-made entrepreneurs. It teaches about profit and loss, handling debts, finance statements, investing, and statistical equations. As an online degree, it can be a great way to learn about the financial part of a business.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: A finance degree can be good for almost any business because financial stability is a necessity for any business to succeed. Whether it’s marketing, healthcare, manufacturing, or education, there are always finances involved. It’s particularly good for an individual with a strong background in math and numbers in general.
Why it’s the Best: It’s been said that of the many businesses that fail, more than 80 percent of them fail because of cash flow issues. Having a finance degree can provide students with the knowledge they need to prevent, identify, and take care of financial issues. It’s a degree that can also be completed online. The BLS states that financial managers should see a seven percent job growth by 2031. They earned an average annual wage of $131,710.
7. Computer Science
A computer science degree not only teaches students about computers, computer systems, and computer hardware/software, but also offers various areas of concentration, including cyber security, networking, programming, and more.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: A computer science degree is good for almost any business because computers are everywhere. A computer science professional is an asset to any business. Jobs in computer and information technology are projected to grow 15 percent from 2021-2031. The 2021 average annual wage for these professionals was $97,430.
Why it’s the Best: There are many affordable online computer science degrees out there. It’s a degree that can be 100 percent online. It offers various areas of specialization for the budding entrepreneur, so he or she can focus on individual areas of interest.
8. Environmental Science
This degree program is ideal for aspiring entrepreneurs interested in keeping the environment as green as possible. It teaches students the importance of using sustainable products and how to implement programs to educate society on how ecosystems work.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: This degree is very good for entrepreneurs interested in working for the government, management services, engineering, and technical consulting services. Environmental scientists and specialists earned an average yearly salary of $76,530 and can expect a five percent growth in jobs by 2031.
Why it’s the Best: This online degree offers synchronous and asynchronous courses, allowing students to work in the field while earning the degree. It’s also a great choice for those who enjoy working outdoors.
9. Entrepreneurship
An entrepreneurship degree is the ideal degree choice for an aspiring entrepreneur, a current entrepreneur, or any individual interested in being a successful business owner. It teaches students about public relations, ethics, communication, and how to develop a good marketing strategy as well as recognize target markets.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: An entrepreneurship degree is good for almost any type of business. Most individuals choose a bachelor’s degree because it covers many areas of business. It is difficult to determine job growth and potential earnings because this degree can cover so many various occupations.
Why it’s the Best: It doesn’t take a long time to earn this degree despite it covering various areas of business and business development. It’s an affordable degree that’s offered online and one where students can work while earning the degree.
10. Accounting
An accounting degree is another degree that can be a valuable tool for an employee or a self-employed individual hoping to run his or her own business. An accounting program is generally a bachelor’s or master’s degree program depending on if the student wants to be an accountant or a certified public accountant (CPA).
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: An accounting degree can be good for just any type of business. Let’s face it. Almost every business has an accountant to ensure the accuracy of the books and financial records. Accountants earned an average yearly wage of $77,250 in 2021 and can expect a 17 percent job growth according to the BLS.
Why it’s the Best: Accounting is one of the best degrees for entrepreneurship because the degree can be earned online, and it prepares you for any industry. Graduates can choose to work for an accounting firm, as part of a business, or work independently as a business owner offering accounting services.
11. Psychology
A psychology degree offers various areas of concentration and teaches students about psychology principles and how they work in the business world. Many students complete an undergraduate psychology program and advance to an entrepreneurship program. Psychology students may need to complete an internship after completing the online courses. Psychologists overall earned an average yearly wage of $81,040 and can expect a six percent job growth.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: This degree is good for many businesses because it teaches students how to communicate with and understand different people, including coworkers, employers, vendors, and the various other people you’ll encounter as part of the business.
Why it’s the Best: A psychology degree can be earned online, and certain jobs require only an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. This degree offers various job opportunities beyond just working in a psychology office.
12. Business Administration
A business administration degree can be taken at an associate’s or bachelor’s degree level, but the MBA is the most popular. It teaches students how to start a business, maintain a business, and be successful administrators or leaders.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: A business administration degree is good for just about any business or company in need of good leadership. This may include businesses, manufacturing, supply chain management, healthcare, education, and more. Business occupations are expected to increase by seven percent by 2031. Employees working in the field earned an average wage of $76,570.
Why it’s the Best: It’s one of the best degrees because it covers so many careers and can be taken online. Many aspiring entrepreneurs complete this online degree while working to gain business and leadership experience.
13. Information Technology
An information technology degree teaches students about the retrieval, storage, and management of information. It’s also a vast degree that can be very beneficial to entrepreneurs. Jobs in computer and information technology occupations are predicted to grow 15 percent by 2031. Professionals employed in this field earned an annual wage of $97,430 on average.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: Every modern business today uses information technology (IT) in some form because information is part of every business. This degree is good for any type of business, including healthcare, computer services, manufacturing, education, and so many more.
Why it’s the Best: It’s available as an online degree and a degree that’s fairly easy to earn. IT is also an affordable degree that prepares students for lucrative job opportunities in many industries.
14. Industry-Specific Degree
An industry-specific degree is a degree that focuses almost solely on your area of interest rather than a variety of different interests. This degree may be an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree. For instance, if you’re interested in writing a book, you can focus on just that rather than on all other areas of media.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: Depending on your specific area of interest, the degree should be good for almost any business. This is because the program focuses on the type of industry you desire for your career. Without listing a specific major, it’s impossible to determine wages or possible job growth.
Why it’s the Best: There are so many different industry-specific degrees offered online. This type of degree is generally affordable. It’s very beneficial to the student because they’re not wasting time or money on topics that do not apply to their chosen career or industry.
15. Human Resources
This degree teaches students the different duties of an HR professional. They learn how to interview employees, terminate employment, communicate with employees and staff, do payroll, and handle insurance forms, among others.
Types of Businesses This Degree is Good For: An HR degree is good for just about any business because almost every business has an HR department. HR managers earned an average yearly wage of $126,230. Job growth of seven percent is predicted for HR managers by 2031.
Why it’s the Best: HR degrees are typically offered at all degree levels and are also offered online. Students pursuing a high-level HR job can work in an HR office for a company while earning a degree.
Admission Requirements
Admission requirements for online entrepreneur degrees, or degrees leading to entrepreneurship, can vary from program to program and school to school. The one thing that many students like about online programs is that they typically have fewer admission requirements than on-campus programs.
At the very least, most programs require the applicant to submit an application and transcripts from all schools attended in the past. Some may also require a specific GPA. Depending on the school, the candidate may also have to take an entrance exam.
Why an Online Program?
Becoming a successful entrepreneur, regardless of the industry or field, often requires a degree. An online program is also usually the best option for these motivated individuals. You can earn an online degree at your own pace and not worry about attending college daily. This will allow you to work in your chosen field and gain real-time experience.
Getting Started
Becoming an entrepreneur can be very exciting and rewarding but only if you’re sure this is what you want to do for a career. You need to develop a mindset because the best way to be successful in entrepreneurship is to have determination, creative drive, and commitment.
You need to decide what it is that truly inspires you. Are you a whiz with computers? Do you to become a successful marketer? Once you decide what it is that you want, your next step will be to research online degree programs in your chosen field. You may think you don’t need a degree to start your own business, but a degree can help you hone your skills and know the ins and outs of running a business or being your own boss.