Business / Entrepreneurship / Management / Consulting

Whether it is online or brick-and-mortar, this industry is multi-faceted and encompasses a wide range of careers that help create and build up businesses and services and keep them running smoothly. Explore roles in everything from start-ups to B-Corporations to Fortune 500 companies.

Welcome to the Business / Entrepreneurship / Management / Consulting Community

Many students have a general sense of wanting to go into “business”, but not knowing what that really means.  It is important to think not just about the industry, and what part of it you might want to explore, but about the role you want to play.  Maybe you are interested in technology, or consumer packaged goods, or banking, or pharmaceuticals.  These are just a few of the many areas of business you might want to explore.  But what do you want to DO?  Maybe it’s sales.  Maybe it’s finance.  Maybe it’s customer experience, or human resources.  Maybe it’s strategy, or project management.  These are just some of the options you can explore in this career community.

Other considerations:

Entrepreneurship is developing a business or new product from the ground up, hence the term “start-up”. Entrepreneurs are risk-takers, innovators, and are willing to explore and develop opportunities in order to create something new. Successful entrepreneurs recognize the “right” opportunities at the right time, find the resources they need, and put together the right team to turn the idea into reality. Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss to improve systems, invent new approaches, and create solutions to change society for the better. While a business entrepreneur might create entirely new industries, a social entrepreneur develops innovative solutions to social problems and then implements them on a large scale.

Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. Society’s most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone. The B Corp community works toward reduced inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, stronger communities, and the creation of more high quality jobs with dignity and purpose. By harnessing the power of business, B Corps use profits and growth as a means to a greater end: positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment.  B Corps form a community of leaders and drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good.

It’s Career Fair Season – are you ready?

Career fairs are one of your best opportunities to speak directly to a recruiter.  Whether you are looking for internships or full-time jobs, this is a chance you don’t want to miss.

Starting in mid-September, the fall UMass career fair …

By Carol Sharick
Carol Sharick Director of Career and Professional Development for Undergraduates, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
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Fall Employer Recruiting Starts This Month

Whether you are a senior preparing for the job search, or a student thinking ahead to summer internships, please review the recruiting timeline below for the timelines of the different industries.

The corporate sector tends to do bulk of their …

By Carol Sharick
Carol Sharick Director of Career and Professional Development for Undergraduates, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Read more »

What Is Professional Development (and Why Does It Matter)?

School may be over, but learning is a lifelong process, especially if you want to move up the career ladder. Professional development plays a huge role in helping you advance in your chosen career. But what is professional development, and …

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Virtual Job Simulations

Forage helps you bridge the gap between the classroom and the world of work. Find your career fit and showcase your skills by completing these virtual job simulations with top global companies. Get started today!

Relevant SBS Courses

Your major does not necessarily have to be in direct line with your career! Sociology majors can work in the business sector. Economics majors can work in government. Poli Sci majors can work on Wall Street. Many SBS departments offer courses relevant to various career paths. Here is a very small sampling of courses relevant to this industry from across the majors. Please speak with your academic advisor to explore all available courses, and remember that you need not constrain yourself to courses within your major. Study what is interesting to you!

RESECON 324 – Small Business Finance

RESECON 324 – Small Business Finance: Theory and application of Entrepreneurial Finance and basic financial management for a small firm. Emphasis…

SOCIOL 386 – Complex Organizations

SOCIOL 386 – Complex Organizations: The significance of large, complex organizations like schools, hospitals, businesses, religions and government.  How such organizations…

RESECON 162 – The Consumer in Our Society

RESECON 162 – The Consumer in Our Society: Learn about the role consumers play including their decision-making and market and non-market…

ECON 394FI – Finance and Society

ECON 394FI – Finance and Society: Students will sharpen and bring together knowledge they’ve gained about basic economic theory and apply…

COMM 352 – Group Dynamics

COMM 352 – Group Dynamics: The dynamics of decision-making groups. Topics include: leadership, networks, conformity, problem solving, mediation, and conflict resolution.

RESECON 314 – Financial Analysis for Consumers and Firm

RESECON 314 – Financial Analysis for Consumers and Firms: Foundations of interest rate theory and fundamentals of finance. A problem-solving approach…

COMM 250 – Interpersonal Communication

COMM 250 – Interpersonal Communication: This course introduces non-majors to a variety of competing theories of interpersonal behavior and everyday social…

ECON309: Game Theory

ECON309: Game Theory: Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interaction among rational decision-makers. It has applications…

LABOR 204 – Labor and the Global Economy

LABOR 204 – Labor and the Global Economy: Learn about globalization and its impact on workers in the U.S. and internationally,…

LEGAL 465 – Globalization

LEGAL 465 – Globalization: The globalization of law, culture, and politics. Competing arguments about the meaning and effects of globalization.…

SOCIOL 347 – Corporate Crime

SOCIOL 347 – Corporate Crime: The rise of the “corporate actor” in terms of social organization and social policy, and concerning…

SBS College to Careers – SOCBEHAV 250

SOCBEHAV 250: College to Careers This class is all about YOU. • One credit, highly-participatory course • Learn about yourself…

Skill-Building With Linkedin Learning Classes

See below for skill-building classes – visit LinkedIn Learning for more.

The Core Competencies All Employers Seek

Some skills are universally sought by employers and are essential to a well functioning team.  Stand out from the crowd…

Build a Successful Career in Project Management

Taught by Oliver Yarbrough
Do you want to get into project management? Maybe you’re already in project management, but you want to grow. Either…

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Essential Training (2021)

Taught by Corey Koberg
Google Analytics 4 provides the means to track, analyze, and report on the visitors to your site and app—who they…

Media Relations Foundations

Taught by Jessica Chen
View Jessica’s LinkedIn Newsletter If you want your business to succeed, you need as much brand recognition as you can…

Social Media Marketing Strategy: TikTok and Instagram Reels

Taught by Ashley Kennedy
If you’re in marketing, the only thing worse than not having a social media marketing strategy is having a bad…

Learning Data Analytics: 1 Foundations

Taught by Robin Hunt
Are you interested in pursuing a career in data analytics? In this course, instructor Robin Hunt brings you into the…

Emerging Leader Foundations

Taught by Dan Schawbel
View Dan’s LinkedIn Newsletter Taking on a leadership role in the diverse, ever-changing modern workplace can feel both exhilarating and…

Excel Essential Training (Microsoft 365) (2018)

Taught by Dennis Taylor
Get up to speed with Microsoft Excel, the world’s most popular spreadsheet program. Follow along with Excel expert Dennis Taylor…

Nonprofit Management Foundations

Taught by Leslie Crutchfield
Thinking about leading a nonprofit organization? Internationally renowned author Leslie Crutchfield provides a primer on nonprofit management and leadership. She…

Creating a Business Plan

Taught by Mike Figliuolo
View Mike’s LinkedIn Newsletter Looking to build a business or expand one you’re already running? You’ll need to build a…

Social Media Marketing for Small Business (2016)

Taught by Martin Waxman
View Martin’s LinkedIn Newsletter Small businesses can’t afford not to be active on social media. Having a Facebook, Instagram, or…

Public Speaking Foundations

Taught by Laura Bergells
Develop the skills you need to prepare and deliver an outstanding speech or presentation. In this course, Laura Bergells offers…

Data Visualization: Best Practices

Taught by Amy Balliett
Media and marketing efforts often rely on data visualizations to prove a point quickly. But poorly designed visualizations can be…

Salesforce Essential Training

Taught by Jamie Grettum
If you work in sales or are looking for a job in sales, chances are you need to know Salesforce,…

Six Sigma Foundations

Taught by Richard Chua
Learn how to apply Six Sigma to drive improvements in the performance of your processes, products, and services. Dr. Richard…

Cryptocurrency Foundations (2018)

Taught by Jonathan Reichental
View Jonathan’s LinkedIn Newsletter The digital revolution has impacted almost every aspect of our lives, including the way money is…

Nano Tips for Using Excel with Miss Excel (2021)

Taught by Kat Norton
Welcome to our Nano Tips series, where LinkedIn Learning creators deliver impactful lessons in literally seconds. Here, join Miss Excel…

Social Media Marketing Foundations (2020)

Taught by Brian Honigman
Social media dramatically altered marketing by allowing businesses to directly engage with customers and vice versa. Brands that stand the…

Learning Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies (2018)

Taught by Tom Geller
Bitcoin is a form of money that only exists online. While it’s making headlines around the world, many people don’t…

Content Marketing: Online Reviews in Social Media

Taught by Melodie Tao
For business owners, online reviews are a powerful asset in your marketing toolkit that can make or break a sale,…

Explore Outcomes

The SBS Office of Career & Professional Development annually surveys graduating seniors in order to provide a snapshot of their post-graduation plans.  The survey begins just prior to graduation, and continues until six months after graduation.  Our data collection process is guided by the industry standard put forth by the National Association of Colleges & Employers, and includes information collected by the SBS Office of Career & Professional Development, the Office of Institutional Research at UMass Amherst, and by various academic departments, as well as from information that is made publicly available by students.  The SBS undergraduate outcomes knowledge rate for 2022 was 70%, though knowledge rate varies among departments.

The SBS Office of Career & Professional Development annually surveys graduating seniors in order to provide a snapshot of their post-graduation plans.  The survey begins just prior to graduation, and continues until six months after graduation.  Our data collection process is guided by the industry standard put forth by the National Association of Colleges & Employers, and includes information collected by the SBS Office of Career & Professional Development, the Office of Institutional Research at UMass Amherst, and by various academic departments, as well as from information that is made publicly available by students.  The SBS undergraduate outcomes knowledge rate for 2022 was 70%, though knowledge rate varies among departments.

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First Destination

SBS graduates pursue a range of plans after graduation, including employment, continuing education, and volunteering/service, among others.  This graph depicts what recent SBS graduates tell us they are doing within six months after graduation.

Professionals In-Residence / Industry Experts

Vinayak Rao’15

Professionals In-Residence / Industry Experts
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Facebook

Cristina Sunkel

Professionals In-Residence / Industry Experts
  • Washington, DC
  • Independent Consultant

Student Success Stories

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