Business

A degree from Lane in business administration is the start to a great career and our business programs provide several exciting career pathways. Whether you want an associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or a specific business career credential, we’ve got you covered.

Career pathways in business are the routes that you can take to advance your career in different fields and roles related to business. Career pathways can help you plan your professional development, identify your goals and opportunities, and pursue your interests and passions.

There are many career pathways in business that you can explore, depending on your area of interest and career goals. Some of the common career pathways provided by Lane’s business program include the following.

• Become an Advertising and Marketing Professional. This career path involves creating campaigns to promote products or services for different organizations. You can start as a marketing specialist, where you conduct market research, analyze data, and develop marketing strategies. You can then advance to an account executive, where you manage client relationships, pitch proposals, and oversee projects. You can also specialize in areas such as search engine optimization, copywriting, or public relations. With enough experience and leadership skills, you can become a marketing manager or director, where you plan, implement and evaluate marketing campaigns, manage budgets and staff and coordinate with other departments.
• Become an Accounting Professional. This career pathway involves recording and managing financial records for individuals, businesses, or organizations. You can start as an accountant, where you prepare and analyze financial statements, tax returns and reports. You can then advance to a senior accountant, where you supervise and review the work of other accountants, ensure compliance with laws and regulations, and provide advice and guidance to clients or managers. You can also specialize in areas such as auditing, forensic accounting, or management accounting. With enough credentials and leadership skills, you can become a certified public accountant (CPA), an accounting manager or a chief financial officer (CFO).
• Become a Professional in Banking and Economics. This career path involves using quantitative and theoretical methodologies to analyze business events and guide informed decisions. You can start as a statistician, where you collect, organize, and interpret numerical data using statistical software and methods. You can then advance to an economist, where you research and analyze economic issues, trends and policies using mathematical models and theories. You can also specialize in areas such as actuarial science or banking. With enough expertise and a solid reputation, you can become a researcher or a consultant, where you conduct original studies, publish papers and reports and advise governments, businesses or organizations on economic matters.
• Become a Professional Leader and General Manager. This career pathway involves managing all the business operations, resources and people of an organization or a project. You can start as an area manager, where you perform organizational tasks and leadership activities. This career pathway allows you to learn and practice all the different areas of running a successful business or organization. You can then advance to a general manager, where you oversee the staff and budget of a larger area of an organization. You can also specialize in areas such as human resources, project management or operations management. With enough education and experience, you can become a president, CEO, or a business consultant.
• Become a Professional in Business intelligence and Management Information Systems. This career pathway involves using data to generate actionable information for executives and decision-makers. You can start as a marketing data analyst, where you collect, organize and interpret numerical data using statistical software and methods. You can then advance to a business intelligence analyst, where you use data mining, visualization and reporting tools to provide insights and recommendations on business issues, trends and opportunities. You can also specialize in areas such as data science, marketing analytics, data engineering or data governance. With enough expertise and innovation, you can become a business intelligence manager, business intelligence architect, or director of management information systems.
• Become a Successful Entrepreneur and Business Owner. This career pathway involves creating or establishing a new business or organization. You can start as an entrepreneur, where you identify a market opportunity, develop a product or service idea, secure venture capital and resources, and then launch and operate your venture. You can then advance to a founder or a co-founder, where you lead the vision, strategy and growth of your venture, manage the team and stakeholders, and work to successfully overcome the challenges and risks of operating a business. You can also specialize in areas such as social entrepreneurship, e-commerce or franchising. With enough success and impact, you can become an investor or a mentor, where you support other entrepreneurs with capital, advice or connections.
• Become a Finance and Investment Professional. This career path involves managing money, investments, assets and liabilities. You can start as an investment analyst, where you research and evaluate financial information, market trends and investment opportunities. You can then advance to a financial risk analyst, where you assess and mitigate the potential risks of financial decisions, transactions, and operations. You can also specialize in areas such as accounting, auditing, or financial advising. With enough knowledge and performance, you can become a financial manager or director, where you oversee the financial activities, goals, and strategies of an organization, manage budgets and reports, and ensure compliance with laws and regulations.
• Become an Expert in Supply Chain Management and Logistics. This career path involves coordinating the transportation, distribution and delivery of goods and services. You can start as a logistician, where you plan, implement, and monitor the movement of materials, products, or people from one location to another. You can then advance to a logistics manager, where you supervise the logistics operations, staff and budget of an organization or a project. You can also specialize in areas such as supply chain management, inventory control or quality assurance. With enough experience and innovation, you can become a supply chain director or consultant, where you design, improve and optimize the supply chain systems, processes and policies of an organization or a client.
• Become a Social and Nonprofit Management Professional. This career path involves planning and overseeing programs that help improve the quality of life for certain groups or communities. You can start as a social advocate, where you provide support, counseling and advocacy to individuals or families facing various challenges or issues. You can then advance to a social and community service manager, where you coordinate and evaluate the programs, services and resources that address the needs of a specific population or community. You can also specialize in areas such as health care, mental health, or substance abuse. With enough education and leadership, you can become a director or an executive of a nonprofit organization or a government agency that aims to make a positive social impact.

These are just some of the many career pathways that are available in Lane’s business programs. Plus, with Lane’s incredible interdisciplinary options, you can combine several areas of interest into a custom-built career pathway that is perfectly aligned with your career goals.

There are a lot of great reasons to join the business programs at Lane. Here’s our TOP 10 List of reasons to study business at Lane according to a recent survey from current students.

1. A business degree gives you career flexibility. You can learn valuable skills that are applicable to any industry or sector, such as communication, problem-solving, leadership, money management, and teamwork.
2. Lane’s business program is small enough to be personal but big enough to be a comprehensive study of business. You can explore a variety of topics and specializations within business, such as accounting, marketing, finance, management, entrepreneurship, and supply chain management.
3. You can make a lot of money with a business degree. You can have a high earning potential with a degree in business, as many business careers offer competitive salaries and bonuses.
4. You can change the world and have a social impact. You can have a positive impact on society and the environment, as business professionals can help create innovative solutions, ethical practices, and set the standards for social responsibility.
5. A business degree opens the door to further training and career development. You can have opportunities for personal and professional growth, as business professionals often pursue further education, certification, training, and networking. Many employers offer additional training to develop their managers who have a background in business administration.
6. Business majors have a lot of fun. You can have fun and enjoy your work, as business professionals can work on exciting projects, collaborate with diverse people, and express their creativity. We work hard and play hard in each of our business programs.
7. No matter what the economic outlook, business majors are always in demand. You can have job security and stability, as business professionals are always in demand and can adapt to changing market conditions.
8. You can travel the world or stay close to home. You can have a global perspective and exposure, as business professionals can work with international clients, partners and markets and travel to different countries. Every community, no matter how big or small, has job openings for business majors.
9. You can have an incredibly rewarding career. You can have a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, as business professionals often achieve their goals, overcome challenges, and make a difference in their community.
10. You can stack a lot of career credentials into one degree. Lane’s business programs allow you to earn several specific career credentials in addition to your degree. Stacking credentials in retailing, supply chain management, or social media management can help you to launch your dream career.
    

Lane’s business programs are the perfect way to build business connections that last a lifetime. Business connections are important for many reasons and Lane’s business programs will help you network with leaders in the business community. We will help you:

• Exchange information. By meeting and talking with other professionals, you can learn about new products, services, and trends in different industries. You can also share your knowledge, insights and feedback with others during various campus events and Meet the Majors socials. This can help you stay updated, informed, and relevant in your field of study.
• Understand concepts. By interacting with other professionals, you can clarify and deepen your understanding of various concepts, theories, and practices in business. You can also ask questions, seek advice and get different perspectives from others. This can help you improve your skills, solve problems and make better decisions as a manager.
• Build trust. By establishing and maintaining relationships with other professionals, you can create a sense of trust and credibility. You can also demonstrate your values, ethics and integrity to others. This can help you enhance your reputation, influence, and impact.
• Enjoy work. By developing and nurturing relationships with other professionals, you can create a positive and supportive work environment. You can also have fun, express yourself and appreciate others. This can help you increase your satisfaction, motivation, and productivity in your work.
• Find opportunities. By expanding and leveraging your network of contacts, you can discover new opportunities for your career or business. You can also get referrals, recommendations and introductions from others. This can help you land the perfect internship. This can help you advance your goals, grow your income, and achieve career success.

We make it easy to start connecting. From your very first semester, we provide Meet the Majors events to help you meet others in our business programs. We also host several alumni and community events for you to meet other professionals in business. In addition, the business department leads a professional service fraternity called Phi Beta Lambda that is specially designed for college students interested in business and entrepreneurship.

We’ve packed the calendar with things to do to help make your study of business more rewarding. Check the campus calendar and emails from our business faculty to learn about upcoming activities.

If you are joining Lane College or a business program for the first time, be sure to meet us at the Campus Expo fairs and meet with other members of the business fraternity, Phi Beta Lambda. You can also find the business faculty at Lane’s New Student Orientation events.

Lane offers a world-class faculty in a smaller collegiate community. Lane is the perfect place to build person-to-person relationships with your professors. In our business programs, many of our professors have a long history of career success in business and industry. Many were former presidents, vice-presidents, and senior managers in Fortune 500 or large social enterprises. Some are former successful entrepreneurs who have sold their business ventures and started teaching and consulting careers. Others are scholars by training and have consistently published in leading international journals of business and management. Lane offers a rich and diverse group of business professions to help you step by step.

BUSINESS

The mission of the Department of Business is to produce students who will become business leaders with a strong commitment to their communities. In doing so, the Department is committed to preparing students with a solid foundation in each of the functional areas of business: accounting, finance, marketing, and management.

Students are encouraged to specialize in one of four available concentrations: management, accounting, marketing, and finance. A concentration in one of these specialties will equip students to gain a better and more detailed understanding of the complex nature of the corporate environment in the 21^st century.

Business Curriculum and Suggested Program

To receive a minor in business administration, a student must complete MGT 210 (Principles of Management), ACT 210 (Principles of Accounting), MGT 210 (Quantitative Methods of Business), ECO 210 (Principles of Macroeconomics), FIN 210 (Principles of Business Finance) and two course from the Elective Courses in Accounting, Finance, Management or Marketing. A “C” (2.0) grade or better must be earned in each course that is counted toward the minor.

No more than two, 3-credit hour courses used to satisfy the requirements of the minor may be from transfer credits. A minimum of 9-credit hours must be taken in courses taught by faculty in the Department of Business at Lane College.

An Internship credit, even if the internship was in the field of business, may not be used to satisfy a requirement of the business minor.

Registration for courses offered by the Department of Business is on a space available basis; the Department of Business cannot guarantee completion of the major or minor.

No business student may earn both a major and a minor in business. Concentrations are available for business majors wishing to concentrate their studies in a particular functional area of business.

FIN 150 (Personal Finance) is a required course in the Common Educational Core and, although taught by the Department of Business, will not count toward any major or minor requirement in business.