International Business

International business is a business program that requires its students to extend their students to encompass the global scene. International business students study other cultures, international politics, foreign languages, and international law, as well as the logistics of international trade and investing. International business majors are prepared to travel the world, to live abroad, and to interact and make transactions with all manner of business people from many different countries. Often, international business graduates specialize in one industry and area of the world, which allows them to specifically focus their business efforts on building trade relations with a certain region. Of course, international business graduates can also work all over the world. How and where they work will depend on the jobs they get, and as the global economy grows and regions and countries become even more closely tied together via trade, we'll most likely see careers in international business continue to rise dramatically.

Common Career Paths:

Foreign Service Officer

Foreign service officers work within the U.S. State Department, which essentially represents America abroad. As a foreign service officer, you can choose one of five career tracks: consular officers, economic officers, management officers, political officers, and public diplomacy officers. Those with a degree in international business might be best prepared to work as economic officers or management officers. According to the State Department, economic officers work with foreign governments on issues regarding trade, the economy, and energy, among others, while management officers are responsible for embassy operations. The knowledge you gain in an international business program, coupled with the study of international affairs, could be the perfect way to prepare for a career in the service of the State Department. However, be aware that competition for these sorts of jobs can be especially tough in slow economic conditions due to the relative stability that a job with the Federal government can afford workers. Be prepared to make yourself as attractive a candidate as possible. Fortunately, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects job growth in the Federal government to be around 10 percent from 2008 to 2018, and this most certainly will include State Department jobs, especially as the United States seeks to continue to clarify its policies abroad. In May of 2008, full-time Federal workers earned around $70,000 a year, and this figure could go up if you wish to work in an unstable region and receive bonus pay.

International Travel Agent

International travel agents help travelers by guiding them in deciding when, where, and how to travel, as well as facilitating their travel to and from international destinations. Essentially, international travel agents do all of the time-consuming legwork so that travelers can focus on enjoying their trips and making memories. International travel agents have to be accustomed to the variety of cultures, languages, and laws they encounter while booking and researching trips and destinations in order to make sure that their traveling clients have the best travel experience possible. In order to do this well, international travel agents should get an international business degree; this degree could help them understand both the mechanics of running a proper business and also the realities of extending the operation of that business into foreign countries. International travel agents can also study tourism in school, which could further aid them in managing their business and helping their clients. Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that they expect little to no change to happen for travel agents, they do project that the demand for specialized travel agents, such as international travel agents, will increase as travelers seek out more exotic locations to visit. Furthermore, the increasing number of those who visit America from other countries will also boost international travel agents' business. Because job competition will still be stiff, those interested in becoming an international travel agent should strongly consider getting as many credentials as possible before seeking out work. The Bureau also reports that in May of 2008, the median annual salary of travel agents was around $30,570 a year; however, specialty agents could expect to be paid more in the top ten percent, earning around $40,000.

Foreign Market Analyst

Foreign market analysts work with companies to gather information regarding the ability of a product or service to succeed in a foreign market. They gather this information from a variety of sources, such as cultural traditions, potential consumers' needs, foreign laws, and so on. They use this information to advise companies as to how to produce, price, distribute, and market a product or service in order to maximize sales and minimize costs associated with rolling out and maintaining the product lines. Furthermore, foreign market analysts can help companies decide whether or not a certain product or service should be discontinued or modified within a foreign market based on reevaluating that product or service's success or failure in its current market. Foreign market analysts are essential to helping companies expand into the global marketplace, and they are also important to keeping companies already present in global markets constantly relevant in the ever-changing economy. Foreign market analysts can do this successfully by graduating from a business program and then going on to earn a graduate degree in international business, which will give them some insight into how the global marketplace works. Companies will value foreign market analysts who understand the global economy and are also especially familiar with the target markets. And, as the global economy expands, foreign market analysts will continue to have good employment hopes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the Bureau projects that market research analysts will see an employment growth of around 28 percent from 2008 to 2018, which includes the prospects of foreign market analysts. Regardless, competition will still be tough, so foreign market analysts should do their best to make themselves the best possible fit for the job by graduating from an international business program.