Hotel & Hospitality Management Degrees Tips

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What is a BA degree in hospitality management?

Degree in Business Administration Hospitality Management

The degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Hospitality Management prepares students for careers in luxury resort hotels, gaming venues, banquet services, catering, healthcare organizations or businesses who prepare food, meeting and recreation services for others. Through this program, students will learn to hire, train, and manage staff, event planning and management through modern technology, working with other servicepersons such as chefs, problem solving, and all the most current principles of running a resort or food industry service.

   

From Note Taker To Change Maker - Working Your Way Up The Corporate Ladder

Administrative assistants hold busy, exciting, and sometimes very stressful jobs. As the first line of contact in many instances, these professionals set the tone for the workplace, and are often in a position to influence clients and employers alike. It takes great organizational and analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, fast thinking, supreme communication skills, and dedication to be a successful administrative assistant.

Take a look at those skill sets and compare them to the skills necessary to be a top notch manager. Look familiar? If you're worked within this career for several years and find yourself ready for a change, considering working toward a business degree.

As a part-time student, you can complete your degree online, without having to give up your day job. An employer who values your work and has the foresight to see the contributions you've made, and will continue to make, to the company, will support your endeavors. Of course, that's not always the case. Assess your own employment situation before sharing your educational aspirations with your boss. Furthering your education with a business degree will further your career, most likely increase your salary, and open doors to a wide variety of other occupations that best suit your passion and lifestyle.

   

From The Bottom Up - Becoming An Influential Leader

Wages are important. After all, they put food on the table and shelter over your head. Yet, true success comes first from finding your passion and building on that passion with education. Those dynamic individuals who chair important committees, volunteer actively, and champion causes in which they firmly believe aren't necessarily making a lot of money. What makes them happy is their ability to influence change and progress. How do you do that? It takes years of experience to find your way from an entry-level position, to one of considerable influence, and a wealth of life-long learning to draw from.

For example, a Zoologist, Animal Biologist, or Wildlife Conservationist, may have started by volunteering in animal shelters, zoos, veterinary clinics, or with national parks. From there, they may have gone on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree. These steps alone were enough to secure them a career within their chosen path.

However, sometimes it takes more to become that influential leader with the authority to really affect change. To be that person, you may have to consider furthering your education with an MBA. Holding that degree shows that not only do you have considerable work and life experience to give it integrity, you also have the problem-solving and analytical skills necessary to make the kinds of decisions that factor in the human aspect, financial aspect, and cultural aspect inherent in that field.

   

From A Civil Engineer To Management

A recent survey (2006 – 2007) done by Service Canada reported 48% of graduates who studied Civil Engineering in university, went on to find successful employment as civil, mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineers. This program covers structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, hydraulic engineering, transportation engineering, and environment engineering.

For graduates with a Civil Engineering diploma, furthering their education with an MBA may or may not be necessary. An MBA will completely round out the educational framework, giving the graduate the necessary skills to understand and manage key concepts related to human resources, finances, business law, etc. An individual striving toward an MBA is most likely looking for a top management position where he/she can be actively involved with industry related decision making, analysis, marketing, research, etc.

In Canada, career prospects continue to look good from 2007 through to 2009, with average wages around $35/hour. Hourly rates can differ considerably based on experience, training, and whether you're working for the private or public sector.

In the United States, the national average wage for individuals in this sector (again, depending on private or public employment) comes in at $52.90/hour.

   

Profile Of A Career In The Hospitality Industry

When thinking of careers within the Tourism and Hospitality industry, it's easy to conjure images of working in up-scale restaurants or hotels, catering to the public, or creating works of art in the kitchen. While a career in this sector can certainly mean all of those things, it can also mean a whole lot more – especially if you hold a business degree.

People working within the Tourism and Hospitality industry usually start in entry-level jobs as waiters, waitresses, hostesses, etc. They may have walked in off the street and got a job, but most likely they came into the establishment with a diploma from a community college.

For high-energy achievers looking for advancement, a business diploma or degree is the ticket to launch them into careers as Marketing Consultants, Tourism Consultants, Public Relations Experts, Travel Consultants, Hotel Manager, Restaurant Manager, etc. Graduates with a diploma in Tourism & Hospitality Management usually find their way into niche careers simply by building on their own particular strengths.

Love to travel? Working with a travel agency could be the ticket to your dream job.

Love the commotion of a busy restaurant? You could be the next owner/manager/host.

Combine years of experience in the industry with a business degree, and you could find yourself developing skills as an entrepreneur, putting your own creative spin to the hospitality industry.

The salary range for individuals working in this particular field is vast, ranging from $10/hour for entry-level positions, to $40/hour for management positions. The scale slides considerably in either direction depending on the education, experience, and drive of the individual.

   

Working As A Health Care Manager With A Business Degree

For individuals with a strong professional health care background and a business degree, the list of job titles is seemingly endless. Early in your career, you may have started as a nurse or nurse practitioner. Perhaps you worked in Psychiatric Mental Health, or in Renal Dialysis at a busy and stress-filled hospital or clinic. While these jobs are satisfying and rewarding on their own, some people have those leadership qualities that tug them to the top.

While having years of experience working directly with patients as a professional health care worker is imperative, it's also important to hold a degree in business. It's one thing to understand how to care for patients, and quite another to understand the health care system through the lens of an administrator.

Some examples of job titles that fall under the health care spectrum include:

  • Administrator of Nursing
  • Administrator of Child Welfare Services
  • Director of Social Services
  • Director of School of Nursing
  • Director of Education
  • Director of Laboratory Medicine
Of course, these are just a few of hundreds of job titles. The directors and administrators within the various health care departments usually come from a strong background either as a physician, psychiatrist, practitioner, nurse, or other healthcare professional.

Government career statistics (2006 – 2007) estimate the hourly wage of Medical & Health Services Managers as $39/hour in the United States, and $35.26 in Canada.

   

Finding The Best-Fit Career Sector

There's no need to limit yourself to a particular industry, as long as you understand that there are certain roles and careers required in every sector. You could work as an accountant in a variety of industries including the health care field, hotel, airline, mining, manufacturing, etc. Consider the skills you've learned and valued throughout your education and apply them to any one of the following service sectors:

  • Administration (Business & Office Work)
  • Building & Construction
  • Catering & Hospitality
  • Computers and IT
  • Financial Services
  • Healthcare Languages (Information & Culture)
  • Leisure, Sport & Tourism
  • Performing Arts Media,
  • Print & Publishing
  • Manufacturing & Production
  • Marketing & Advertising
Get the picture? A graduate with a business diploma or degree can slip into any of these sectors, depending on the person's individual preference and skill base. If you're a graduate with a business degree, and lack a lot of work experience, consider approaching a company within the sector of your choice and ask about job shadowing. That'll give you the best picture of what someone in the position actually does. Once you're in the door making a great impression on everyone, ask about upcoming employment opportunities and what the company looks for in a potential candidate.

   

Profile Of A Career In Computers

Graduates with a business degree can find work in any number of niche markets including computer sciences. People in this field of work find jobs as database administrators, webmasters, programmers, network system analysis, computer and information system management, computer network technicians, computer service technicians, etc. Graduates looking for this type of career have a choice of private industry, academic institutions, or working for the government.

It's not absolutely necessary to have a business degree to work, for example, as a computer network technician, but the added value of a degree could propel you into a management role within the industry. Someone with a Computer Network Technician designation plans, organizes, directs, controls, and evaluates the operations of information systems and electronic data processing departments and companies. They meet with clients to discuss system requirements, assemble and manage teams of information systems personnel, control departmental budgets, and even recruit and supervise other personnel within the department. It's these latter management skills that really come into play with a business degree.

That degree will give you the skills to manage people, understand the dynamics of an organization from a human resources perspective, and catapult you to the top of the department, organization, or industry.

Government careers statistics (2006) report an average wage of $51/hr in the United States and $35/hr in Canada, for individuals working as Computer Information Systems Managers.

   
What is a career in hospitality management all about?

Careers Paths For People With Hotel & Hospitality Management Degrees

Online business degrees encompass a wide variety of career paths, with concentrations in finance, human resource management, information technology, project management, and even hotel and hospitality management. A degree in hospitality management means so much more than being the head waiter at an upscale restaurant. It means an exciting career managing busy hotels, working for tourism companies (just think of the travel opportunities!), managing inns, working with tourism marketing and sales teams, overseeing the management of public functions, government functions, and much more.

Check with the U.S. Department of Education for a list of accredited online schools where you can obtain an online business degree in hospitality management, online hotel management, or even a degree in travel and tourism.

To obtain an online business degree, there are mandatory courses that must be taken, each of them falling under the categories of English Composition, Humanities and Fine Arts, Math, History, and Behavioral and Social Science. There are usually a few electives to choose from as well.

One of the most important characteristics of anybody in the hospitality business, is a keen sense of customer service. Professionals in this field thrive on helping others. They're highly motivated individuals working to bring people and communities together.

   
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