International Business Career

The 21st Century and the Need for an International Business Career

The 21st century has witnessed a lot of growth and development in the technology and communication sector. With the continuing progress in technology and communication, many companies are opening branches overseas. For this reason, I am interested in pursuing an international business career. Also, the fact that the international business programs will enable me to understand a variety of business management practices. Such knowledge would give me a chance of working abroad or in an international organization. After graduating, I would like to work as an international management consultant because it would give me an opportunity to utilize my business skills in providing objective expertise and advice. In this way, I would enable the organization that I would be working to maximize its growth, solve problems, improve its performance and create value.

The Duties of an International Management Consultant

The duty of an international management consultant primarily concerns operations, management, structure, and strategy of an organization. My role would entail finding various options for the company, provide advice concerning additional resources to incorporate the possible solutions and make recommendations for areas that require changes (AGCAS editors). As a new graduate, I will start off performing an analyst role which entails conducting research, collecting data and analyzing it. Once I have gained some experience, I will start performing a full consultancy role. After three years, I can progress to a senior consultant level. Here, I will be leading teams and developing projects and solutions. Also, I can take up project management roles at this level. As a senior international management consultant, I will be fit enough to partner with or direct a company. My new duties will be overseeing the growth and development of the organization, developing customer relationships, and creating new businesses.

Gabriela Alvarez: A Role Model in the Field

One of the people having the job title that I desire is Gabriela Alvarez who currently works as an international consultant at the International Trade Centre. She started her work experience at AIESEC International where she worked as a director from 1988 to 1989. From Feb 1990 to Jan 1991 she worked as an economist at Tendencias Economicas. Between Jan 1990 and Apr 1992, she worked as a consultant at United Nations Development Program. She later worked as a global account manager at Monitor Group from Sep 1994 to July 2000. From 2001 to present, she works as an international consultant at the International Trade Centre in Geneva. She went to High School at ACS La Paz, then, joined the University of Buenos Aires to do economics from 1984 to 1989. In 1992, she joined University of Pennsylvania-The Wharton School to do a master's degree in Business Administration (LinkedIn). She did another master's degree in International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania-The Lauder Institute. From 2005 to 2009, she did a doctorate in Business Administration, Sustainable Supply Chains at the Cranfield University- Cranfield School of Management.

Qualifications and Salary Potential

After looking at Alvarez's resume, it became clear to me that a Bachelor's degree is not competitive enough especially if I hope to be promoted at some point. To be competitive in my field, I would pursue a master's degree immediately after completing my Bachelor's degree. More research on the job title revealed that one of the roles is to attain objectives that enable a company to grow and be profitable in a highly competitive environment (AllAboutCareers). The job prospects are good since one can be employed in a wide variety of industries such as software development, medical industry, education, financial services, information technology, manufacturing and distribution, and telecommunications. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2016 showed that the average annual salary for international management consultant was $91,910 (Florida Tech Online).

Conclusion

From all the information that I have gathered, I believe that my major, International Business career, is quite competitive and it requires excellent academic qualification. I still want to work as an international management consultant since there are many job opportunities in the market as long as I perform well in my academics. Also, the average annual salary of $91910 is motivating.

Works Cited

"International Management Consultant Career Guide – Florida Tech Online."Florida Tech Online, 18 July 2017, www.floridatechonline.com/blog/business/international-management-consultant-career-guide/.

LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com/in/gabriela-alvarez-329160/.

"Management Consultant Job Description | AllAboutCareers."Graduate Jobs, Internships & School Leaver Jobs | AllAboutCareers, www.allaboutcareers.com/careers/job-profile/management-consultant.

AGCAS editors. "Management Consultant Job Profile."Prospects.ac.uk, www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/management-consultant.