BU MMH—What Can You Do with a Hospitality Management Degree?
Are you interested in pursuing a degree in hospitality management but are unsure what careers you may be able to seek out after graduation? There are many different areas of the hospitality industry that degree holders can find work in, depending on where their unique interests lie. Whether you envision yourself in food and beverage service, event planning, tourism, or hotel management, job opportunities abound.
What is Hospitality Management?
Hospitality management is an umbrella term for many industries such as food and beverage services, hotels, casinos, travel, and tourism. The study of hospitality management covers important knowledge and skills in the hospitality industry including daily business operations, administration, marketing, human resources, and financial management.
People sometimes have the misconception that hospitality management jobs do not have any degree requirements or that hospitality jobs are “low-skilled”. Though greeting a customer may not seem like a difficult task, if you are looking to take a managerial role in hospitality, it’s necessary to master a myriad of skills including communication, food services, budgeting, revenue forecasting, and human resource management. That’s why earning a degree in hospitality management is a stepping stone to a successful career in the industry.
Jobs You Can Get with a Hospitality Management Degree
So what career options are available to hospitality management graduates? And how much can you make working in the hospitality industry? We’ve compiled the 10 most popular career paths in the field of:
- Food and Beverage Service
- Event-planning
- Tourism
- Hotel and Lodging Management
Hospitality Management Jobs in Food and Beverage Service
The food and beverage service industry includes any business that serves meals, snacks, and drinks to customers. Hospitality management graduates are poised for high-paying managerial roles in the industry. You can find many job opportunities in restaurants, bars, cafes, and catering services.
- Food Service Manager
- Median wage: $55,320 per year
- Foodservice managers or restaurant managers are responsible for the daily operations of restaurants. In this supervisory role, they have many responsibilities ranging from managing food-handling procedures and customer service to hiring and training crew members. Restaurant managers also oversee some financial management tasks such as budgeting and estimating cost and profit.
- Executive Chef
- Median wage: $51,530 per year
- You can find executive chef positions in many different settings such as restaurants, hotels, and cruise ships. Executive chefs play a significant role in kitchen operations. Their responsibilities include but are not limited to ordering and managing food supplies, ensuring food quality and safety, training kitchen staff, and designing the menu.
- Food and Beverage Director
- Median wage: $80,000 per year
- Similar to executive chefs, food and beverage directors are responsible for ensuring the quality of food and drinks, planning menus, and training staff. In addition, food and beverage directors’ responsibilities extend beyond kitchen duties. They set the service standards, manage front of house staff, and plan special events. This type of role often requires candidates to have a hospitality management degree.
Hospitality Management Jobs in Event Planning
You can find event planning positions in various organizations such as convention centers, event planning agencies, wedding planning firms, and hotels. Roles in this sector of the hospitality industry require skills such as communication, public relations, marketing, and client services. Earning a hospitality management degree can set you up for success in a variety of event planning positions.
- Meeting, Convention, and Event Planner
- Median wage: $50,600 per year
- Convention and meeting planners or event planners coordinate all aspects of personal or professional events, including choosing the location, planning the budget, arranging food and beverage, and managing on-site staff. They are also the point of contact with clients and vendors. Event planners have meetings with clients to understand their needs and solve any problems they might encounter in the project.
- Fundraiser
- Median wage: $57,970 per year
- Working primarily for non-profit organizations, fundraisers plan and organize events to raise money or other kinds of donations. In addition, fundraisers oversee the marketing efforts of fundraising events or campaigns to increase the awareness of organizations. To become a fundraiser, you need strong communication and event planning skills. Employers often look for candidates with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management or public relations. Holding a master’s degree in hospitality management makes you a competitive candidate for a fundraiser position.
Hospitality Management Jobs in Tourism
Hospitality management graduates can find diverse tourism job opportunities such as flight attendants, travel agents, and tour guides serving people around the world. As technology has changed the way people travel, in addition to the career paths listed below, graduates can pursue fast-growing opportunities at online travel companies as well.
- Travel Agent
- Median wage: $40,660 per year
- Travel agents provide consulting services to customers taking a trip and help them with everything from planning an itinerary to booking plane tickets and hotels and arranging meal plans. Travel agents work closely with clients and vendors; therefore, those who are looking to become a travel agent should have good customer service, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.
- Destination Marketing Manager
- Median wage: $135,900 per year
- Typically working for visitors and convention bureaus, destination marketing managers promote travel destinations to attract tourists. They identify target markets then develop travel plans that appeal to specific customer segments. In addition, destination marketing managers oversee marketing strategies such as advertising and social media marketing and also analyze industry trends and establish pricing strategies for travel products.
Hospitality Management Jobs in Hotel and Lodging
The hotel industry provides guest accommodation and lodging services. Besides hotels, it includes many other forms of overnight accommodation such as inns, motels, resorts, and Bed and Breakfasts. This industry accounts for 8.3 million job opportunities in the United States. Many of the managerial roles in the hotel and lodging industry require at minimum a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management, business administration, or a related field. Candidates with a master’s degree in hospitality management are advantageous in the job market.
- Lodging or Hotel Manager
- Median wage: $54,430 per year
- Hotel managers are not only accountable for providing the best experience to their guests, but they also oversee employee hiring, marketing, budgeting, and administration of hotel services. If you want to be a hotel manager, you need to develop exceptional customer service and marketing skills and have in-depth knowledge of hotel management and human resources.
- Hotel Sales Manager
- Median wage: $126,640 per year
- Hotel sales managers play an important role in ensuring the profitability of a hotel. They direct the sales teams to set sales goals and promotional plans to sell rooms, upgrades, and other relevant services. To be a successful hotel sales manager, you need to be an excellent communicator, problem-solver, and decision-maker.
- Hotel Property, Real Estate Manager
- Median wage: $58,760 per year
- Focusing on long-term strategic financial planning, hotel property or real estate managers ensure a hotel’s real estate investment reaches its expected revenue. They oversee the financial operation of the properties and deal with all real estate transactions with the goal of enhancing asset value. Candidates for this type of position should have strong financial skills, real estate experience, and hospitality knowledge.
Career Resources for MMH Students
Boston University offers a Master of Management in Hospitality (MMH) degree with several different concentration options. If you are interested in starting your career in hospitality management, BU School of Hospitality Administration (SHA) provides useful career resources to help students find their career paths. Leveraging the strong relationships with top hospitality employers, SHA strives to help students get their desired full-time positions and internship opportunities. In addition, SHA’s Marriott Career Center also offers career support to students. Students can find useful career information, search for job openings, attend networking events, and career workshops at the center.
Jumpstart Your Career with a Master of Management Degree in Hospitality
Do you know that 100% of 2018 and 2019 BU MMH graduates achieved industry placement within three months of completing the program? If you want to achieve a successful career in hospitality, just like our alumni, earning a hospitality management degree is your first step. Contact us today to learn more about our Master of Management in Hospitality program!