Do you need a degree to be a business director?

Yes, you need a degree to be a business director. Specifically, you will need a college degree to secure a position in this career. The most common college degree for business directors is a bachelor's degree, encompassing nearly 70% of those working in this profession. That said, advanced degrees are not uncommon. Over 20% of all business directors hold a master's or doctoral degree, while just 5% have only their associate's.

What happens when you become a director of a company?

When you become a company director, there is an increase in multiple factors. Most notably, your salary will likely increase as a company director. Company directors make $131,249 a year, on average.

What qualifications do you need to be a director of a company?

The qualifications you need to be a company director are a degree, intimate organizational knowledge, and various soft skills. Company directors are responsible for their organization's strategic planning and keeping the plan on track and on time.

How To Become A Business Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Kim Roberts

In this day and age, business-management processes are so varied and specialized that it is becoming quite challenging to track all the different roles and titles for each function. Those seem like the good old days when you could paint a picture of a business by singling out the director from the rest of the employees.

Business directors come in all shapes and sizes and work across an array of different industries. They are responsible for coming up with business goals and creating timelines to organize the activities that lead to achieving those objectives.

As a business director, you will most likely spend every waking hour thinking about ways to increase your revenue and maximize profits. You will come together with team leaders and department heads of your company regularly to share your thoughts and receive more material to ruminate over.

What general advice would you give to a business director?

Dr. Kim Roberts

Professor of Operations Management, Website

Business-related occupations offer attractive salaries and offer a variety of disciplines, such as accounting, contract management, cybersecurity, finance, human resources, logistics, marketing, management, operations, sales, and more. However, business careers are often demanding, requiring long work weeks and travel.

Skills
leadership
communication
innovation
adaptation
critical thinking
problem solving
emotional intelligence
empathy
teamwork
cultural competence
conflict management
ethics and social responsibility

ScoreBusiness DirectorUS Average

Salary

8.2

Avg. Salary $124,563

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.47%

Asian 6.28%

Black or African American 6.09%

Hispanic or Latino 14.88%

Unknown 4.32%

White 67.95%

Gender

female 36.65%

male 63.35%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

9.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.6

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a business director

Explore business director education requirements

Most common business director degrees

Bachelor's

69.2 %

Master's

18.5 %

Associate

5.5 %

Start to develop specific business director skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	10.02%
Healthcare	8.14%
Sigma	5.62%
Customer Service	5.25%
Oversight	4.75%

Complete relevant business director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business director resumes.

Gain additional business director certifications

Business director certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific business director certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for business directors include Six Sigma Green Belt and Project Management Professional (PMP).

More About Certifications

Research business director duties and responsibilities

Plan and project manage the migration, testing and deployment of a new ERP system.
Develop various tools and processes to identify operational risk, effectively manage KPI's and monitor vendor relationships.
Manage cost-centers and leverage unique Indian production and post- production capabilities and position the company as a prefer production partner.
Lead ERP selection process and implementation project.

Get business director experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a business director. The most common roles before becoming a business director include director, manager team lead and business manager.

Prepare your business director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a business director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable business director resume templates

Build a professional business director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your business director resume.