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 is a Business Director?
What Does a Business Director Do
There are certain skills that many business directors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed leadership skills, management skills and problem-solving skills.
How To Become a Business Director
If you're interested in becoming a business director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 69.2% of business directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 18.5% of business directors have master's degrees. Even though most business directors have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Business Director Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of vice president you might progress to a role such as vice president & general manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title vice president & general manager.
Average Salary for a Business Director
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Business Director Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active business director jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where business directors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Business Director Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 5,343 | $136,296 |
| 2 | New York | 2,733 | $142,754 |
| 3 | Texas | 2,256 | $104,745 |
| 4 | Illinois | 2,023 | $114,518 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 1,703 | $135,613 |
| 6 | Florida | 1,695 | $93,616 |
| 7 | Ohio | 1,688 | $100,785 |
| 8 | New Jersey | 1,323 | $133,862 |
| 9 | Michigan | 1,270 | $108,470 |
| 10 | Georgia | 1,238 | $95,759 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 1,186 | $121,863 |
| 12 | Virginia | 1,167 | $129,536 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | 1,136 | $105,284 |
| 14 | Missouri | 1,032 | $86,395 |
| 15 | Indiana | 987 | $94,892 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | 961 | $114,132 |
| 17 | Washington | 953 | $130,669 |
| 18 | Alabama | 928 | $107,736 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 886 | $87,882 |
| 20 | Louisiana | 843 | $104,650 |
| 21 | Utah | 758 | $90,719 |
| 22 | Minnesota | 718 | $109,960 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 685 | $79,816 |
| 24 | Arizona | 668 | $103,513 |
| 25 | Maryland | 653 | $117,119 |
| 26 | Colorado | 645 | $123,413 |
| 27 | Kentucky | 642 | $84,976 |
| 28 | Oregon | 621 | $112,281 |
| 29 | Iowa | 566 | $85,057 |
| 30 | South Carolina | 547 | $94,024 |
| 31 | Kansas | 545 | $100,034 |
| 32 | Arkansas | 513 | $67,086 |
| 33 | Mississippi | 500 | $85,281 |
| 34 | Connecticut | 466 | $123,115 |
| 35 | Nebraska | 436 | $86,094 |
| 36 | Nevada | 428 | $116,081 |
| 37 | South Dakota | 302 | $112,935 |
| 38 | New Mexico | 277 | $122,509 |
| 39 | Montana | 242 | $79,845 |
| 40 | Delaware | 186 | $136,144 |
| 41 | West Virginia | 183 | $84,440 |
| 42 | New Hampshire | 178 | $97,462 |
| 43 | Rhode Island | 169 | $156,916 |
| 44 | Idaho | 167 | $91,157 |
| 45 | Alaska | 159 | $88,049 |
| 46 | Maine | 121 | $88,873 |
| 47 | North Dakota | 104 | $76,650 |
| 48 | Vermont | 100 | $92,088 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 73 | $85,491 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 57 | $79,465 |
Top Colleges for Business Directors
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
5. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
6. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
8. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
9. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
10. Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA • Private
Top Skills For a Business Director
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 10.0% of business directors listed project management on their resume, but soft skills such as leadership skills and management skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Business Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Business Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Business Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Business Director Demographics
Business Director Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among business directors, 36.7% of them are women, while 63.3% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among business directors is White, which makes up 71.8% of all business directors.
- The most common foreign language among business directors is Spanish at 38.4%.
Work Experience Programs For Business Directors
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4.5-5.5 hours
Company: PwC Switzerland
Cost: Free
Duration: 7-8 hours
Company: Clifford Chance
Cost: Free
Duration: 7.5-8.5 hours
Company: Accenture Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: Accenture North America
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-6 hours
Company: JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-5 hours
Online Courses For Business Director That You May Like
Operations Management: Supply Chain & Business Processes in Industry for Manufacturing and Services Organizations...
Learn 3 key business strategy tools. Improve your business innovation skills and drive profitable business development...
Best States For a Business Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a business director. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, New York, California, and Delaware. Business directors make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $156,916. Whereas in New York and California, they would average $142,754 and $136,296, respectively. While business directors would only make an average of $136,144 in Delaware, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. District of Columbia
$151,947
Avg. Salary
2. New York
$142,754
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$135,613
Avg. Salary
How Do Business Director Rate Their Jobs?
Top Business Director Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ business directors and discovered their number of business director opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Anthem was the best, especially with an average salary of $98,943. Capital One follows up with an average salary of $121,673, and then comes CBRE Group with an average of $116,585. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a business director. The employers include Parsons, Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc., and The College Board
Most Common Employers For Business Director
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Condé Nast | $163,420 | $78.57 | 10 |
| 2 | Microsoft | $157,647 | $75.79 | 27 |
| 3 | AstraZeneca | $151,466 | $72.82 | 22 |
| 4 | Nike | $148,091 | $71.20 | 25 |
| 5 | Merck | $144,955 | $69.69 | 14 |
| 6 | The Kraft Group | $135,661 | $65.22 | 15 |
| 7 | Salesforce | $129,702 | $62.36 | 12 |
| 8 | AT&T | $129,588 | $62.30 | 16 |
| 9 | American Express | $129,427 | $62.22 | 15 |
| 10 | Pfizer | $128,024 | $61.55 | 15 |
Becoming a Business Director FAQs
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.