Public Administration vs. Business Administration: What’s the Difference?
The ever-growing and competitive business environment keeps looking for a prepared workforce to help companies or organizations move forward. If you're looking to graduate and be ready for a profession on demand, getting a degree in administration is not a bad idea. But which one?
The public vs private administration battle is never-ending, and before you decide to enroll in one of the administration degrees, you should first know your options. Don't worry, though. This article explains everything you need to know about the differences and similarities between Public Administration and Business Administration degrees, and it will help you make up your mind.
What is a Public Administration Degree?
A Public Administration degree offers a variety of subjects that include administration, public dealings and organizations, and constitutional framework. During their studies, students learn about government policies and gain knowledge that helps serve the government throughout their careers. After successfully graduating with a Public Administration degree, students will be able to plan, organize, coordinate operations in government offices, private companies, or non-profit organizations.
In a world where the need for sustainable development continues rising, Public Administration graduates work together to find solutions for economic and effective utilization of such resources. Moreover, advanced knowledge of public administration allows people to find the link between policy making and policy implementation.
If you want to take your public administration knowledge and skills to a whole new level, you can pursue an MPA degree, meaning you’ll be graduating with a Master’s in this field.
Who benefits from a public administration degree?
The primary focus of a Public Administration degree relies on providing public services. However, it's not limited as it also offers traditional services like transport and health care. Studying this degree provides numerous opportunities for transforming services and implementing change. Therefore, everyone who finds themselves doing this in the future will surely benefit from a Public Administration degree.
But that's not all because the benefit is two-sided in this case. While public administrators may benefit in various scenarios like career advancement and decent salaries, citizens, on the other hand, directly or indirectly benefit from public administrators' good work.
What is a Business Administration Degree?
A Business Administration degree is one of the most common degrees in business education. Moreover, this is one of the most followed degrees by future entrepreneurs. This degree usually lasts three years and prepares you for managerial positions.
Pursuing a degree in Business Administration means you’ll develop high communication, administrative, and leadership skills which will prepare you for various possible careers in finance, sales, or marketing. A Business Administration degree has numerous variations, and two of the most common ones are Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Science in Business (BS). Both these degrees provide you with the essential skills to succeed in the business world.
Who benefits from a business administration degree?
From career path opportunities to high-salary jobs, the benefits of studying Business Administration are limitless.
If you're someone who wants to be responsible for how a business or company operates, including its long-term plans and projects, but at the same time would like to have further studies opportunities and create your network, you will surely benefit from a Business Administration degree. And, similarly to the Public Administration degree, you're not the only one who will be benefiting. Indeed, having high-paying jobs and meeting successful people every day is great, but think for a second of how much your company can benefit from your hard work and how thankful they'll be.
Public Administration vs Business Administration: What’s the difference?
Now that you have a basic understanding of what these two degrees mean, let’s dive in and take a deeper look at how they differ.
Employment sector
One of the most significant differences between Public Administration and Business Administration is their employment sector. Suppose you’ve managed to graduate from a Public Administration program. In that case, you can expect to work in the public sector in state governments, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, or the federal government.
On the other hand, Business Administration graduates are commonly employed in the private sector. Thanks to their problem-solving skills, they find themselves taking more leadership roles such as sales manager, HR specialist, marketing manager, and more.
Career opportunities
Both Public Administration and Business Administration degrees will open doors of opportunities for various careers that are in demand now and are expected to be in the following years.
As previously mentioned, Public Administration graduates are likely to work in the public sector, and they can do that through the following careers:
Event Coordinator,
Government Administrator,
Government Relations Manager,
Media Correspondent,
Policy Researcher,
Public Speaking Consultant.
In contrast, some of the Business Administration careers where you can find yourself in the future are:
Account Manager,
Budget Analyst,
Management Analyst,
Procurement Officer,
Financial Analyst,
Human Resources Manager,
Market Research Analyst.
Education and curriculum
These two degrees are very similar when it comes to how long it takes students to graduate from them; however, they differ in their curriculum.
On the one hand, a Public Administration degree takes three years to complete, teaches students about government policies, and provides them with knowledge of a country’s democratic values. Its curriculum covers a wide range of topics, such as strategic planning, electronic governance, constitutional framework, and public dealings and organizations.
On the other hand, a Business Administration can take three to four years to complete including a curriculum that teaches students how businesses operate in a competitive environment. This is taught through various BSBA courses, such as financial accounting, managerial accounting, business law, and macroeconomics.
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Professional goals
Some people dream all their life to make their country a better place, driven by the force to serve their people. And while not everyone can become a president, they can still study Public Administration and find themselves helping manage local government budgets, improve public health division efficiency, or prepare for state exams. With this said, students who pursue this degree are more focused on landing a job in the public sector and offering their skills and expertise to improve services that directly or indirectly improve the lives of their citizens.
However, there's nothing wrong with helping private companies succeed either. To do so, you first need leadership, communication, and teamwork skills that a Business Administration degree typically provides you with. Usually, students who pursue this degree aim to lead or be part of hard-working teams that push companies forward.
Another goal that Business Administration graduates usually have is starting their own business, and that is something they can easily do thanks to the critical thinking and decision-making skills this degree provides.
Salary and job outlook
Both a Public Administration degree and Business Administration degree help you find jobs that are high on demand, and as such, pay decent salaries.
Currently, the average annual salary for Public Administration is $43,956; however, that may differ as specific careers pay different salaries. For example, if you land a job in Education Administration and Management, a highly influenced field by public administration specialists, you can get paid up to $93,510 per year. Another high-paying job you can get with this degree is in Healthcare Administration, through which you may earn up to $87,920 per year.
Business Administration jobs salaries aren’t bad either. In fact, some careers pay as much as six-figure annual salaries. Financial Managers, for example, had a median annual wage of no less than $134,180 in 2020. Another high-paying job you can land with a Business Administration degree is Medical and Health Services Manager, which will pay you up to $104,280 per year.
Overall, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a 9% increase in job outlooks for administration careers during the next decade.
Essential skills
With a Public Administration degree, you can pursue a career that allows you to tackle important issues and make meaningful changes. To do so, you need specific skills that’ll help you succeed. While pursuing this degree, you can expect to gain valuable leadership skills, such as adaptability, transparency, emotional intelligence, empathy, confident communication, and more.
Similarly, if you’re looking to pursue a Business Administration degree, you’re expected to have at least a general understanding of business operations and have basic management skills. After completing this degree, some of the skills you’ll gain include employing critical thinking to make decisions, organizing ideas, and identifying and solving business problems.
The Bottom Line: Which One Is Right For You?
Both degrees offer solid job opportunities; however, when choosing between them, you should know your knowledge, skills, and future career goals.
If you see yourself working in the public sector and using your skills to plan and coordinate governmental operations, you should highly consider pursuing a Public Administration degree. However, if you want to be prepared for managerial positions and see yourself working in finance or marketing, a Business Administration degree is probably the best idea.