International Business Career

Working in International Business
International business, in broadest terms, is any business activity that occurs between people or organizations from different countries. In actual practice, there are many different kinds of international business carried on between different kinds of people and companies. Before deciding whether a career in international business is right for you, you must first decide whether a career in business is right for you. There are literally hundreds of different jobs in business, each involving different activities, skills, and aptitudes. But in essence, all businesses have a common goal: to provide a product or service to a customer. And in most cases, businesses seek to do so at a profit, an exception being for nonprofit businesses such as public hospitals or other nonprofit organizations. The specific activities businesses perform can be grouped broadly into eight categories: accounting, finance, purchasing, logistics, production, marketing, personnel, and management. In addition to these basic activities common to all businesses, most firms also conduct research and service activities. In most large businesses a person tends to specialize and work in one of these areas. In smaller firms, a person may often be involved in more than one of these areas. International business can be an exciting and rewarding career. Students may work in international or domestic positions with private companies, governments or other organizations. Though most international careers require extensive travel, some are home-based. As with any professional career, a relevant college degree is necessary, along with business skills, foreign language skills and an ability to adapt to many different cultures. Since most corporations do not assign managerial employees to internationally oriented projects until employees learn the nature of the employer's business and prove themselves in domestic assignments, it is wise for students to take advanced coursework