Graduates · Ontario · 2021 Census
What can you do with a business degree?
What graduates actually work as, from Statistics Canada, beside what Job Bank says about each job: openings, pay, and what it takes.
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What can you do with a business degree in Ontario?
In the 2021 Census, the most common jobs among employed Ontarians aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher in business were financial auditors and accountants (9.6%), financial and investment analysts (4.2%) and professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations (3.9%). The 12 most common jobs cover only 41.7% of graduates, so business leads to a wide spread of work rather than one career.
What graduates really do
What jobs do business graduates in Ontario actually have?
Ontario is published for the business, management and marketing group, so the lead table is Ontario graduates aged 25 to 34.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial auditors and accountantsOur guide | 9.6% | 16,400 | Moderate | $40.87/hr |
| Financial and investment analysts | 4.2% | 7,195 | Limited | $43.27/hr |
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 3.9% | 6,620 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| Professional occupations in business management consulting | 3.2% | 5,475 | Moderate | $44.94/hr |
| Advertising, marketing and public relations managers | 3.1% | 5,270 | Very limited | $57.44/hr |
| Financial advisorsOur guide | 2.7% | 4,630 | Moderate | $36.06/hr |
| Financial managers | 2.7% | 4,580 | Limited | $61.54/hr |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 2.6% | 4,445 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Human resources professionalsOur guide | 2.6% | 4,390 | Limited | $39.90/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 2.5% | 4,220 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Banking, credit and other investment managers | 2.5% | 4,200 | Moderate | $58.97/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 2.1% | 3,540 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
How does it look for other groups?
These are different groups of people, shown separately on purpose: a different place, age group or level of education. Do not read them as one comparison.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 5.1% | 3,900 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 3.6% | 2,715 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Administrative officers | 3.4% | 2,600 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 3.4% | 2,580 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
| Administrative assistants | 3.2% | 2,445 | Moderate | $26.67/hr |
| Accounting and related clerks | 2.8% | 2,110 | Moderate | $25.00/hr |
| Real estate agents and salespersonsOur guide | 2.3% | 1,715 | Moderate | $62,400/yr |
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 2% | 1,510 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| Accounting technicians and bookkeepersOur guide | 1.9% | 1,480 | Good | $28.50/hr |
| Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations | 1.8% | 1,390 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| General office support workers | 1.8% | 1,385 | Moderate | $23.08/hr |
| Restaurant and food service managers | 1.8% | 1,385 | Limited | $27.47/hr |
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial auditors and accountantsOur guide | 4.5% | 8,380 | Moderate | $40.87/hr |
| Seniors managers - public and private sector | 3.4% | 6,390 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Administrative officers | 3.3% | 6,205 | Limited | $29.38/hr |
| Retail and wholesale trade managers | 3.2% | 5,840 | Moderate | $43.27/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 2.5% | 4,690 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Human resources professionalsOur guide | 2.5% | 4,600 | Limited | $39.90/hr |
| Financial advisorsOur guide | 2.4% | 4,535 | Moderate | $36.06/hr |
| Professional occupations in business management consulting | 2.4% | 4,430 | Moderate | $44.94/hr |
| Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relationsOur guide | 2% | 3,785 | Limited | $37.02/hr |
| Financial managers | 1.9% | 3,465 | Limited | $61.54/hr |
| Banking, credit and other investment managers | 1.8% | 3,375 | Moderate | $58.97/hr |
| Accounting and related clerks | 1.8% | 3,350 | Moderate | $25.00/hr |
Do those jobs have openings?
Which of those jobs are hiring?
None of the 12 most common jobs for these graduates has a good or very good Ontario outlook from Job Bank for 2025 to 2027; the best-rated are listed below. That means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hired. Outlook is a province-wide forecast of openings against job seekers, not a promise for any one town or employer.
- Financial auditors and accountants: Job Bank outlook moderate, 9.6% of these graduates.
- Professional occupations in business management consulting: Job Bank outlook moderate, 3.2% of these graduates.
- Financial advisors: Job Bank outlook moderate, 2.7% of these graduates.
- Retail and wholesale trade managers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 2.6% of these graduates.
- Banking, credit and other investment managers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 2.5% of these graduates.
When the degree is not enough
What does the degree not lead to on its own?
A business degree opens many doors but does not by itself make you a CPA or a CHRP. Those designations are awarded by the professional bodies after more courses and exams.
Which courses your degree includes matters for the CPA path, so check your transcript against the prerequisite list early.
Routes that need more than the degree
Work toward the CPA designation
CPA Ontario's academic guide says admission to the CPA Professional Education Program requires a four-year undergraduate degree (120 credit hours or equivalent) and completion of entry prerequisite courses in each CPA competency area, with minimum grades. The degree can be topped up with extra courses if it falls short. CPA Ontario: academic prerequisite assessment guidelines (PDF)Earn the CHRP designation for human resources
HRPA says the CHRP requires coursework across nine subject areas (65% minimum in each course, 70% overall average) or an alternate route, a CHRP knowledge exam, an employment law exam and a Job Ready Program, and that you must be an HRPA registrant in good standing. HRPA: CHRP designation requirementsAdd a college graduate certificate
Ontario Colleges states that graduate certificates require a university degree or a college certificate or diploma for admission, and build on knowledge and experience from earlier postsecondary study. Check each program on ontariocolleges.ca for its own entry requirements. Ontario Colleges: program types
Jobs to look at
Careers worth a closer look
Full guides: what the work is really like, who hates it, what it pays, and the route in.
- AccountantMaking sure a business's numbers are true, explaining what they mean, and being the person who notices the thing that does not add up.Career guide
- BookkeeperRecording every dollar that comes in and goes out of a business so that it matches reality, and noticing when it does not.Career guide
- Human resources professionalHiring, paying, training and sometimes letting go of the people an organisation depends on, inside rules that exist for good reasons.Career guide
- Financial advisorHelping people decide what to do with their money over decades, while holding a licence that says you are allowed to recommend products.Career guide
- Marketing specialistGetting the right people to notice something and act on it, then proving with numbers whether it worked.Career guide
- Business ownerFinding people with a problem, solving it for money, and being the last person responsible when anything goes wrong.Career guide
Read this before you rely on it
What the numbers do not show
- The Census is from 2021. Jobs and hiring have moved since. Job Bank's outlook is current to 2025 to 2027.
- It counts employed people and what they do, not whether they wanted that job or use their degree in it. A graduate working as a retail supervisor is counted in the data exactly like one working in their field.
- It is a 25% sample, and Statistics Canada rounds every count to a multiple of five. Small groups are noisy.
- For Ontario the Census publishes bachelor's degree or higher together, so those tables include master's and doctoral graduates.
- Each person is counted once, by their highest credential. A person who finished a diploma and then a degree appears under the degree, not the diploma.
- The 12 jobs shown are the most common, not all of them. The rest of the graduates are spread across hundreds of other jobs.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, tables 98-10-0447-01 and 98-10-0403-01; Job Bank (Employment and Social Development Canada) Ontario outlooks and wages, linked on each job. We join them by occupation code and change neither.
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