Home › Majors › Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Degree

67 schools compared · Average earnings $44,904/yr

Students study how to start, manage, and grow new businesses, including business plan development, venture financing, market validation, and small business management. Graduates typically pursue careers as startup founders, small business owners, business development managers, and venture capital analysts. While entrepreneurship carries inherent risk, this major also develops management skills valued in corporate innovation and intrapreneurship roles.

What Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Graduates Do

This degree prepares you to run the show, whether it’s your own venture or an established small business. Initially, you might step into a role as an operations manager, where your days are a dynamic mix of problem-solving and planning. You’ll be the one managing budgets, overseeing staffing, and untangling logistical knots to keep daily business on track. Many graduates also find paths as specialized managers, leading a specific department where you get to wear multiple hats.

As you gain experience, your career path can lead toward a chief executive position. Here, the focus shifts from the daily grind to the big picture: setting long-term strategy, negotiating major deals, and steering the entire organization. Across the board, demand for skilled leaders who can drive growth is steady. AI will be your co-pilot, not your replacement. With moderate exposure, you can expect it to automate routine analysis and reporting, freeing you up. Your core job will evolve, placing a higher value on your ability to lead teams, make nuanced judgment calls, and adapt—the distinctly human side of business.

Schools Offering

Avg Grad Earnings

$44,904/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

54/100

AI Automation Risk

High

53% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 447,800 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Chief executives	$206,420	22,200	+4.3%	56%
Managers, all other	$136,550 $100K$179K	106,700	+4.5%	47%
General and operations managers	$102,950 $67K$164K	308,700	+4.4%	48%
Business teachers, postsecondary	$97,270 $63K$140K	8,100	+5.7%	49%
Personal service managers, all other	$61,340 $48K$83K	2,100	+6.5%	52%

Chief executives

$206,420

22,200 openings/yr +4.3% growth 56% AI risk

Managers, all other

$136,550

$100K $179K

106,700 openings/yr +4.5% growth 47% AI risk

General and operations managers

$102,950

$67K $164K

308,700 openings/yr +4.4% growth 48% AI risk

Business teachers, postsecondary

$97,270

$63K $140K

8,100 openings/yr +5.7% growth 49% AI risk

Personal service managers, all other

$61,340

$48K $83K

2,100 openings/yr +6.5% growth 52% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Top 20 of 67 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	79 74–80	$64,061/yr	28.9x
2	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	76 70–77	$64,211/yr	14.5x
3	Brown University Providence, RI	69 63–69	$67,900/yr	3.3x
4	Utah Valley University Orem, UT	69 63–69	$60,448/yr	23.1x
5	Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH	68 62–69	$47,312/yr	12.9x
6	University of North Texas Denton, TX	67 62–68	$45,265/yr	14.1x
7	American Public University System Charles Town, WV	65 59–65	$54,563/yr	15.2x
8	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	65 59–65	$48,625/yr	20.5x
9	Kansas State University Manhattan, KS	65 61–66	$39,646/yr	15.4x
10	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	64 59–65	$65,177/yr	11.9x
11	Temple University Philadelphia, PA	63 57–64	$50,876/yr	6.9x
12	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	62 56–63	$55,039/yr	2.7x
13	University of Houston Houston, TX	62 56–63	$52,752/yr	12.6x
14	Miami University-Hamilton Hamilton, OH	62 56–63	$47,731/yr	15.4x
15	Miami University-Middletown Middletown, OH	62 56–63	$47,731/yr	15.4x
16	South Dakota State University Brookings, SD	61 56–62	$43,904/yr	13.2x
17	Baylor University Waco, TX	60 55–61	$59,052/yr	2.6x
18	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	60 54–60	$50,030/yr	2.6x
19	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN	60 54–61	$48,600/yr	3.1x
20	University of Dayton Dayton, OH	59 53–60	$55,864/yr	2.9x
21	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI	59 54–60	$45,373/yr	12.7x
22	University of Delaware Newark, DE	57 51–58	$52,185/yr	7.1x
23	Iowa State University Ames, IA	57 52–58	$46,374/yr	10.0x
24	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	57 51–57	$45,767/yr	9.6x
25	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	57 51–58	$45,366/yr	10.1x
26	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	56 51–57	$74,446/yr	1.7x
27	Elon University Elon, NC	56 50–56	$62,626/yr	2.5x
28	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ	56 50–57	$46,628/yr	8.7x
29	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI	56 50–56	$42,908/yr	8.4x
30	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	55 49–55	$65,028/yr	1.8x
31	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH	55 49–55	$47,731/yr	5.7x
32	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	55 50–56	$43,002/yr	10.9x
33	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	55 51–56	$37,818/yr	14.4x
34	Suffolk University Boston, MA	54 48–55	$44,884/yr	2.8x
35	Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO	53 47–54	$57,411/yr	1.7x
36	Buena Vista University Storm Lake, IA	53 47–54	$49,099/yr	2.8x
37	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI	53 47–53	$43,391/yr	6.4x
38	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	53 48–54	$39,840/yr	10.0x
39	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	53 50–53	$33,249/yr	17.2x
40	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ	52 47–53	$43,702/yr	6.0x
41	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	52 47–53	$43,146/yr	2.2x
42	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA	52 47–53	$42,830/yr	6.9x
43	University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND	52 47–52	$40,142/yr	8.2x
44	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV	52 50–53	$27,828/yr	15.7x
45	George Washington University Washington, DC	51 45–52	$52,893/yr	1.0x
46	Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT	51 45–51	$50,614/yr	1.4x
47	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ	51 46–52	$38,454/yr	6.8x
48	Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA	50 44–51	$48,319/yr	1.6x
49	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	50 45–51	$44,853/yr	6.9x
50	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR	50 46–51	$38,105/yr	8.4x
51	North Central University Minneapolis, MN	49 43–49	$42,327/yr	2.6x
52	Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL	48 43–49	$45,869/yr	1.2x
53	Lamar University Beaumont, TX	48 45–49	$32,129/yr	12.5x
54	Ashford University San Diego, CA	47 42–48	$40,890/yr	6.4x
55	Rollins College Winter Park, FL	42 38–43	$37,950/yr	0.6x
56	Clarkson University Potsdam, NY	41 37–42	$37,753/yr	1.7x
57	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	41 38–41	$32,386/yr	3.3x
58	Johnson & Wales University-Online Providence, RI	41 38–42	$30,996/yr	7.5x
59	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL	40 36–40	$34,038/yr	1.5x
60	Fashion Institute of Technology New York, NY	39 38–40	$24,387/yr	8.9x
61	Dallas Baptist University Dallas, TX	37 34–37	$31,694/yr	1.1x
62	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Cupey Campus San Juan, PR	37 34–37	$30,378/yr	7.2x
63	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX	36 35–37	$23,682/yr	5.4x
64	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla Aguadilla, PR	36 34–36	$22,842/yr	11.1x
65	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon Bayamon, PR	36 34–37	$16,449/yr	12.4x
66	Johnson & Wales University-Providence Providence, RI	33 30–33	$30,996/yr	1.8x
67	Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Charlotte, NC	33 30–33	$30,996/yr	1.8x

Highest Earning Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Programs

Schools where Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Boston College	$74,446/yr	56
Brown University	$67,900/yr	69
University of Washington-Seattle Campus	$65,177/yr	64
Texas Christian University	$65,028/yr	55
University of Arizona	$64,211/yr	76
Brigham Young University	$64,061/yr	79
Elon University	$62,626/yr	56
Utah Valley University	$60,448/yr	69
Baylor University	$59,052/yr	60
Saint Louis University	$57,411/yr	53

Best ROI for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
Brigham Young University	28.9x	$64,061/yr	79
Utah Valley University	23.1x	$60,448/yr	69
Florida State University	20.5x	$48,625/yr	65
University of South Florida	17.2x	$33,249/yr	53
University of Nevada-Las Vegas	15.7x	$27,828/yr	52
Kansas State University	15.4x	$39,646/yr	65
Miami University-Hamilton	15.4x	$47,731/yr	62
Miami University-Middletown	15.4x	$47,731/yr	62
American Public University System	15.2x	$54,563/yr	65
University of Arizona	14.5x	$64,211/yr	76

Want to compare two Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Consider the Trade Route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations graduates earn?

Across 67 schools, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations graduates earn an average of $44,904 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $16,449 to $74,446 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations?

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 53% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means most career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Brigham Young University ranks #1 for Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations with a score of 79/100 and graduate earnings of $64,061/yr.

What's the outlook for a Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations degree?

On average, Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations graduates earn 8.0x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →