10 High-Paying Entry-Level Management Jobs + How to Get One

It’s possible to get an entry-level management job even without having experience directly managing others, depending on your qualifications, as many employers require a bachelor’s degree in business or an appropriate subject for your work. As an entry-level manager, you will take on a leadership role in a company, training new employees, managing team members, and supervising the operations of the department or teams you lead. 

Discover some high-paying, entry-level management jobs, their salary, duties, and requirements. If you want to kick-start your management career, IBM’s Project Manager Professional Certificate can equip you with practical skills and real-world training designed to make you stand out to employers—and you can get your career off the ground in as little as three months.

What are entry-level management roles?

An entry-level management job is a leadership position for someone who has work experience in a particular field or industry but has not yet worked as a manager. If you’re looking for your first management role, some things you’ll want to keep in mind during your job search:

• Manager positions, even at entry level, are available across industries, including technology, career services, real estate, construction, retail, health care, government, military, and higher education.

• Some general duties and responsibilities of managers include training direct reports or other members of a team, enforcing an organization's policies, and motivating a team to achieve goals.

• Becoming a manager, even at the entry level, may require a bachelor’s degree and possibly several years of relevant work experience. According to Zippia, 49 percent of managers have bachelor’s degrees, while 18 percent have an associate degree, 17 percent have a high school diploma, and 7 percent have a master’s degree [1].

In addition, pursuing management positions can offer you a number of career benefits, including earning higher pay, having more influence on how an organization operates, being able to mentor others and contribute to their professional growth, and developing leadership skills. 

Is management high-paying?

Managers at every level of seniority earn a median annual salary of $122,090 in the US [2]. 

10 entry-level management jobs to consider

In this section, you’ll explore 10 entry-level management jobs across industries with salaries above $49,500, the median annual wage for all occupations [2]. To anticipate what to expect in your job search, check out the following list of 10 entry-level management jobs:

*All annual median total salary data is from Glassdoor as of September 2025. This figure includes both base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other forms of compensation.

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1. Business development manager

• Median US total salary: $151,000

• What you’ll do: Develop business growth strategies, follow up with leads, research target markets, collaborate with marketing and sales teams to align on strategies

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field, critical thinking and negotiation skills, business acumen, prior consulting experience

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Google Cloud, Pinterest, Stripe, LinkedIn, Twitch, Augmentum

2. Sales manager

• Median US total salary: $124,000

• What you’ll do: Lead sales teams to reach targets, set quotas, implement team procedures, provide sales forecasts

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field, experience using CRM systems, prior experience in sales, communication skills

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Snowflake, Databricks, Splunk, Google Cloud, Stripe

3. Supply chain manager

• Median US total salary: $146,000

• What you’ll do: Train members of the supply chain team, cultivate relationships with vendors, improve the supply chain system, create databases to organize inventory

• Qualifications needed: Supply chain experience, understanding of supply chain processes, negotiating skills, experience using databases to manage supply chain information

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Airbnb, X, Meta, Google, Workday, Apple

4. Safety manager

• Median US total salary: $105,000

• What you’ll do: Prevent workplace accidents, implement workplace safety procedures, inspect company equipment for safety, investigate accidents and incidents

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in safety management or related field, certification in risk or health and safety management, knowledge of health and safety laws, communication skills

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Anadarko Petroleum, Ovintiv, Hilcorp Energy, Google, LinkedIn, Equinor

5. Health care manager

• Median US total salary: $82,000

• What you’ll do: Create a medical environment where patients get superior care, collaborate with health care providers, stay current with health care laws and procedures, supervise employees

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in health services, business, nursing, or related field; understanding of business and health care; administrative and communication skills

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Trident Care, HBBN GmbH, Aetna, United Health Group, Advanced Medical

6. Project manager

• Median US total salary: $105,000

• What you’ll do: Determine project scope and objectives, monitor project progress, develop schedule plans, provide stakeholders with project updates

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field, project management certification, experience bringing projects to completion within budget and on time

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: X, Cruise, Evercore Partners, C3 AI, Stripe, Meta

7. Sports manager

• Median US total salary: $92,000

• What you’ll do: Organize sports teams, schedule team practices, secure team funding and endorsements, collaborate with coaches, maintain team budget

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in sports management or related field; experience working with sports teams; knowledge of accounting; communication skills; marketing skills

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Wells Fargo, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Royal Caribbean International, NBA, DoorDash

8. Account manager

• Median US total salary: $117,000

• What you’ll do: Serve as a liaison between customers and a company, negotiate terms of a purchase agreement, monitor competitors and industry trends, assume responsibility for clients after the sales team closes a deal

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field; experience in customer service or onboarding; experience in sales

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Xilinx, Arista Networks, Splunk, Aerospike, Meta

9. Client relations manager

• Median US total salary: $94,000

• What you’ll do: Build relationships with customers, resolve customer complaints, collect client feedback, brainstorm ways to retain more customers

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in business or related field, leadership and negotiation skills, consulting experience

• Top paying companies hiring for this role: Guidewire, Front Range Solutions, Yahoo, Focus On You Strategy, Norton Rose Fulbright

10. Recreation manager

• Median US total salary: $66,000

• What you’ll do: Schedule and organize activities, oversee recreational staff, keep records of all events, create and enforce safety guidelines

• Qualifications needed: Bachelor’s degree in business, recreation management, or related field; event planning experience; CPR certification; knowledge of safety procedures

• Top-paying companies hiring for this role: Groupe Pomona, Best Buy, Apex Park & Recreation District, Maryland Department of Health, The County of Santa Cruz

How to go from entry-level to management?

To move from entry-level to management in your current role, start by:

• Inform your supervisor that you are prepared to take on more responsibility in a management position. To receive something, it helps to ask for it first.

• To expand your abilities, watch your senior supervisors to discover how to perform your duties beyond expectations. You can also look for mentorship from existing management.

• Develop your leadership skills through building methods for collaborating with your team.

• If necessary, seek additional education and training to enhance your leadership skills. For example, you could earn the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

• Building relationships within your company by networking can also assist you in acquiring a management position. 

Learn more: How to Become a Certified Case Manager

How to get an entry-level management job

Follow the steps below to begin your management career path. 

Get a management education. 

While a degree may not be a requirement for every entry-level management positions, it may offer you an advantage when applying for jobs. According to Zippia, the most common college majors for managers include business (31 percent), accounting (7 percent), psychology (6 percent), and criminal justice (5 percent), with the rest holding degrees in other disciplines (51 percent) [1]. 

Build management skills.

As you work toward a degree, you might consider taking courses and certifications to build additional skills in management and in your area of interest. It’s a good idea to review job descriptions for positions you’d like to fill to find out what entry-level management skills employers desire. That way, you can prioritize which skills you’ll need to build first. 

Gain relevant experience. 

Along with building skills, seek opportunities to gain relevant experience for your first management position. These can include:

• Serving as a leader, even in a non-managerial role, by delivering presentations, teaching skills, or heading up projects

• Taking on freelance projects for which you design the process and determine the outcomes

• Filling an entry-level position in the industry or discipline in which you want to become a manager

Build job search materials. 

When you’re ready to apply for entry-level management jobs, take some time to build and refine your job search materials. These might include enhancing your resume and adding management skills to it, as well as updating your LinkedIn profile.

Apply for entry-level management jobs. 

Once you have your job search materials ready, begin applying for jobs. Several ways to discover jobs that align with your career goals include:

• Searching the internet for industry-specific jobs using keywords like entry-level project manager jobs, entry-level health care management jobs, entry-level product manager jobs, entry-level sports management jobs, or supply chain management entry-level jobs

• Searching general job sites for specific roles such as “account manager” or “recreation manager”

• Searching job sites in your field or industry, such as the Project Management Institute’s job board or Supply Chain Careers

Advance your management skills with our free resources

Explore our Career Resources if you’re considering a new career path or looking to strengthen your existing skills. Check out the following free resources to keep learning more: 

• Subscribe to Career Chat on LinkedIn: How to upskill for professional growth

• Watch on YouTube: How to Become a Project Manager: 6 Essential Steps

• Take a Career Quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

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