Picking a major in university is probably one of the hardest hoops to jump through when it comes to the next phase in your life. Whatever stage you are at currently: Be it high school, already in university, or possibly the workforce, it’s important to consider everything at hand and think logically about what you would like to do next in your life. But how do you know if getting a business degree is worth it for your life and ambitions?
I’ll give you some context and background about myself so that you understand where I’m coming from: I originally enrolled in engineering as my major and thought that it would be the right course of study for me. However, I quickly felt that I was enjoying my more business-oriented courses and not my engineering ones. Additionally, I had ambitions that did not fit into the engineering discipline I studied, so I determined that my best course of action would be to switch to finance.
Knowing this, I do have an awareness and understanding of what it takes to make such a big decision and stick to it.
Stop Listening to Negative People!
First and foremost, stop listening to negative people. Especially when they just bring you down and tell you that what you want to do with your own life is not right. At the end of the day, remember this basic thing: Who’s life are you living? Who’s life is that other person living? There you go.
Somebody else’s decision might not be the right one for you, so you need to understand that before going into this. Keep an open mind and don’t just sway if someone is being a bit apprehensive to your personal decisions.
Will You Enjoy Business?
This is a big one. Business is a very wide discipline, but for the most part, there are basic courses that pretty much everyone has to take:
- Accounting courses
- Communication courses
- Finance courses
- Marketing courses
- IT courses
For the most part, you’ll get a basic overview of every course before you specialize in your specific major. At this point, you’ll be able to determine what you really enjoy before picking a specialized concentration to study.
However, if you find yourself completely dismayed by all of these courses and you dread going to classes about these topics, then it may not be the right major for you.
Business has a lot of math involved in it and a lot of communication involved as well, but some are more concentrated in math than others. Finance and accounting are very math-heavy. IT (information systems or business tech, depends on your school) has programming involved, so if you don’t like programming, definitely steer clear of this one.
Marketing and management and administration specializations are very heavy on communication and dabble with psychology, but psych is heavier in human resources (HR).
Group Work? Tests? Homework??
One thing you need to know about business majors is that they are full of group work and projects. One of the biggest key principles of business is to communicate and network with others. Without proper communication, all of the major businesses and corporations you see all around you would not exist. They would just break down.
As a part of these key principles, group work is a heavy emphasis in business. If you think that you can get along well with other people easily and enjoy working with others, then business is perfect for you. However, if you are already screaming at the idea of having to work a lot with others in group projects, then maybe business isn’t right for you.
How Long Does a Business Degree Take?
On average, 3-4 years. You can stretch it further if you take less courses per semester, but you can also shorten it if you just hit the ignition and go full-time for every semester, including summer.
Is there any benefit to finishing faster or later? Honestly, that just really depends on your personal ambitions. If you want to get started on building a career, then maybe finish faster. But if you want to undertake internships and explore more opportunities in your time at university, then finishing at a normal or slower speed might be right for you.
What Career Options Are There?
A LOT! I’m not kidding, but since there are so many disciplines and specializations, you can really work at a variety of different jobs with a degree in business.
For the most part, you’ll work in what you’ve specialized in. For instance, economics majors would be economists or bankers or analysts. Finance majors would probably work as investment bankers or with stock portfolios or as analysts. Accounting majors work in accounting for the most part. Marketing majors can do a lot of things like community outreach or social media marketing or sales.
However, for the most part, you can pretty much work at many different jobs even with a degree that you don’t think matches that specific or particular job. Yeah, a finance major can work in marketing and can get a CPA and become an accountant.
There’s just a lot of different career opportunities for business majors, so you’ll find something once you’re done.
Conclusions
Alright, with all that being said, if you think that business is the right course of action for you, then you should go for it. If you’re still unsure, sit down with an advisor at your institution and see what course offerings are there in business.
I had originally narrowed it down to either marketing or finance and ended up picking finance because I felt that my career ambitions were more in-line with finance. However, every person is different, so take a look at all your options and consider carefully before you commit.
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Zainah Yousef
Zainah Yousef is the author of The Fallen Age Saga and specializes in gaming, social media advice, and reviews. She's been writing all her life and she probably won't stop anytime soon.
