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I really like this post, I kinda flipped back and forth between history, english and business.
It is true what you say. The business majors at my school have to take business calculus, 2 statistics courses and a business finance class. I do well in all the classes but the math ones. I did pass the business calculus though. My question is how were the several people that you know successful?
Most were successful by starting their own business. Some were willing to take entry level jobs and work their way up. I often see graduates who come out of college expecting to start off making $60 - 80k with no work experience. That's rare. If you're willing or able to get into a company in an entry level capacity you can work your way up in just a few short years depending on the industry. Be willing to move if that's what it takes. Try looking into Program or Project Management, acquisition career field, emergency management, security management, or the government sector. These are all careers that can lead to six figure salaries if you show initiative and want to learn.
Its because we are in the midst of a financial crisis. If we were in the midst of STEM crisis and the largest STEM firms were all collapsing like they did in Ontario, then STEM majors wouldn't be able to find jobs like they can't in Ontario. Good luck getting a job with a math degree or an engineering job or a science job when there are like thousands of people with these degrees unemployed selling shoes in footlocker.
An undergraduate "business" degree could focus on the following: accounting, HR, marketing, finance, international business, MIS, Op's management, or maybe an entrepreneurial focus. So how is the degree worthless again?
That said, if I was graduating in "business" in 2013 and beyond, I'd want to make sure I was in a better / respected program. Those who do will be gainfully employed.
I do think a business degree is a whole lot easier than engineering. In my experience, the top business major students make more than the top engineering major.
06-24-2013, 11:37 PM
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n/a posts
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Business is not anymore of a joke major than liberal arts or the touted "underwater basketweaving" majors that are joked about on C-D.
Yeah, that's sort of the point. It's a joke major for people who have no idea what they want to do and really have no business being in college in the first place.
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As to your observations it could be many things. Teachers do not pick up the extras, students forget the papers and students intentionally don't grab them can be reasons for this rather than jumping to the "notes and worksheets are left, there fore business majors are slackers." Sure there are slackers in business but you can find them in ANY major. I defy you to find a major without a slacker or two.
I was referring to the content of the lecture notes (provided by the instructors) and worksheets, not the fact that people leave things behind. The content is a joke. It's the sort of thing that a child could mostly follow, and anyone who had grasped middle school algebra could breeze through without any effort.
Yeah, that's sort of the point. It's a joke major for people who have no idea what they want to do and really have no business being in college in the first place.
You are painting with a rather broad brush. Underachievers in any discipline or degree will end up on the bottom. I bet over 1/2 of the business majors are not needed yet they crank out more and more students. I agree that a business degree can be a path for someone who has no idea what they want to do. Some programs attract people who simply fear taking more technical degrees. If they are weak students, it sounds like they end up at your college.
For students who are thinking about a business major, they should attend a better program where students are challenged. Those students can master whatever they want but wanted to be involved in business. In MN, that school is the UofMN (CSOM). In California it is Berkeley and in Arizona it is ASU (W.P. Cary). The material isn't as difficult as say electrical engineering. But business majors don't need to design circuits. They end up in HR, finance, accounting, or sales and marketing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonF
I was referring to the content of the lecture notes (provided by the instructors) and worksheets, not the fact that people leave things behind. The content is a joke. It's the sort of thing that a child could mostly follow, and anyone who had grasped middle school algebra could breeze through without any effort.
It sounds like you attend or work at a college with low standards. Most business concepts like cost-benifit analysis are solved using middle school algebra. I'm sure we agree that solving problems using 2nd order differential equations takes a lot more brain power. But algebra is all that you need to solve most finance questions.
I've taken the entire calculus sequence as an engineering major and never ONCE used calculus in the workplace. I occasionally used basic algebra. IMHO, they SHOULD teach basic business concepts to engineers or doctors like cost-benifit analysis. Some extremely technical people cannot grasp common business sense unless they are taught it. I suggested to my daughter to minor in business (she is off to her last 4 years of her dental program). She took semesters of physics, organic chemistry, calc, statistics, and 15 other technical classes that she will NEVER use as a dentist. Well maybe the most basic statistics. But the classes she took in sales and marketing, finance, HR, and accounting will be used in her own practice.
I also took some business classes early in my career at the UofMN. At least for me, those "business" classes are extremely useful in life. Classes don't need to be hard in order to be (more) useful.
Last edited by MN-Born-n-Raised; 06-25-2013 at 06:45 AM..
I've come across thousands of job ads over the years that ask for a plain old business administration degree. I'm not talking about accounting, finance, human resources, etc. I'm just talking about a plain old business administration degree. The degree is very flexible; it's just that too many people have it.
I've come across thousands of job ads over the years that ask for a plain old business administration degree. I'm not talking about accounting, finance, human resources, etc. I'm just talking about a plain old business administration degree. The degree is very flexible; it's just that too many people have it.
Partially because people look to it as a catch-all for people who have no idea what they want to do since the liberal arts degree became a no-no. More students in a major leads to the degree not meaning as much. In 4/5 years, STEM degrees aren't going to mean much because of how much they are talked about now.
Yeah, that's sort of the point. It's a joke major for people who have no idea what they want to do and really have no business being in college in the first place.
I was referring to the content of the lecture notes (provided by the instructors) and worksheets, not the fact that people leave things behind. The content is a joke. It's the sort of thing that a child could mostly follow, and anyone who had grasped middle school algebra could breeze through without any effort.
It's not clear who you are quoting. It's confusing to be quoting people with out attributing the quote. Something I learned as an English major. No, wait, I learned it in high school I guess but either way...
Meh you have to take those articles with a grain of salt. Last year there was an article saying that PhD research scientists have trouble finding jobs.
Depends what you're doing in business from what I've seen. For example, all my friends who are CPAs had very good job prospects. Others that were marketing/management it seemed to be dependent on their networks and where they lived. If they networked well, they got decent jobs. My friends and cousin who are marketing majors found really good jobs when they relocated to NYC. It's really what you put into it.
Yeah, that's sort of the point. It's a joke major for people who have no idea what they want to do and really have no business being in college in the first place.
I was referring to the content of the lecture notes (provided by the instructors) and worksheets, not the fact that people leave things behind. The content is a joke. It's the sort of thing that a child could mostly follow, and anyone who had grasped middle school algebra could breeze through without any effort.
I think the issue is looking at the notes for another major is hieroglyphics compared to another. Besides jargon, business is typically using language for people with a sixth grade vocabulary. Why, because most people stop evolving from that level. Maybe other majors make things more complicated than they need to be. I couldn't tell you because I have only been a business major.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sally_Sparrow
It's not clear who you are quoting. It's confusing to be quoting people with out attributing the quote. Something I learned as an English major. No, wait, I learned it in high school I guess but either way...
He was quoting me but I agree, it is confusing. I would rep this but I repped you a little too recently.
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