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I went to Community College after HS since I was unsure about what I wanted to do. Five semesters later, I earned an Associate Degree in Accounting.
Now, I transferred to a 4 year Public University and i've decided that i'm no longer interested in Accounting. I switched to International Trade since Geography has always been what my passion& what my soul was meant to do (Intl.Trade has a very heavy geography curriculum).
Now my major is International Trade (not to be confused with International Business) and I will get my BA in International Trade next Spring AND THEN WILL get an MA in International Trade directly after.
MY QUESTION IS: How lucrative is this combo and how competitive will I be?(I also have ~6 months of international trade-related experience)
Accounting will stand you in good stead. You can always fall back on that and make a good living if you don't find something in Internat'l Trade. An MA in almost anything is better than a BA in almost anything. My niece got a degree in International Trade, but only a BA, so she didn't even try for a related job. She's been living in Germany now, and is considering going to grad school there.
Do what you love, keep the accounting in your back pocket as a fallback, and hope for the best. Be sure to get your CPA certificate. What's your foreign language? Check out job listings in The Economist magazine to get an idea for what you might be able to do with your degrees. Lots of international jobs there. I don't know how you'd get the initial experience that most of them require, though. Your university should have a job placement office, and your MA faculty might be able to help with job connections to get you started. Do internships while you're getting your MA, by all means!
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-16-2013 at 05:04 PM..
They probably teach marketing. At an undergrad level it sounds useless. That is something you need experience in. Im not telling you to not pursue it, but that is not something companies really look for. For international type jobs they look for accounting, economics, finance, IT, usally.
They probably teach marketing. At an undergrad level it sounds useless. That is something you need experience in. Im not telling you to not pursue it, but that is not something companies really look for. For international type jobs they look for accounting, economics, finance, IT, usally.
Thank you for the responses, guys.
What do you mean by marketing? Do you think experience in the field of marketing would be helpful&relevant.
What do you mean by marketing? Do you think experience in the field of marketing would be helpful&relevant.
Im not 100% positive but most international trade type degrees focus on the marketing aspect of business. This is just from my experience. It is how to conduct business internationally, learning about other cultures, projects, etc.
It is hard to get a job directly in marketing these days.
The best majors are STEM. Science, technology, engineering, and math. The best business majors are once that are technical in nature; accounting, finance, MIS, etc.
Why would a company need someone with a degree in international trade? How would that program give you an edge? There are millions of people who engage in this daily.
If you are are really interested in this field I would go with international studies or international relations, perhaps with a focus on business. CHances are it will be hard to find a job in this but it would probably be more interesting.
I am a big advocate of doing what you love, but you also gotta keep in mind that the economy is in a recession, there are fewer jobs, college degrees dont hold the weight they used, and there are lots of degree holders. For alot of the cool jobs that students dream of, you have to work your way up to them and for many people they will never get to that point.
Im not 100% positive but most international trade type degrees focus on the marketing aspect of business. This is just from my experience. It is how to conduct business internationally, learning about other cultures, projects, etc.
It is hard to get a job directly in marketing these days.
The best majors are STEM. Science, technology, engineering, and math. The best business majors are once that are technical in nature; accounting, finance, MIS, etc.
Why would a company need someone with a degree in international trade? How would that program give you an edge? There are millions of people who engage in this daily.
If you are are really interested in this field I would go with international studies or international relations, perhaps with a focus on business. CHances are it will be hard to find a job in this but it would probably be more interesting.
I am a big advocate of doing what you love, but you also gotta keep in mind that the economy is in a recession, there are fewer jobs, college degrees dont hold the weight they used, and there are lots of degree holders. For alot of the cool jobs that students dream of, you have to work your way up to them and for many people they will never get to that point.
What do you want to do after college?
Thank you for the response.
In terms of future employment goals, I would like to be an Import-Export Manager or an International Trade Specialist. What do you think is the fastest route to those jobs?
(To be honest, I just want anything good-paying involving international trade, imports/exports or anything that engages my love for geography and the world. )
I have about 6/mo of related experience and I know I need as much as I can.
What attracted me to International Trade was that it seems much more specific and straight-forward than International Business (which is more broad). Since most major companies are global, hiring somebody with a degree in International Trade seems very relevant. Wouldn't you agree?
Last edited by Guidance100; 05-16-2013 at 08:52 PM..
In terms of future employment goals, I would like to be an Import-Export Manager or an International Trade Specialist. What do you think is the fastest route to those jobs?
(To be honest, I just want anything good-paying involving international trade, imports/exports or anything that engages my love for geography and the world. )
I have about 6/mo of related experience and I know I need as much as I can.
What attracted me to International Trade was that it seems much more specific and straight-forward than International Business (which is more broad). Since most major companies are global, hiring somebody with a degree in International Trade seems very relevant. Wouldn't you agree?
I have no clue. I would imagine that importer/exporters run their own businesses with their own money. Entrepreneurship. You would need to know how to run a business. For the specialist I dont know.
Many companies are global and in this day and age millions of people engage in global trade. It as as easy as using the internet to buy and sell something from overseas. Why would you need a degree in international trade to do business?
Honestly, it sounds like an international MBA might be your best bet. That is grad level though. You might want to try out the economic and job forum to know more about the importer/exporting and trade specialist industries. Do some research on google.
I have no clue. I would imagine that importer/exporters run their own businesses with their own money. Entrepreneurship. You would need to know how to run a business. For the specialist I dont know.
Many companies are global and in this day and age millions of people engage in global trade. It as as easy as using the internet to buy and sell something from overseas. Why would you need a degree in international trade to do business?
Honestly, it sounds like an international MBA might be your best bet. That is grad level though. You might want to try out the economic and job forum to know more about the importer/exporting and trade specialist industries. Do some research on google.
I would also like to work for US Customs. I know they have a lot of good paying jobs. Does this seem like a feasible route?
You don't need an MA in international trade to work for US Customs. It's a grunt bureaucratic civil service job. You're either stamping passports for hours and interviewing travellers, or searching luggage, or possibly searching aircraft or vehicles. You'd be bored out of your mind in no time, even if you were a supervisor. I would think a degree in law enforcement would be more relevant to that job. There's a civil service test you take that determines whether you're suitable to be in supervisory positions or not. For Customs, there would be a security background check. These are pretty dead-end jobs.
Make an appointment with the graduate academic adviser in International Trade and ask what kind of jobs are available for someone with an MA in that field. Ask what jobs past graduates have gotten. Also talk to the graduate advisor in the International Business program, to compare employability. Do your research before committing to a grad program.
You ask how competitive will you be. Competitive for what jobs? Where do you see this program placing you? What jobs do you envision getting with this degree? Are you sure you have the right degree program selected for the type of job you envision? Make an appointment to see someone in your university job placement office. See if they could arrange for you to do some informational interviews with people working in your field, so you can find out more about what the job requirements are, what coursework will serve you best, what kind of people they hire.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 05-17-2013 at 12:01 AM..
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