Business majors: Majorly screwed

Few here have the slightest idea what they are talking about.

Most decent schools do not let you major in just "business." At some point, you have to specialize.

 

Yeah but even if you specialize, it can be really late in the process and just a matter of picking a few extra courses in one area as opposed to actually being interested in doing that.

 

So the New York Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education are totally misinformed? Business majors are the subject of this four-page article.

We all understand that marketing, management and the like are specializations within the degree program at a business school -- just as in the old days there used to be broadcast, print and web as separate degree programs in journalism. But "business" is a perfectly valid term for this discussion.

 

This was the case of my brother. He didn't have a passion for business, but went into it as a path to a job. He worked hard in terms of the classwork, but never attached himself to an internship. It was a struggle for him out of college, but he eventually landed a decent paying gig managing a retail store.

I also had a friend who was actually passionate about majoring in business. She had a goal of operating her own business or working in the travel industry. The smarts were not there, though. Took the GMAT three times and was highly embarrassed about that. Somehow she got into a decent MBA program through persistence, but this was about the time of the Wall Street meltdown in 2008. I don't know how a business major could not process the reality of the recession, but she was clueless. Perhaps that was for the best as she lucked into a sweet position at a globally known firm which paid for her post-grad schooling.

 

I bet business majors still make more money than journalism majors

 

No, I was responding to someone saying majoring in accounting is different from majoring in "business."

I don't doubt there are lazy business majors. I knew quite a few. Not everyone is that way, though.

 

My nephew is graduating next month cum laude with a 4-year Fine Arts degree.

Heaven help him.

 

Hey, I have a business degree (in Finance). I'm one of those guys who picked business because then, uh, you get money or something when you're done.

I lasted six months in the business world. Hard to find people who wanted to buy my mutual funds with a 7.5 percent load fee (remember those?) or a secondary mortgage with a 16 percent interest rate.

Went from there to this journalism thing, which has lasted 22 years to date. Never know when I'll need to dust off that degree and calculate the time value of money...or something.

 

___________ majors: Majorly screwed.

 

The thing about liberal arts majors - it qualifies you for nothing, but prepares you for just about anything.