Career Advice - The Argument for Getting a Business Degree - CareerAlley

Career Advice - The Argument for Getting a Business Degree - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Money Watch published an article entitled 8 Reasons Not to Get a Business Degree. The idea that achieving a higher level of knowledge should be reconsidered is worth debating. Theres no greater career investment than furthering ones education. Wed say a business degree elevates an applicants goals. Its an achievement that employers take as a positive sign. They see you can set objectives and accomplish them, an attribute they want you to bring to their side of the table. Lets look at those eight reasons in hopes we can encourage people to think otherwise. Business majors dont learn much in business school. Alongside business majors, the article argues education and social work studies dont add much to a students skills, ultimately offering nothing to career advancement. Business is one of the most popular majors in the world. It provides extensive knowledge in commerce, finance, marketing and any number of other subjects. Why? Because business is an encompassing field that can be applied to almost any industry. You wont make as much money as you think. Individuals with business degrees dont make a lot of money. One is likely to make more with a degree in American studies, philosophy or history. This could be true. The more specialized the field the more likely a better pay scale. Business majors are going to start out just like anyone else, salaries included. For the record, no studies have shown having a business degree wont lead to a promising and lucrative career. The job market is crawling with business majors. One out of every five graduates is a business major. How does a candidate stand out? Every business major isnt applying for every position. Hiring managers want to get the right candidate in the right spot. Not having a business degree would hurt more than not having one at all. Your quality of life could suck. Labor economists examined grads across a series of occupations and concluded business majors were struggling more with career and home after 15 years. There are many successful, wealthy business majors that have no idea how to manage a family. The biggest corporations are probably run by individuals with a business degree. There are probably as many happy business majors as there are unhappy. Majoring in business could hurt your MBA chances. A study says business undergrads performed poorly in MBA programs as opposed to non-business majors. This may be because a lot of undergrads dont plan to enter MBA programs. They do so later and may not be prepared for the curriculum. You dont need a business degree to work in business. The argument here is the only three skills that are really required are communication, analytical and teamwork skills. These are actually fundamental studies of business. You can make more money with an economics degree. Warren Buffett, Ted Turner, Diane von Furstenberg, Mick Jagger, Esther Dyson and Steve Ballmer are all economic majors. Among prominent business majors you can list Bob Newhart, H. Lee Scott, Kevin Costner, Mark Cuban, Diddy, Paul Purcell and Vince McMahon. Your parents want you to major in business. Youre less likely to succeed financially and professionally if you let yourself be pressured into a major. This is the only one wed agree with. An area of study is an important life decision and should be based on what you want to do with your life. There are far too many opportunities available when you have a well rounded, advanced education. Deciding to go to college or get a business degree online only shows a determination to improve your future overall. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif