Business degrees
 

Can those of you that know summarize business degrees for me? what is the highest level of math involved in order to get a business degree? what sort of classes and subjects must you take? what kind of jobs can you get with a business degree?

thank you.

Re: Business degrees
 

Calc 1.

Re: Business degrees
 

Business degree = degree for those that couldn't hack it in anything else, unless you are going to one of the very top business programs.

Re: Business degrees
 

If you can tie your shoes, you can get a business degree.

GL with a job though.

Re: Business degrees
 

Yeah, because a business degree is easier to get than a degree in Communications or Criminal Justice.

Re: Business degrees
 

Yeah I'm pissed I majored in it. What a waste

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
Business degree = degree for those that couldn't hack it in anything else, even at one of the very top business programs.

[/ QUOTE ]

fyp

Re: Business degrees
 

All this bashing is just in relation to undergrad correct? MBAs are really powerful degrees arent they? (this is coming from a 12th grader so i might be missing the obvious)

Re: Business degrees
 

All I know is that business degrees are really really saturated...it has to be the worst right? I know that a lot of people do business and communications just because they don't know what else to major in.

I know a TON of business majors and in my personal experience, 95% of them suck at life. Then again I tend to really like the 5% that are dedicated and plan to do something with their lives.

Long story short, don't do business unless you're a smart cookie...

Re: Business degrees
 

surf,

I don't know the answer to your question, but I would guess you're right. Most the dolts that do business don't go on to get MBAs because they're burnt out on school after sophopmore year. I'm guessing that if you took a straw poll of which major has the most worthless people percentage wise...business has to be #1. At least in my heart (and/or my perception)

Re: Business degrees
 

Management Info Systems - learn MS-Office programs, database theory and structure, how to analyze, design, and implement a computer system or network, learn how to program in C++/ Visual Basic (probably Java too), maybe learn how to set up a network from server to terminals, probably some HTML in there too. Math required - algebra, although Calc 1 was a requirement for me to get into business school. Jobs are usually analyst / programmer, unless you find something specific like database applications, webpage design, or systems design.

Finance - learn how loans and bonds are structured, how amortization and interest work, how to analyze financial statements and loan applicants, bugets and proforma statements, analyze stock performance, construct stock portfolios, international markets and investment opportunities, how money and banking works in the U.S., maybe take an elective that explores venture capitalism... Math required - algebra. Get a job as a loan underwriter, investment analyst, budget analyst, maybe loan officer, consultant, venture capital analyst, or be a cool forensic financial analyst with the FBI. If you go into banking, maybe become a senior credit analyst or move into a loan officer position. IME, stock brokerages want marketing majors for their stock broker positions, since it is a sales job.

Accounting - take classes like financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, tax accounting, partnership tax accounting, auditing...get a job as an auditor or tax accountant with a local CPA or big 4 firm. Eventually take the CPA exam, maybe go into practice for yourself or be a partner in a CPA firm. Algebra required.

For all the b-school haters out there....IME the ones who couldn't make it past Intro to Finance (about 25% of the b-school undergrads) went to liberal arts or university studies. B-school isn't the hardest stuff on the planet, but it's not the easiest either.

ScottieK

Re: Business degrees
 

Finance/Econ
Accounting
CIS (If your school does not have a dedicated Computer science section in the math department)

Are all top tier majors. Only thing better are your analytical majors such as hard sciences and other applied math endeavors. Social sciences are horrid for just getting a generic job.

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
Finance/Econ
Accounting
CIS (If your school does not have a dedicated Computer science section in the math department)

Are all top tier majors. Only thing better are your analytical majors such as hard sciences and other applied math endeavors. Social sciences are horrid for just getting a generic job.

[/ QUOTE ]I beg to differ there.

Re: Business degrees
 

Wow I didn't know how looked down upon Business Majors are...

I'm going to the undergrad business program at Penn State in the fall, and it is supposed to be the most difficult undergrad program to get accepted to at PSU. Now I'm finding out Business is a bigger joke than Communications?

Re: Business degrees
 

hlacheen,

All in your checks. Business majors are paid.

T50,

Explain.

Re: Business degrees
 

Yeah I was kinda depressed to read through this as well. I wonder what all these haters consider to be good if business degrees are so bad? Im serious - I'm only in my first year and I still have time to change directions.

In high school, my strengths (and interests) were in English, Social Studies and computer related courses - any recommendations?

Re: Business degrees
 

Im in first year now and was planning on a comp sci degree but i hate all these gay math courses and i might switch to business just cuz its easier.

Re: Business degrees
 

Mossberg,

Marketing and management are very poor majors that give you very few useful skills. Same for Int'l Bzn and anything that is "easy". Mass Comm and crap like that is equally worthless.

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
T50,

Explain.

[/ QUOTE ] Well to clarify I meant econ isn't a top tier major by my post. I don't get much respect at all from employers, and I've minored in math and have a very strong academic record. At the begining of one interview (for a management consulting company) the interviewer even commented very doubtfully: "Well, I'm honestly used to looking at much more technical resumes." (I wanted to ask her if taking Abstract Algebra, Topology, and Real Analysis would make me THAT much more techincal...that's all I'd have to do to join the club. And the handful of upper level math classes I've taken have made me think harder than I EVER would had to have think in any business school class.)

Econ is easy (at least at the state school level), and thus doesn't command that much respect. Lots and lots of employers said they only were looking for finance, accounting, MIS, etc. If anyone wants to do business, I'd suggest they major in one of those.

Re: Business degrees
 

Hey ed, I'm in my last year of Business Admin and didn't have to do many math courses.. after the intro courses, the classes are usually more concentrated and specific to what branch of business you would like to go into.. so I could have taken more mathy/finance course but chose not to

All my math related courses:

1st year - Stats, Calc I (Intro)
2nd - Finance
3rd - Finance

Classes/Subjects can some intro/managerial accounting, finance, economics (micro and macro), operations mgmt, marketing courses, information technology, Human Resources, etc .

Re: Business degrees
 

It is generally hard to generalize and have foundations as to being correct. I could be mistaken, but I think business is one of ISU's better programs (that isn't to say it is nationally known, oh god no)...

But, most of the business majors I know of through my roommates seem to be terrible students who don't know or care about anything. This is obviously a very small sample, but in my experience, they are being trained to be robots and they can't even manage that.

Re: Business degrees
 

business majors usually do pretty well in the job market compared to most other majors, avg. salary is about $40k. Not bad considering its not a difficult major.

Re: Business degrees
 

Econ is still 10x harder than any business major.

Re: Business degrees
 

This thread is hilarious.

Re: Business degrees
 

can we do this thread without the sarcasm

Re: Business degrees
 

danlux,

Most econ dept. are either in or closely related to the business dept. Like look at Chicago's business school, or maybe Stanford.

T50,

I'm sorry thats the case for you, but I think it has little bearing on the topic at hand. Economics is very math oriented and technical, despite what you're HR people seem to be saying. This is reinforced by the fact you have a math minor and they're still in lala land.

I am not familiar with econ at the state school level. We have a combined Econ/Finance major for various reasons at my school. Do you not take econometrics or more advanced math classes normally there?

Re: Business degrees
 

Quick question about business majors:

I'm getting a general business management degree, but plan on getting my MBA in either Finance, Econ or Marketing riht after school. What's the general consensus on an MBA?

Re: Business degrees
 

bb88,

Worthless there. Not one worth going to will accept you.

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
bb88,

Worthless there. Not one worth going to will accept you.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is part of the general perception of business majors being lame.

I know there are tons of business students who are way better students and will be wayyyyyy more successful than me in terms of drive and happiness...but there seem to be an awful lot that are on the other end of the spectrum.

Pursue an undergrad degree that can get you into a good business MBA program and you're golden.

Note: I'm not trying to be mean about any of this, it is just my small sample size perception and others' I know.

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am not familiar with econ at the state school level. We have a combined Econ/Finance major for various reasons at my school. Do you not take econometrics or more advanced math classes normally there?

[/ QUOTE ]
Econometrics is offered as an undergrad class, but not required. I didn't take it (although I've taken probability, a senior level math class that covers statistics on a more theoretical and rigorous level).

The math requirements for econ are a joke. You only need to take differential calculus to be an econ major (or any business major I think). IMO, most econ majors would have a lot of difficulty taking integral calc, let alone linear algebra, diff eq, or multivariable calc, which I think econ majors should have at least some exposure to. In class, whenever a derivative is required to get through a derivation, the teacher has to stop everything and say, "okay, now if you remember from calculus, when you take the derivative of x^n you get (n-1)x^(n-1)"...and the class moans in frustration. They never bothered explaining simple relationships like (TC)'=MC, etc...and I only know that crap because I figured it out myself.

Let's just say I'm not impressed at all with my econ program, and I go to a fairly decent school. I shudder when I think of econ programs at lower-level state schools.

Re: Business degrees
 

SoloAJ,

You have no clue what you are talking about. He could graduate from Harvard with a PhD in theoretical math and no decent MBA will take him.

T50,

Interesting. That is pretty haggard. We had some fairly complex math relationships in my program and assumed that full econ programs would be more difficult. I do go to a small liberal arts school though.

Re: Business degrees
 

Well [censored], I was deciding between majoring in econ or finance... but I guess I'll go into finance. I was leaning towards Finance anyways since, I believe (I haven't had any counseling or anything), it's more math-oriented.

Now I'm breezing by school too fast. What's a good minor to accompany a finance degree? Maybe even double major since a lot of the other business degrees only require ~12 units more? I'd like to hear some opinions. I think I need to declare this month.... I wish my school would be like my mother and inform me of this [censored].

Re: Business degrees
 

Acct.


You'll likely be very close to the requirements for it already.

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
Acct.


You'll likely be very close to the requirements for it already.

[/ QUOTE ]

Double major?

I'm ahead in school, so I don't mind spending an extra semester or two. I just want to make sure it's worth it.

Re: Business degrees
 

[ QUOTE ]
bb88,

Worthless there. Not one worth going to will accept you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you referring to the "general" business degree? Didn't know those existed, but what are the top 5 or so degrees you'd list for getting into a MBA program at a top school?

Re: Business degrees
 

A general management degree. Major in Business Management without a concentration. I'm also looking into applying for a doctorate right out of college.

Why would no decent MBA take me? I'm also willing to take an acception on the basis I work a couple years before attending. I was under the impression with a killer GPA, a killer GMAT score, and a couple years experience, I would be able to get into a nice MBA program (specifically Wharton, I have talked to my advisor about this).

Edit: And I already "know" of a couple MBA programs around me that aren't terrible (about average I'd said) that would take me, as I talked to the Gradudate offices and have been told I'd have no problems getting in. I'm more interested in the job market for an MBA than getting in, as I WILL be able to pursue one at a school right out of college if I choose.

Re: Business degrees
 

bb88.

If you mean in several years, then it is diff. A GMAT gets you in no where, but will get you rejected. A good GPA is a must, but your work exp is what gets you in. GL getting into Wharton.

And I'm saying any MBA you get without work exp will likely be completely worthless.

Re: Business degrees
 

Thremp,

Thanks for reiterating something I previously implied or stated, I have no clue.

Regardless, I'm not sure how the rest of your reply addressed what I said. I was trying to say that if you want to get an MBA you should be in a major and excel in a way that will set you up to get an MBA. How does a PhD in theoretical math associate with that?

Re: Business degrees
 

Thremp is right. If you want a good MBA, you have to work for a couple years before you get it. You'll find that out very quickly if you look at recruiting pages for prestigous schools.

Re: Business degrees
 

Disclaimer: I only got through the first 10 responses before I broke out laughing and decided to post. This post is in regards to those saying a business degree is a joke. Also my business school was recently ranked second in the country, so this may not apply to everyone.

A Business Degree at my school is the most respected and hardest to earn. While I'm constantly forced to stay up till 2 in the morning to complete projects or study for tests, other majors are watching scrubs and going to bars. While this is frusterating for me at times, I recently was asked to interview for 9 different companies - most of my friends with other majors were asked to 1 or 2. The companies I interviewed with include: JP Morgan, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, PWC, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Bank of America. These are all huge companies that offer the most competitive salaries and opportunities. They did not interview many kids without business degress (although top economic students did recieve interviews). The bottom line is, unless you are going to grad school, good luck getting a job in finance or accounting without a business degree. Oh yeah.. and it just so happens the easiest way to get rich is to take a job in either discipline.