What Business degree should I get?

[Emperor]

Thought I would throw this out here.

I am 5 quarters from finishing my BS in Business. I'll be getting it from Wright State University. (I live closeby) I am seriously considering applying to their Graduate program and getting my MBA after I get my BS.

At this point I am still up in the air about which degree to get.

Accounting- I absolutely hate accounting. I struggled to get through what I had to take, so Accounting is out.

Finance - I was very interested in stocks and the market at one point. I even managed some money for some friends during the dotcom boom. However, there came a point where I hated looking at financial statements because it looked to me that 90% of companies were lying on them. I returned the money I was managing with the explanation that I couldn't tell which companies were lying and which ones weren't. Everyone thought I was bonkers until the dotcom crash, Enron, Worldcom, Lucent, etc. I currently have all my money in index funds (ones that actually by the index, there are few.) I would really have to make a leap of faith to get my degree in Financial Management or similar.

Management - Interests me. I have been a manager in past jobs. (Value Added Resellers) However, I wonder how hard it is to move up without an MBA.

MIS - While this is really a management degree with some IT thrown in, these guys seem to get "typecast" into IT manager jobs. I wouldn't mind working as an IT manager, I managed MCSE's in the past. However I am no software developer and can't see myself ever being.

Operations Management - One of the most interesting things to do that I have encountered in my work experience, is to make the process more efficient and more profitable.

International Business - I don't know about this, I am not so extroverted that I am going to go seeking a career in China. I don't speak Chinese either.

Economics - I like economic theory, however economists seem to do more actuarial type jobs where they take a large chunk of data and crunch it via economic theory. Don't know if I would be into that.

I might be off on some of these descriptions, feel free to correct me, add suggestions, etc.

Oh. I don't really want to get a job, but after being on 2+2 forever I still suck at poker. So this is my backup plan.

Thanks

[ItalianFX]

I was in Finance, and it turned out to be nothing like what I had expected. I was all about stock investing/trading, and then I started my intro to Finance class and it was more about capital budgeting, interest rates, and other theories.

I am now in Economics and am very happy with it. I'm quite different than the normal college student as I'm not in college to get a job afterwards. I don't like working for other people and so I want to start my own business (which I am right now), and I'm a police officer, which has been my lifetime dream.

I have a friend who went to Penn State for Information Systems Technology and he got his first job with JP Morgan in NYC, and now works for Lehman Brothers in Time Square. He has been in NYC for about 2-3 years now and makes about 80k/yr.

Finance isn't really much about financial statements like it is with Accounting, although you will have to deal with them to compare numbers with ratios and margins.

My suggestions are Finance, Economics, or IST (based on my friend's experience).

[Misfire]

Get a job for 2 or 3 years and decide what you want to do with your life before you decide on a degree.

[Ron_Mexico]

Get an accounting degree. When you get in the upper classes of accounting it becomes much more interesting. The lower levels are just nonsense. This is the best degree you can get. You have tons of choices both in and out of the accounting field.

[kato777]

Agree. Get an Accounting Degree. It's technical, it clarifies no nonsense degree- come on marketing degree??? I got an accounting degree and am working in sales. Yes, I though i was going into accounting but the work around tax season is brutal. If you want to start your own business, knowing the ins and outs of the financials is paramount.

[crazy canuck]

Agree with Misfire.

Do not do an MBA right after finishing college unless it's from a great school.

Also, find out past placements from different programs.

[Big Bend]

I have a MIS degree and I've found it to be quite valuable in my career. Ya I started out programming, but have spend most of the last 15 years being a database administrator and systems admin. MIS people have many choices on what direction they want to work in. Once you get your foot in the door there are often all kinds of projects. I've always liked how every few years something new comes along. That and the pay is pretty decent.

And if you play your cards right you can avoide becomming one of those boring accounting and finance people who have dreadful lives.

I agree the MBA is generally worthless.

Good luck.. BB

[Ron_Mexico]

Accounting is not boring or dreadful. You don't simply crunch numbers. You will be doing more writing and speaking than math. There is nothing boring about business and accounting is a great gateway into a business career.

[elus2]

given a choice id rather be the CFO than the CTO for a large organization

[Big Bend]

[ QUOTE ]
Accounting is not boring or dreadful.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes it is.

BB