Is a business undergrad degree worth it or just major in any area and than get an MBA later?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is interested in business/finance/marketing. Do you need specific undergrad major to do MBA later? Are there some undergrad degrees that make it so you don't need an MBA?

Depends on what he wants immediately after college. A job in IB/Finance/Accounting? He isn't getting that job with a history major. Any job in business in say marketing, hr, operations, events? he can land a job but in the big ticket companies he will compete with others who have an undergrad degree in the specialization.

He is if that History degree is from HYPSM. My husband is an MD at a BB and some of their summer interns from those schools have degrees in History, English, or a foreign language. That being said, the majority are math or econ majors.

Tell your kid to strategize what he wants his career to look like (what role at what firm) and go on LinkedIn to see the resumes of the people who have that job. Their school, their major, their internships, etc.

[Anonymous]

If he wants an MBA, skip business at undergrad. Some MBA schools don't like it as then they need to re-teach you "their" way of business.

Insetad, get a degree in something entirely different. In my MBA class, we had the full range.. IT people, biologists, engineers, philosophy, you name it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

There's good money in HR (very surprisingly) and Accounting. If a business undergrad gets you such entry level jobs pre MBA, it sure beats being a humanities major working for a rental car company after graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in technology at five different companies and I see a similar pattern at all five:

- CEO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC;  Master at Oxford, UCLA, UNC; JD at Harvard, MBA at Booth from U. of Chicago, Wharton, UVA Darden school, UMD Smith school, etc...
- CIO:  Undergrad in CS or Biomedical at UVA, VT, UMD.  MBA at Georgetown, UVA Darden, UMD Smith
- CFO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC; MBA at Booth, Wharton, Stanford, UVA, Georgetown

It looks like the MBA is the ticket to senior leadership, in addition to "networking".

I don't know whether the MBA is important, but there's no 'pattern' to where people study.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/lists/tech/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/business/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/biotech-pharma/

Yep- thanks for the links. It's a common misconception about C-suite executives, that they all went to a handful of schools.

[Anonymous]

MBAs are usually for people with useless undergrad degrees. Just do business undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

There's good money in HR (very surprisingly) and Accounting. If a business undergrad gets you such entry level jobs pre MBA, it sure beats being a humanities major working for a rental car company after graduation.

+1 or a starbucks.

[Anonymous]

I would say that an undergrad in business or marketing is different than an undergrad in finance.

Finance can be very lucrative, even if you’re not at a top school. But it is huge if you get into a top school.

Marketing? Meh, kind of a fluff degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

Totally not true.
If a school has undegrad business program, its usually a premium major - UPenn, Cornell, NYU, Emory, ND, UVA, MIT, etc.

You forgot Berkely Hass and Michigan Ross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say that an undergrad in business or marketing is different than an undergrad in finance.

Finance can be very lucrative, even if you’re not at a top school. But it is huge if you get into a top school.

Marketing? Meh, kind of a fluff degree.

Depends on the school. I majored in marketing at a top ug business school and -- along with all the rest of my marketing friends -- went onto very well-paying, lucrative jobs. A good marketing program isn't "fluff" at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say that an undergrad in business or marketing is different than an undergrad in finance.

Finance can be very lucrative, even if you’re not at a top school. But it is huge if you get into a top school.

Marketing? Meh, kind of a fluff degree.

Depends upon the particular program. Today, marketing majors can include data analysis or even data science courses that lead to job opportunities/meaningful employment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work in technology at five different companies and I see a similar pattern at all five:

- CEO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC;  Master at Oxford, UCLA, UNC; JD at Harvard, MBA at Booth from U. of Chicago, Wharton, UVA Darden school, UMD Smith school, etc...
- CIO:  Undergrad in CS or Biomedical at UVA, VT, UMD.  MBA at Georgetown, UVA Darden, UMD Smith
- CFO:  Undergrad at either Harvard, UCLA, UVA, USC, UNC; MBA at Booth, Wharton, Stanford, UVA, Georgetown

It looks like the MBA is the ticket to senior leadership, in addition to "networking".

I don't know whether the MBA is important, but there's no 'pattern' to where people study.

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/lists/tech/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/business/

https://lesshighschoolstress.com/biotech-pharma/

These lists only show where one earned an undergraduate degree. I would be more interested in seeing all degrees for business CEOs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would say that an undergrad in business or marketing is different than an undergrad in finance.

Finance can be very lucrative, even if you’re not at a top school. But it is huge if you get into a top school.

Marketing? Meh, kind of a fluff degree.

Marketing and advertising dominates large swaths of media platforms. There will always be a need for it as long as products and services are sold and purchased. A student with a marketing degree / background probably also had to take courses in finance, accounting, business law, etc.

More "marketable" than a philosophy or other "fluff" majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

This person is probably 80+ years old with extremely outdated information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

+1

Unless u do a undergrad from a top 10 business school ( nyu, ucla, etc) Undergrad business degree is pretty weak.

will Land up with a job at a local insurance company etc. Do CS + Business etc

If u do accounting - that gold. Big demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is lower end trade skills. Good for working in G&A (HR, Accounting), not for career growth.

For becoming a leader in a business, business degrees pair much better with skill in the company's subject matter , so double major or ugrad in a "product" subject and then MBA.

+1

Unless u do a undergrad from a top 10 business school ( nyu, ucla, etc) Undergrad business degree is pretty weak.

will Land up with a job at a local insurance company etc. Do CS + Business etc

If u do accounting - that gold. Big demand.