Can we talk about undergrad business majors?

[Anonymous]

Constructively? I was a liberal arts major and am clueless about these programs. My son (a junior) is undecided on his major. He likes the humanities but may not have the intellectual curiosity or patience to pursue graduate work. I would not be surprised if he chooses a business major as the safest and quickest path to employment (he is not interested in STEM). So my question is, which undergrad business majors are the most desirable, and what sorts of jobs do they lead to? Which schools are the best? We are in VA. I understand UVA's business school is well regarded. What about W&M or smaller privates? He would prefer a smaller school. Is it possible to double major in business and an arts/sciences discipline, or are the requirements for each program too different? TIA.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Also, can anyone comment on the pros and cons of majoring in economics in a college of arts and sciences rather than getting an undergrad business degree?

[Anonymous]

OP again. Also, can anyone comment on the pros and cons of majoring in economics in a college of arts and sciences rather than getting an undergrad business degree?

[Anonymous]

Business programs are usually pretty prescribed and are in different schools so it's sometimes possible to take classes in another school within the university but not to double major. I am personally not a fan of undergrad business as I think an MBA is more useful and it's not necessary (and in fact repetitive) to do undergrad business to get an MBA. In my top 5 B-school we had very few people who were undergrad business majors. That being said the undergrad b-school at UVA is very highly regarded.

[Anonymous]

UVA's Darden School of Business is ranked #2 in the country for undergrad business. As a Virginia resident, UVA. Would be a no brainer IF your DS can get in.

Finance or accounting are the best undergrad business majors.

Economic is okay from a top school. W&M has a joint program with ST Andrews In Scotland that is worth a look.

[Anonymous]

I majored in business at a lowly ranked MD state school. While, it's true that Accounting and Finance are the big money makers, don't push him to major in that if he's not quantitative oriented. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers, but I got so stressed out that I basically had a couple of "Math" courses every semester. So I switched to marketing. It's a fun major if one is creative, outgoing(especially for sales,and persuasive, amongst other qualities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I majored in business at a lowly ranked MD state school. While, it's true that Accounting and Finance are the big money makers, don't push him to major in that if he's not quantitative oriented. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers, but I got so stressed out that I basically had a couple of "Math" courses every semester. So I switched to marketing. It's a fun major if one is creative, outgoing(especially for sales,and persuasive, amongst other qualities.

Marketing has gotten much more quantitative these days. More Harry Crane than Don Draper. You have to understand metrics, set up a/b testing, behavior models, comfortable in a big data environment. The cushy and 'fun' non-quant jobs at a big agency are few and far between and extremely difficult to get.

[Anonymous]

Common jobs for top UG business grads from places like Darden, Wharton, Tepper, Ross....

Finance = I banking, strategy consulting, Buyside/sellside research, sales & trading

Accounting = big 4 accountant/audit

Marketing = associate/junior brand manager in industry, market research, entry level agency stuff

Biz Econ = more theory less corp finance than finance. can get similar jobs to finance majors (more bank/consulting than corp fin on industry side though)

Depending on program you should be able to double major in a Liberal Arts major. Wharton has an excellent Finance/IR dual degree program. Inquire at other schools regarding dual degree opportunities and/or if many students pick up another liberal arts major (like psych or history) to go along with their business major.

It is imperative to get top grades and to network for internships the moment you get to campus. relevant internships after freshman, soph, and junior year are what really help get that great FT poistion after graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA's Darden School of Business is ranked #2 in the country for undergrad business. As a Virginia resident, UVA. Would be a no brainer IF your DS can get in.

Finance or accounting are the best undergrad business majors.

Economic is okay from a top school. W&M has a joint program with ST Andrews In Scotland that is worth a look.

Does Darden have an undergrad program? I thought undergrads at UVa could only study business at the McIntire School of Commerce (which also offers graduate degrees) and admission comes after you've already done two years of undergraduate work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I majored in business at a lowly ranked MD state school. While, it's true that Accounting and Finance are the big money makers, don't push him to major in that if he's not quantitative oriented. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers, but I got so stressed out that I basically had a couple of "Math" courses every semester. So I switched to marketing. It's a fun major if one is creative, outgoing(especially for sales,and persuasive, amongst other qualities.


Marketing has gotten much more quantitative these days. More Harry Crane than Don Draper. You have to understand metrics, set up a/b testing, behavior models, comfortable in a big data environment. The cushy and 'fun' non-quant jobs at a big agency are few and far between and extremely difficult to get.

A lot of the marketing people going in to sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I majored in business at a lowly ranked MD state school. While, it's true that Accounting and Finance are the big money makers, don't push him to major in that if he's not quantitative oriented. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers, but I got so stressed out that I basically had a couple of "Math" courses every semester. So I switched to marketing. It's a fun major if one is creative, outgoing(especially for sales,and persuasive, amongst other qualities.


Marketing has gotten much more quantitative these days. More Harry Crane than Don Draper. You have to understand metrics, set up a/b testing, behavior models, comfortable in a big data environment. The cushy and 'fun' non-quant jobs at a big agency are few and far between and extremely difficult to get.

A lot of the marketing people going in to sales.

that's true. That's where I may be headed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in business at a lowly ranked MD state school. While, it's true that Accounting and Finance are the big money makers, don't push him to major in that if he's not quantitative oriented. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers, but I got so stressed out that I basically had a couple of "Math" courses every semester. So I switched to marketing. It's a fun major if one is creative, outgoing(especially for sales,and persuasive, amongst other qualities.

Marketing has gotten much more quantitative these days. More Harry Crane than Don Draper. You have to understand metrics, set up a/b testing, behavior models, comfortable in a big data environment. The cushy and 'fun' non-quant jobs at a big agency are few and far between and extremely difficult to get.

that's true. Although I have been out of college since 09, it's still my dream to work for a CPG company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I majored in business at a lowly ranked MD state school. While, it's true that Accounting and Finance are the big money makers, don't push him to major in that if he's not quantitative oriented. Don't get me wrong, I love numbers, but I got so stressed out that I basically had a couple of "Math" courses every semester. So I switched to marketing. It's a fun major if one is creative, outgoing(especially for sales,and persuasive, amongst other qualities.

Marketing has gotten much more quantitative these days. More Harry Crane than Don Draper. You have to understand metrics, set up a/b testing, behavior models, comfortable in a big data environment. The cushy and 'fun' non-quant jobs at a big agency are few and far between and extremely difficult to get.

that's true. Although I have been out of college since 09, it's still my dream to work for a CPG company.

PP, not sure what you do right now but if you are looking for an in into those 'associate brand manager' positions at f500/f1000 CGP firms, look into working in analytics at somewhere like Nielsen or another marketing data consultantcy.

While it isn't for everyone, Nielsen does place well in CPG because all the big CPG firms hire nielsen analysts at the brand and operational level. Pretty easy to jump over to a place like P&G after 2-3 years at Nielsen. Look for positions that deal with cpg custom analytics.

[Anonymous]

You get into UVA first, complete the prerequisites and then hope you get into the business program (most don't). Other Us will admit directly into the major out of high school.

I would have him know, and consider the difference.

[Anonymous]

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings#5

this ranking might help.