<p>^ No. I usually do it by using more anecdotes or just careers/salaries of people that I care to mention and remember along with their college major. I also look up average salaries from various websites with major and college in mind. The general impression I get is that a fair amount of people end up a career that has nothing to do with their major. However, the people with professional majors I’ve observed usually end up with a decent living while it’s kind of a tossup for everybody else. Again, I know I don’t know everything so that’s why I ask first and would like people to make corrections to the impressions I’ve formed. </p>
<p>I guess it would also really depend on school as well. My state, to knowledge, doesn’t boast a lot of nationally renowned business programs (aside from our flagship state campus, I guess). I’ve been told by a couple people that business is a “jock major” (easy) which is not certainly not an impression I had before going to college. But I would not call a great business school like Wharton an “easy” one. </p>
<p>The fact that you don’t need a business degree to go into business (unlike engineering and other professional jobs where you do need those degrees) would make me guess that companies can probably train you on the fly with ease on how you do your business job. Whether or not I would actually have a step up to have a formal business education than the people who don’t… Well then, I’m not exactly sure if and how much of an advantage there is. That’s why I’m asking people who know so much more about having a career than I do.</p>
<p>The comparative advantage Business majors have over others is their relatively low-cost of training at the intern level. You’re free labor. You can pick things up quicker than other majors as it should be review. At this point, you’ve secured a foot in the door and it’s your responsibility to do something with it. The reason there are so many failed Business majors is because they never took the initiative to get into competitive internships. They felt that a degree in BA is going to be enough to secure a job once they graduate. Wrong. Connections are made while still in college and then that’s where networking comes in.</p>
<p>Friends of mine who work for Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Ernst and Young, etc., did something with their degrees while still in school.</p>
<p>In this economy, business & econ majors, as well as engineering, have an ‘easier’ time finding jobs right out of college. And even paid internships while in college. (Not “easy” mind you, just “easier”.) That doesn’t mean that Lit majors are 100% unemployed, it just means that they have to work/network harder to land a position. Once landed, what you do with that opportunity is solely up to the individual, regardless of whether business/econ/eng or humanities. Thus becoming “prosperous” is more up to you. Remember, Bill Gates & Steve Jobs and Michael Dell were college drop outs, as was Steven Spielberg.</p>
<p>Courses in finance and econ (and eng) tend to be difficult, so there are fewer such graduates than in humanities. Thus, the supply of college graduates seeking jobs becomes a numbers game.</p>
<p>In your opinion, would the financial reward, relative chance of success, and job security be better as a lawyer or someone who works in business/finance/related industries? I know that’s a very broad question with many, many variables but can someone please outline these factors?</p>
<p>If you don’t have what it takes to potentially guarantee yourself a spot in a T14 school, you have a higher chance of making a fair amount of money (without incurring 150k+ in debt) in business. There are just simply more opportunities for entry-level positions in big business than there are entry-level positions in big law. Also, an MBA is not necessary for entry-level positions in business whereas a J.D. is for law–this means you can test the job market before having to go back and invest towards school for 3 years.</p>