<p>I'm thinking about what I want to do after undergrad, and I'm considering the possibility of applying to a business school. So...what is the purpose of majoring in Business Administration (I'm considering my options) as an undergrad?</p>
<p>It seems weird to major in business as an undergraduate and then go on to a business grad school. Berkeley doesn't really offer any other professional undergraduate degrees. I mean, there's no major in Education at any of the UC's...albeit there is a minor in Education. Similarly, there is a B.A. in Legal Studies for those interested in law...but the major doesn't claim to be anything other than what its name suggests - legal studies. It isn't pre-professional or anything...So what is the point of committing to something completely professional like Business Administration as an undergraduate?</p>
<p>I’d imagine an education in Business at the undergraduate level would better prepare a student to transition into an MBA curriculum than any other degree. For engineers who end up wanting an MBA, they almost always have to go into industry and work a while to understand ‘business’ and then they go on to get an MBA. But I guess a student who studies Business could just skip that step.</p>
<p>Are you saying undergrad business students don’t need to hold a job before going to grad school? Because that’s not true…and that’s why most people don’t go straight into an MBA program after college. What exactly are they “skipping” as you say?</p>
<p>Haha okay, ignore what I said; I’m not a business major or anything, that was my (mistaken) understanding of why people would get a business degree. I apologize.</p>
<p>What many people think, but does not apply at all, is that an undergraduate business degree will academically prepare you for an MBA programs. That’s wrong, because the focus of these programs is different. Undergraduate business programs will TEACH you some of the theory and history in Economics, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, etc. </p>
<p>While MBA programs still end up teaching you a bunch of stuff, the main focus of most top programs is on NETWORKING and case studies. Depending on what courses you are taking, you will already be familiar with most of the MBA courses contents if you have an undergraduate business degree. </p>
<p>How an undergraduate business degree can help you to get into an MBA programs? That’s simple. It can help you to get a job (or internships) with one of the major firms (investment, banking, etc), which in turn will help you to get into a good MBA program. Work experience is arguably the most important part of your b-school application. If your goal is to get an MBA and you can get the same job with a different undergrad degree, there really is no purpose in majoring in business as an undergraduate.</p>
<p>most of my friends who want to get into Haas say they want to do so not because they care for the curriculum but because the recruiting from Haas is supposedly better</p>
<p>But if you apply to a b-school while you’re still an undergrad and get in…they tend to help you find a job (like the Harvard 2+2 program) and defer your admission. I still don’t really buy it.</p>
<p>There are plenty of job opportunities outside of Haas. And anyways, what do you do once you land a job you got through Haas? Never get your Master’s? Apply to Haas for your MBA? You’re only 21-22 years old, is getting recruited from Haas into some supposedly “prestigious” job really a good idea? It seems like such a dead end.</p>
You usually don’t apply to a business school while you are an undergraduate. People usually apply to b-school after they have worked full-time for several years. Most business schools don’t accept applicants without work experience. (And If they do, they only except very few, very extraordinary, people). The Harvard 2+2 program is an exception as it is specifically designed for students with junior standing. I don’t know of any other business school that would help you to find a job.</p>
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Yes, but these jobs may not be the kind of job that business schools like to see. Sure, you can work as an engineer at some major company but that won’t get you into a top b-school if you don’t also have business experience or you have achieved something extraordinary in your company. Also, like someone mentioned before, getting recruited from Haas is rather easy.</p>
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Well, an MBA is a Master’s degree, a professional one. Nobody forces you to apply to the Haas MBA program, you can apply to any school you want. There are plenty of schools that actually encourage you to get your MBA <em>somewhere else</em> if you have an undergrad business degree from that school already. They prefer applicants from other schools. I’m not sure if Haas is one of those.</p>
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Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? What’s a “dead end” about it? You can either work your way up, or you can get an MBA and find a better job, start your own company, etc.</p>
<p>Personally I’m not a big fan of going the undergrad business -> top MBA route, but I can certainly see how it is the “safest” way to get there.</p>
<p>Only REALLY exceptional students can get an MBA straight out of undergrad. Harvard’s 2+2 is an extremely competitive program. </p>
<p>Also, plenty of people do business undergrad and then go for MBA as well. It is definitely redundant but business school isn’t really about the coursework as much as the connections. A lot of top firms (associate position for ibank BBs) ONLY recruit at the top MBA schools. This sort of recruiting is what you pay the big bucks for. </p>
<p>But, those firms will still only recruit the people with the best qualifications. So, that is why it’s important to get a “prestigious” job right after undergrad. You gotta go one step at a time. The most ideal path would be something like Haas -> BB ibanking/MBB consulting -> Top MBA -> Associate. Getting into Haas gives you an easier time to land a BB ibanking/MBB consulting job, which makes it easier to get into a Top MBA, which will allow you to get an associate position at a top firm, and etc etc etc… This is why people want to go to Haas. Of course, it can be done differently and it has been, but this is the most “cookie-cutter” path that gives you the best leverage.</p>
<p>I realize that the Harvard 2+2 program is unique, and that most people don’t apply directly to b-school out of college (as I mentioned earlier), I was just citing it as an example of not necessarily needing a killer job right out of undergrad.</p>
<p>And honestly, if you worked as an engineer at a major company, I think you would have a great chance at b-schools (assuming your other stats are also impressive/wrote good essays about how you could apply engineering to business/etc). Why wouldn’t you? They like to see impressive and possibly consistent work experience, but they don’t expect to see CEO’s…That’s what happens after you get your MBA.</p>
<p>And I guess I understand why getting recruited from Haas as an undergrad would be helpful…but to me it just seems like kind of “overkill,” and perhaps some b-schools are thinking the same way. Why land an amazing job if you are simply going to quit and move to New York to get your MBA…you know? That’s what I mean when I claim the BS is a “dead end.” It seems like a dead end for those who want to pursue an MBA elsewhere (i.e. not at Haas). I don’t think most MBA students majored in business as undergrads.</p>
<p>Well, like I said, going to Haas is only one path and it is the most typical. If you’re an engineer then you can also have a great chance to get into a Top MBA assuming you had great stats and working for a top firm. The thing is that a lot of people who want to work in business have no interest in engineer or are not good at it so they look for alternative prestige, like Haas. It’s also a lot harder to be a top student in engineering than it is to be the top student in Haas.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of people go for MBAs for reasons of either making career switches or because they need it to move up in there companies. I think what you need to know is that not all top, young business workers will go for an MBA. If some guy landed a nice hedge fund/private equity associate position as an undergrad, then he will have no reason to pursue an MBA and simply work at his job. He will only pursue the MBA if his company requires it so in order to move up as a VP or MD. The other scenario, career switching, if he doesn’t like his job then he can pursue the MBA in order to get access to recruiting for other top firms. </p>
<p>I think how you’re thinking it is that it’s standard to pursue an MBA. But, it isn’t really. MBA is more of a thing that you attend because you need to do so. If you had indeed got an “overkill” job out of Haas/engineering then you have no need for an MBA. If you didn’t or dislike your job then an MBA is what you will seek.</p>
Yes, you are right. It’s an example, but it’s basically the <em>only one</em> that’s out there. Almost no top business schools accepts applicants without work experience, except for exceptionally extraordinary students (who may for example be running their own successful business).</p>
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Yes, they like to see impressive work experience, but in the best case it’s business related. If you worked as an engineer, and nothing else, I would say your chances are rather slim. On the other hand, if you worked as an engineer, rapidly became your team leader, department head, developed and marketed your own product, etc, that’s a different story which will certainly give you great chances at business schools.</p>
<p>However, compare that to someone who got a job with one of the “prestigious” firms out of undergrad. He or she doesn’t need to excel anymore, just do the work well. This person has already proven his/her abilities by getting a prestigious job. As long as the recommendations are good, the person will be fine for b-school admissions.</p>
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Who says you need to quit to get your MBA? You might as well go back to your company after getting an MBA. Heck, many companies will even sponsor you to get an MBA. Even within the same company there may be more doors open to you if you are holding MBA degree.</p>
<p>Also, why do you want to get an MBA anyway if you already have an “amazing job”? I thought your reason for getting an MBA in the first place was to land such a job. If you already got it without an MBA, what’s wrong about it? No reason to go for an MBA in that case.</p>
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Actually, they did. At least if you split it up by major.</p>
<p>23% percent majored in BA (a single major). 43% percent majors in Humanities/Social science, but that encompasses something like 100+ majors, same goes for Engineering, which encompasses many different majors. You can also see that the vast majority (~ 75%+) of pre-MBA industries are business-related. Thus, these people have business experience and are not just “some engineer”</p>
<p>@demoz (and Thomas mentioned the idea of not wanting an MBA, too) Yeah, I was just contemplating exactly what you posted after I posted. :P</p>
<p>That makes total sense. And I realize that most people do not pursue MBAs. And I guess that’s what separates business from other professional fields…If you want to be a lawyer, you go to law school. If you want to be a…businessman (? :P)…you could go to community college and get lucky, technically.</p>
<p>But I still think there are those who for whatever reason want to get an MBA, and plan on doing so before even landing a steady job.</p>
<p>@Thomas I guess I’m referring to business as a field, not so much a major. I mean, more people didn’t major in business than did. And those people could still get business-related jobs without a BS in business administration (which isn’t necessarily a commonly offered undergrad major in the first place). And anywho, that’s just Harvard. ;)</p>
But the vast majority of people worked in a business-related field, even if they did not major in it. And that’s usually much easier to do if you major in business (see my engineer example above).</p>
<p>I mean, go ahead and try to apply to one of the prestigious companies as a music history major. I doubt it’d work out as well.</p>
<p>EDIT: Nothing against music history majors I love music… and history…</p>
<p>^I’m not sure that’s the case. For one thing, business isn’t all that common an undergraduate major.</p>
<p>I know this goes against most people on CC’s beliefs, but I’m a big proponent of the “it really doesn’t matter what your undergraduate major is” sentiment that is sweeping the nation (okay, not really). I don’t think companies care (as much as people seem to think) about what you studied as an 18 year old in college.</p>
<p>If you were a music history major and you got a 4.0 and you landed an interesting managerial position with a music company, why the heck wouldn’t you look good for b-schools? Heck, you could have a music history major and work your way up an information technology company. I really don’t believe majors are nearly as suffocating as people seem to think, especially Bachelor’s degrees.</p>
<p>If someone loves music and history, why not major in music and history with the intent of pursuing a career in business?</p>
<p>I realize that this is now becoming sort of a pre-professional vs. liberal arts debate. Oh well. :)</p>
As long as you don’t have work experience, companies care. And that’s what matters after college since you won’t have any full-time work experience. Google won’t hire an art major as programmer, just like the prestigious firms won’t hire a music history major as a financial analyst. Now, that’s a different story many years down the road. Once you get work experience, this work experience will start to matter much more than what you majored in as an undergrad. But as long as you don’t have this experience, your major does matter a whole lot.</p>
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Yes, you are right and I am not trying to say that it’s <em>impossible</em>. However, getting a BA degree form Haas is the <em>safe</em> and straightforward way.</p>
<p>Take your 4.0 music history major as an example. What does he need to do to have a decent chance of admission to a top MBA program?
First of all he must find a job at some big information technology company straight out of college. That’s very difficult as a music history major.
In order to find such a job he must learn and study lots of things on his own and get the necessary knowledge. He may even need to start working at a small company in order to later stand a chance of getting into a well known information technology company.
Once at the big company (which may happen maybe 4-5 years down the road), he would start working his way up. This takes times.
After 8-10 years this guy may get some managerial position, which can put him into a good position for top MBA programs.</p>
<p>You can argue the same way for your mangerial music position. HOW would someone easily get such a position? I’m not saying it’s impossible, but the average music history major will never get such a job straight out of college, even the “best” music majors won’t.</p>
<p>Compare that to majoring in BA from Haas. You only need to be average to good in order to land a job that’s good enough for the top mba programs. Not much risk involved if your plan is to get an MBA.</p>
<p>Also, why would the music history guy major in music history anyway if his goal was to get a managerial or IT position? He should’ve majored in business or Computer Science.</p>
<p>EDIT: </p>
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If you love music and history so much, why would this guy want to pursue a business career rather than a music history career?</p>
<p>He could want to pursue a high position in, I dunno, the LA Philharmonic’s offices or something artistic like that. You could argue that having a music history major would actually be more helpful in a position like that than having a business degree. You can always find “niche” markets like that, and I don’t think they’re too far-fetched.</p>
<p>And I realize that my “undergraduate majors are meaningless” argument doesn’t hold true for the more professional majors like engineering or comp sci…You’re right, a computer company won’t hire an English major to program for them…but on the flipside, a comp sci major could get a job in education or start a restaurant or become the manager of an engineering company (business!).</p>
<p>I just don’t think - for the average company - a Bachelor’s degree is going to make or break a hiring possibility. In fact, it could start up interesting conversation. “Oh wow, you have a major in Near-Eastern studies. Why are you interested in working for our record company?” Then is your opportunity to show them what an interesting multi-cultural person you are. Or something like that. :P</p>
<p>It all just comes down to the whole undergraduate liberal arts vs. professional argument.</p>
<p>I don’t think the average music history major would want to pursue a career in IT, and you’re right, it would take a lot of extra time (but then again, there are positions in any company, even engineering or IT companies, that don’t necessarily require engineering or comp sci knowledge). I’m just saying it’s possible.</p>
<p>So I guess we’re kind of in agreement. A BS in business administration is a “fast-track” into the corporate world. I just don’t know if that’s the best option. Why not study something more broad and then pursue business?</p>
<p>Certainly, a CS major could become the manager of an engineering company. However, this will take time and effort. And starting a restaurant won’t get you into a top MBA program. Well, unless it’s the next McDonalds.</p>
<p>It’s all about what’s your goal. If you goal is an MBA and you want to get there as fast as possible, a business degree is usually the way to go. The business major working for some prestigious firm doesn’t need to put in that extra time and effort others need.</p>
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Well, if that’s the best option depends on what you want to do. If your absolute dream job is to work as a financial analyst, why would you major in music history? A business degree will get you there.</p>
<p>Why did you want an MBA in the first place anyway? MBA degrees are for people in the business field. Hence, these people enjoy business. Thus, many of them majored in business as undergrads. Or, they have majored in something else and have come to like (or were forced into) business for whatever reason.</p>
<p>If you don’t like business I don’t understand why you want an MBA. And if you like business, why not major in Business Administration? What would you get from “studying something more broad”? You may as well take some classes outside your department, even if you are majoring in business.</p>
<p>In general tough I totally agree with you. You can do anything with any major. I am also majoring in something different than what I actually do/want to do in terms of working. And I have my reasons for it (i.e. I knew what i wanted even before i chose my major).</p>
<p>You just gotta find out what you actually want to do.</p>
<p>Well, actually, yes they will. I was recently talking to a woman who majored in history, yet her first job right out college was in sales & trading at a major Wall Street bank. OK, it wasn’t a music history major specifically, if that major even exists at your school, but it was still a history major. {Of course, the fact that she completed her history major at Princeton may have had something to do with it. Generally speaking, there are plenty of Ivy humanities majors who take jobs at elite consulting and banking firms right out of school.}</p>
I love music… and history…</p>