<p>In an undergraduate business school, which major/concentration is...
1. the most challenging/rigorous
2. will lead to the best job prospects, high salary, etc. </p>
<p>Accounting, MIS, Marketing, Economics, Finance, Management</p>
<p>Real Estate.</p>
<p>Finance or Accounting</p>
<p>Real Estate what?</p>
<p>In terms of most challenging, I would say a good MIS program (But these programs can vary greatly).</p>
<p>In terms of high starting salary: MIS. In terms of greatest upside: Finance or possibly Econ (depending on the school). In terms of job safety/security: accounting.</p>
<p>I was joking about that, however Real Estate has lots of potential.</p>
<p>I agree with your post though.</p>
<p>MIS will probably be the way to go right now. The tech industry continues to expand and continually seems to have jobs available. It seems like a bachelors will get you a very decent starting salary. MBA programs offer IT advanced degrees that make high paying salaries. Just search engine “mis bls.com” and it explains it all. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that employment outlook will be excellent. If you are a computer/math fan it is probably a good concentration choice.</p>
<p>Agreed, MIS is progressing. Especially IT consulting, SAP, etc.
And also supply chain logistics and operations management.</p>
<p>great! thanks for all the info! MIS seems great for me and I will probably will end up majoring in it/concentrating in it wherever I go for undergrad.</p>
<p>Don’t make a decision until you take your introductory business classes unless you are really into a subject. Trust me.</p>
<p>Edit: You should figure out what really interests you.</p>
<p>Yeah of course. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>hey, I was wondering, my school doesn’t offer MIS or supply chain, but rather gives something called: ISOM (information systems and operations management). I think it’s a combination of the two disciplines, since the two are somewhat related. My question is, would it be wise, if I decide to get on this career path, to get a supplementary major in economics (I think econ would be helpful since it analyzes how demand/supply shifts plus it is fairly quantitative)? I’m worried that this isn’t a legit major, so if anyone has any idea what I should do, please let me know, especially since I’m concerned about the turf wars this major has with industrial engineering already (or would a minor in math be better).</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>EDIT: Sorry to highjack your thread OP. But to answer your question, it really depends. Traditionally, finance or accounting are the hardest, with accounting typically being more difficult for most people due to the memorization invovled. However, as someone alluded to earlier, MIS, depending on the program, can be pretty challenging as well. But if I were to bet, I’d say accounting is generally the toughest.</p>
<ol>
<li>the most challenging/rigorous</li>
</ol>
<p>Accounting will be at most schools. A lot of finance majors are accounting majors that couldn’t hack it in the upper-level accounting classes.</p>
<ol>
<li>will lead to the best job prospects, high salary, etc.</li>
</ol>
<p>All of them are very good if you’re a good worker.
Accounting - first job will be like an extension of your education, so the starting salary isn’t the best. However, lots of accountants get MBA’s and go on to a C-level management position
MIS - all I really know is that there is a growing demand but it’s not for me
Marketing - there is a lot of money in it, but I view marketing majors as the actors of the business world in that they’re artsy and often end up working mediocre jobs but all dream of getting that big break where they start making the big bucks
Economics - it has really good salary statistics, but that’s probably because a lot of top colleges don’t have the other degrees, so I would get a business degree at a school that offers them to ensure you get first pick at the business-related jobs
Finance - it also has really good salary statistics, but I would go for something like accounting if the program wasn’t top 5 or 10.
Management - like marketing it lacks a lot of the quantitative aspects that draw high salaries and respect, but management consulting and similar jobs can be quite lucrative</p>
<p>thanks everybody! </p>
<p>lol cream i don’t mind!</p>
<p>Real estate is really a subset of finance and the most lucrative Real Estate jobs are on the finance side.</p>
<p>@cream, Wharton does a similar thing in combining Operations and Information Systems into one department. How legit it is probably depends where you go to school. About doing Operations or MIS in an undergrad business school, how do those opportunities compare to undergrads who majored in Industiral Engineering/OR or Computer Science/EE as undergrads? My gut tells me that the engineering majors will get the advantage, all things being equal.</p>
<p>To the OP, it really depends where you go to school.</p>
<p>Operations and MIS are similar to IE and CS?</p>
<p>What about, let’s say, a major in MIS and a minor in math? Would the minor really matter to future employers/ job prospects?</p>
<p>I’m not 100% sure, but I’ve always been under the impression that Operations Management was a ligher version of IE. I wouldn’t say MIS and CS are similar, but for an MIS job, I’m under the impression CS majors are also very competitive for them, and might have a leg up because they have the technical background.</p>
<p>A math minor might be a decent signaling tool that you have strong quantitiative skills. It probably won’t make a huge difference, but can’t hurt.</p>
<p>and are MIS and ISOM similar? i was reading that it is difficult to get a job if you major in either one… would it still be hard if you go to a top program like NYU Stern, CMU, etc.</p>
<p>A top program makes it easier to get a job. MIS and ISOM are similar. ISOM is just one department for MIS and OM. Going to a top business school period makes getting any job from any major easier.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>What about Information Science?</p>
<p>Sorry to ask all these questions but as I am researching colleges and majors all these new terms with information and systems and operations and management keep popping up as majors and concentrations and they all seem similar to me so I was just wondering if there is any real difference between any of them.</p>