<p>My son expressed an interest in majoring in Business, specifically maybe Accounting or Actuary Science (more Math/Statistics related). When searching the internet, it looks like there are limited job openings in these fields Now I think he should consider a physical therapy assistant program at our local community college and then transfer to a 4 year degree program in Business. I am an older parent and worried that my son be self supportive when he graduates. Any feedback about jobs for undergrad Business degree? Thanks.</p>
<p>It depends. Accounting is a great major and pays well. So does actuarial science (if he has the background in math). </p>
<p>Business degrees are not wholly useless, but if he were to pick a major, I advise picking a major that would teach him a certain trade or skill (like finance, operations management, or accounting). Avoid programs in marketing or general management. </p>
<p>The job outlook is reasonably good - but your son better have the grades/resume/interviewing skills to back himself up once recruitment time comes along.</p>
<p>When you think about it, TONS of jobs in our economy are business related. Anyone with good grounding in business basics (accounting, finance, marketing, operations management, business law, etc.) is going to have some edge in performance in those jobs. I have an undergraduate business degree, and it is very useful on a regular basis in my work. I think a business major has a BETTER chance at getting a job in almost any economic environment, and certainly has the chance at a much more lucrative career that via almost any other undergraduate major. It also gives him skills to run his own business if he wants to do that someday.</p>
<p>Just an FYI, my major was marketing, but I minored in computer science. It is okay to major in marketing or general management, but picking up a more “skilled” minor will help improve his job prospects.</p>
<p>Agree with others who say he still has to interview well. The ability to speak, analyze, and write are all very important.</p>
<p>The physical therapy assistant to B-school path seems very odd to me. They are so unrelated, unless he wants to manage or own a physical therapy office some day. Seems like a real niche ambition that it could be hard to put into practice. If he goes to CC and you want him to pick up a skill, he could still take accounting or some other business related major. Might enable him to pick up more lucrative part time work as well during his college years… temp agencies and small businesses often LOVE business major college students.</p>
<p>There are limited job openings for actuaries? That’s incorrect. Anyone graduating with a degree in actuary science will have no trouble at all getting a great job. In fact it’s probably one of the easiest careers as far as getting a job. (actually doing the job is a different story–incredibly hard–but I digress). OP’s belief that there are limited job openings is only true in the sense that there are not many actuary jobs overall. However, there are not many people to fill them. Demand is always greater than supply. Insurance companies are always hiring actuarial trainees. </p>
<p>If you love advanced math and want to use it every day, there is no better career. Of course you need to have serious math skills. Actuaries can do calculus like you and I can add 2+2. If you don’t like calculus and other higher math, forget it. Be an accountant. They also work with numbers, but it’s more basic math.</p>
<p>There are a lot of jobs for people with a degree in business, especially in Accounting. If this is what your son wants to major in, he shall go for it.</p>
<p>my b-i-l is an accountant and has never had a problem finding a job. Worked for an accounting firm after college; then for a financial services/investment company; then had a job with a pharma. company. Now taking a new job with an insurance company. All job changes were for advancement & larger salary.<br>
If your son likes Accounting - he should go for it.</p>
<p>Many major defense contractors will hire people with business degrees to fill jobs in finance and business operations. There are some pure accounting jobs which require a major in acctg, but those are fewer in number. Math modelling is one area that is in demand.
While it doesn’t necessarily take a person with a business degree to do those jobs, the major has become the discriminator in hiring, FWIW.</p>
<p>“They” say that the three most marketable careers are nursing, accounting and engineering.</p>
<p>I cannot begin to tell you how many times on this website that I have read that only dumb athletes or low ACT scorers pursue a business major because they do not have the intelligence required to get a better education in english, the arts or the hard sciences. I must say this ticks me off, but also shows me the ignorance of the other posters.</p>
<p>inparent - I like your idea about getting a “skilled” minor.</p>
<p>Nursing is only marketable if someone actually enjoys patient care (or eventually managing a team of people who provide care.) Accounting is only marketable if someone is good at it. Lots of kids graduate with a 2.3 in accounting and struggle to find a job. Engineering is only marketable if you graduate-- lots of all-nighters finishing problem-sets in fluid mechanics if a kid doesn’t actually want to or has the mental fortitude to be an engineer.</p>
<p>It’s easy to make a list of all the marketable degrees. It’s harder to encourage your child to pursue something they want to do and can succeed at. No point in getting a degree in something you would loathe doing just to make the 'rents happy.</p>
<p>YMMV. If any of you have luck telling your teenagers what to do when they grow up let me know. I couldn’t get mine to hang up the wet towels in the bathroom, let alone major in what I thought was marketable, but you all may be both omniscient and omnipotent.</p>
<p>Well, in that perfect world we’d all have jobs we love and would do for free. In this real world where most of us have to work to live I would say just finding something you can do fairly well without it making you crazy that pays enough to live decently is good enough. You can find hobbies you love after you have enough money to live.</p>
<p>I know kids who graduated in 1999 who got jobs right away, there was no question of major, grades etc. Economy was booming and you needed to know how to read and write.</p>
<p>I know kids who have graduated this year (2010) in engineering, management, etc. who are struggling to get jobs or they are taking jobs in smaller companies they would not have originally considered.</p>
<p>So, yes majors matter but also the individual initiative (I know one kid who was not the top of his class but was only one to get a job before graduation as he took the process of getting a job as a full time job) and the economy.</p>
<p>So, it all depends…</p>
<p>Wow, Kajon, I had never heard anyone say that about business majors. Maybe because I went to a top ranked business school that was very competitive to get into (harder than the liberal arts school at the same major university). My SATs were best in my county, and I had an ACT score in the top 100 for my state (way back when :))… and I hustled my chubbies in business school to keep up with my peers, for sure. I suppose business is like every other major… if you go to a school with lower quality students, you don’t have to work as hard, and job options might be more limited. But it sure wasn’t true at my college! </p>
<p>I can say, though, that working in the business world for 25 years, I have seen college athletes get some specialized treatment in getting jobs and sometimes promotions.</p>
<p>Just as an aside, D’s boyfriend is an econ major who has also taken some business courses, and he has had very good success in the summer internship market getting paid work and good internship experience. He hustled to get applications in on time and with high quality, and is a good interview. But he is building skills they want in college, too.</p>
<p>Anyway, OP, many parents would be thrilled to have a child pursuing a business major vs. many, many majors with more limited job prospects.</p>
<p>Actuaries always do well in the Jobs-Rated-Almanac-type things (as do accountants). ([Jobs</a> Rated Almanac](<a href=“http://www.egguevara.com/shopping/articles/jobsrated.html]Jobs”>http://www.egguevara.com/shopping/articles/jobsrated.html)). I believe the rankings are based on six factors, including salary, work environment, and job demand. However, it is a field you need to go into with your eyes open. Definitely for dedicated, hard-working self-starters. There’s a lot of good information for people considering the profession here: [Be</a> An Actuary](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.org/]Be”>http://www.beanactuary.org/)</p>
<p>Many thanks to all who responded. I attended the Towson open house for undergrad Business and was told that 50% of its graduates had a job at graduation (I think this was for 2009). I want to be sure that there are jobs out there whatever path my son decides to take to be sure he becomes self-supporting. I hear it is a tough economy to find jobs now.</p>
<p>There are no guarantees for any major, but one of the best things you can do to help ensure your son has a competitive advantage is to encourage him to do internships. It does make a difference in terms of getting him comfortable interacting with business people for interviews, giving him something relevant to put on his resume, and, of course, building connections through networking. He should also participate in whatever business clubs/organizations are available and of interest at his school - if they’re managed well, they will likely provide opportunities for networking with alumni as well. If he can secure a leadership position, even better.</p>
<p>Excellent advice, many thanks!</p>
<p>How important is it to be good at math to successfully major in business? My S (entering HS junior) is considering a business major (music business, to be more specific) in college, but his math skills aren’t the best. He’s never failed a math class, but he’s not a great math student, and it is not, shall we say, his favorite subject. Is he doomed?</p>
<p>^^ Accounting? Middle school math. Algebra I is way too plenty. Marketing? Elementary school math, perhaps? Music business? I don’t know but I can’t think of why it’s more math than accounting!</p>
<p>Accounting isn’t that much about the math, it’s about learning what to add/subtract etc. Economics is harder, the student will likely be required to take a calculus-based statistics class, among other things.</p>
<p>Marketing research requires advanced level statistics. The facts is relatively few real world business and public sector jobs require much advanced math. You can go a long way with just basic algebra and statistics.</p>