<p>As we've toured many schools, etc., we've noticed the business major tables or groups are by far the largest. We know some schools are impacted. We are wondering if in four or five years, when our first one graduates, if there will be "too many" business graduates. Granted, there are different majors, such as entrepreneurship, marketing, management, accounting. I am sure there will be accounting jobs (not our interest). However, one college dean said he thought management was not a good choice, as too vague. We are starting to think IR/IB for our son who is naturally inclined toward all things global. Thoughts on if "business" is going to be the new overcrowded degree or field.</p>
<p>In my honest opinion, quite a few people major in business for all the wrong reasons. I know that some people tend to major in business because they worked for 1 month full-time at McDonald’s and said, “I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANYMORE.” and said that if they major in business management, they’ll never have to do a gruntwork position ever again because they’re qualified to run a business and nothing less. In turn, these are the people that have very few life skills and discipline to help them get through the college route.</p>
<p>I really need to emphasize that unless they absolutely love the business major, they’re going to struggle severely throughout the course of their degree. So the business major table/group might be the largest because that’s what lost college kids tend to fall back on. I’m not saying that everyone who majors in business has no life skills and is just “settling” because they don’t know what to major in. In fact, there are some people who are incredibly dedicated to the major because they’ve grown up wanting to do it. I suppose what I am really trying to get at is that even though the school of business may seem extremely large, it won’t be that way at graduation because the people who weren’t dedicated to it will have been weeded out at that point.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry too much about it.</p>
<p>I agree it is the default major these days. Call me a snob, but I am not a fan because I think of it as more of a trade school major as opposed to a learn skills for life major. I agree with the above poster who sees it as the major for some one who thinks he has to go to college to get a job instead of someone who goes to college to learn and grow. </p>
<p>I don’t know if there will be too many business majors, a glut, but I think business majors just don’t have that extra oomph, especially if there are too many of them. </p>
<p>I have a child who is a potential business major. I say that because I see him working in business as opposed to having a profession or being an academic. Rather than study business per se, I would rather he study Economics or Psychology or even Anthropology. He can get an MBA after that!</p>
<p>Maybe harsh to say, but many of these kids are either following someone else’s script or have sold their souls far too early.</p>
<p>There are “business” majors and then there are “BUSINESS” majors. The latter relish the Acct 120 class, the Quantitative analysis class, the Business Stats courses and Econometrics. The former tolerate the Econ 100 class and gravitate towards Marketing basics courses but think math and quantitative stuff is eiwwww. Reading over a resume or a transcript, it’s not hard to discern who is who. Try to be in the latter; they stand out amongst the others.</p>
<p>My S also loves economics (but is no math whiz–average at it as I think fields of economics can be different), but likes statistics and trends and polysci sort of things (and global relations) I should have put that we really need him marketable after 4 years, as grad school is unlikely for a variety of reasons. </p>
<p>Finance / History double major here (odd combo, I know), graduating in May. Attending Rutgers, if it matters to you. Took a bunch of intro level English and Philosophy courses before I decided, so imo I’ve seen a bit of both worlds (A&S vs Business). This is anecdotal, but here goes: </p>
<p>Getting a decent job coming out of a business undergrad program isn’t very hard, at least from what I know from fellow students in finance, accounting, supply-chain, and business analytics/IT. Can’t say for sure regarding marketing or “management” (whatever the hell that is) majors. B-schools might be getting overcrowded, but if you work hard and take advantage of the networking opportunities, they deliver on what they promise. No one can guarantee that your son will get an IB job, but something in IR, treasury, or corporate finance should be reasonably achievable. As for the degree and the courses, it’s as boring as it sounds, unless for some strange reason you think your kid will love doing stock valuations and making CAPM models. It’s not all quantitative; conceptual understanding is also important. But doing that sort of work in all your classes gets a little soul-crushing. </p>
<p>My history courses were on the whole vastly more interesting and intellectually rewarding, albeit also much easier. Honest opinion here; call me a jerk, but a lot of these humanities classes are a total joke. Easy As, very little effort required. Honestly, I have no idea why some students struggle; I shudder to imagine how they could possibly compete in the workplace. But these courses do allow a much greater degree of intellectual engagement; you actually get to formulate and defend opinions (and by opinion I don’t mean “Exxon stock is overvalued.” That’s mostly just an application of formulas.).</p>
<p>IMO, taking finance courses has helped make me become more intellectually competitive in terms of problem solving, pattern recognition, quantitative analysis, etc. But I have the sneaky suspicion that if I hadn’t taken the history double major, I’d have become a pretty boring human being. This is going to sound a little like “do as I did,” but why not have him go into finance while also taking a minor in something he likes? But if he does go into pure business, don’t let the hate from the non-business students get to him; what they do is bush league compared to finance. </p>