Hi,
This is actually my first post because I’m not sure what to do next/am unsure if this is the right thread area. I’m currently a Business Admin major in my last year of undergraduate (actually, last course, which I’ll be finishing in July potentially). From the courses I took, I figured out that I think I would really thrive in fields involving supply chain management/operations or business analytics (which I assumed I would get more of a mix of in my program). The issue now being that it feels too little too late to switch majors at this point since my goal was to finish school for practically free (work reimbursement program).
Now, I’m in a two-fold issue. I have an over 4.0 GPA, volunteer work, etc., but I’ve tried for a year and cannot seem to get any internships in these fields in my area, even though most say that they’ll take a Business Admin/General Business Major in their requirements section. It’s a bit more understandable on the business analyst side of things because most of those positions require some knowledge of SQL. I ended up tacking on a certificate in Data Analytics with my school to give me a bit of an edge in this regard, but it turns out that it mostly dealt with Advanced Excel principles and visualization software like Tableau/PowerBI (Not enough to make me feel comfortable in PowerBI, especially without SQL). Therefore, I’m still missing the necessary skills in that regard. All in all, I feel a bit ashamed because I didn’t look into these things with enough time to switch to supply chain or maybe even double major in CIS with enough room to not stress about it (reimbursement is only up to 135 credits. Overall, I would likely end up having to pay around 20k to keep going, which I understand is a blessing compared to getting stuck with the full bill).
Being in my late 20s, my main goal involved pushing myself to get my degree done faster (took full loads every term, summer courses, etc.), I just felt like I didn’t have time between work, school, and life to take time to think of this being an issue (not making an excuse, just being honest about my naivety). Also, it didn’t help that this degree was one of the few business degree options available to me starting out in the program, I’m fairly sure SCM was added on later.
Therefore, I have a few questions:
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Considering my position, would you suggest switching majors outright to supply chain management (or seeing if I could double major) and just take the smaller financial hit that’ll come with another year’s worth of schooling?
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Should I try to double major in CIS to get those necessary skills? I saw things about Google having a Data Analytics program that teaches SQL/R that’ll give you a certificate, but it seems geared more towards people that are switching careers/didn’t have a chance to go to school? It’s through Coursera, and I felt like this would be a good supplement, but didn’t know if that looked trashy, especially since I’m already getting a certificate in data analytics from my school?
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Would you just choose to graduate instead (maybe graduating early/with a high GPA looks better to employers, but considering my internship hunting…)? I was wondering about just doing this option and collecting some certs in lean/six sigma to bolster myself in the SCM area.
Overall, I’m not sure what to do and feel stuck. I don’t think I want to switch majors/tack on a double major because looking over the courses available for SCM, it just doesn’t feel that much more “specialized” than the rest of the SCM courses I was able to take in my current major (even though Business Admin is clearly considered more generalized). I was able to get most of the ISBN’s of the books in those courses, which I’d easily study on my own time. But that obviously doesn’t allow me to put said knowledge on my resume. Also, extending school would give me more shots at internships.
Obviously, the choice is mine on what to do next, but anyone with similar life experiences/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!