<p>S1 is HS senior and will be attending our local CC (his choice) in fall 2012. I need some suggestions on how to guide him--</p>
<p>He is a B-/C+ student, not interested in working harder to get A's (which he is capable of). He has a PT job, which he's had since summer before jr year, and which he loves. We let him have the job because we knew it would teach him responsibility, accountability, money management, teamwork, customer service, to name a few life skills. His boss says he's his fastest learner and is an excellent worker. Because of this job, S1 thinks he might be interested in pursuing a business major (maybe even have his own restaurant franchise someday), which is totally fine with us, but here's the rub: S1 hates math, had to drop precalc this year because he was failing. Math has always been a struggle for him. So, I'm not sure business is the right path for him, but he has no clear interest in anything else. He's very creative, and I could easily see him as a web or graphic designer, but he has no interest in any of that. He's also not an extrovert, so that makes me think a career in business wouldn't be a great match.</p>
<p>I don't want to give the impression that we would steer him away from pursuing business if that's what he wanted, it's just that his introvert personality and math aversion don't give me a warm fuzzy that business is the right path for him.</p>
<p>So, how to guide him? Any suggestions for electives he might take in his first yr at the CC to flesh things out a bit?</p>
<p>Do you know what your son loves about his job? What are some of the tasks/responsibilities that he’s been able to learn fast?</p>
<p>It is tough to have success in a business career and not have a good understanding of assets, liabilities, expenses and income. Perhaps a more practical type of math will appeal to your son. I would suggest he take an intro accounting course early on at CC. He doesn’t have to love it and get an A, but if he is really challenged and hates that course (and the teacher is somewhat OK), his options in the management world are limited. </p>
<p>It is likely the CC will have a career center and can give some of the interest and aptitude “tests” to your son. Have him pay them a visit early in his academic career. It may help him clarify his goals and give purpose to his education…which may get his grades closer to the potential you think he has.</p>
<p>Business major degree programs typically require a year of calculus (though usually an easier version “for business majors”) and a semester of statistics.</p>
<p>Business is mostly applied social studies like economics and psychology (with some specific skill courses like accounting), both of which use statistics, though economics can use considerably more math.</p>
<p>The amount of actual math required for a lot of business majors is quite limited. My company interviews business majors from well regarded programs all the time, and we administer our own math/analytical reasoning test which for most applicants is scored to about a 10th grade level of math and a huge percentage of these business majors can’t pass it. And yet they’re graduating cum laude with a business major.</p>
<p>So I wouldn’t sweat it just yet. And you may be surprised what your son can do if he’s motivated. There are lots of subjects covered in a business major which he may find fascinating- organizational behavior, marketing, etc. Even accounting (which is calculation intensive but not math intensive in terms of conceptual thinking) could be fun for him.</p>
<p>It’s great his boss thinks he’s a quick learner- that’s probably more important than anything else! Encourage your son!!!</p>
<p>As blossom alluded to, the “business” major may include accounting, marketing, econ, human resources, management, and even entrepeneurship, to name a few. Which is your son most comfortable with? Most business schools that I know of require about a year of math, split into business calculus and statistics.</p>
<p>How introverted is introverted? I mean, is he just introspective, or does he really feel uncomfortable in social situations? My daughter is an accounting major whom I would classify as friendly and sociable - but definitely not the “life of the party” sort. In her case, her conversational and social skills were very important during her internship and job hunt. I know that many CPAs are introverts, but it sure seems like the moderately outgoing, social ones may have a distinct advantage in the marketplace (all else being equal).</p>
<p>For some reasons I think accounting fits the introvert type? Aside from the required courses, accounting doesn’t use whole lot more math than HS school algebra, if any. If he can bite the bullet, he can take the business calc and business stat course and that’s all to it. These are not hard core calculus and statistics found in math or engineering departments.</p>
<p>Any decent business school will require calculus and statistics. But it is also usually more than that- math will continue with economics (and economic based majors), operations and logistics, finance etc. Sure it’s not math as you’d need in an engineering degree, so I do not mean to mislead. But at the same time, it is assumed you have reasonable math abilities and if one ‘hates math’ I think they might really dislike business school. </p>
<p>And no, business is not applied social studies. Totally don’t agree with that.</p>
<p>On the plus side, you don’t need a business degree to run your own business, and nor do most business undergrad degrees teach you how to be an entrepreneur (though such programs do exist out there).</p>
<p>Bflogal, if your creative S loves working at a restaurant, how about training as a chef? I really don’t see “business” for an introverted person who is averse to math.</p>
<p>People can change over time if their career demands it. I dealt with severe social anxiety since age 12 (I am now 24). I have only recently overcome it in the past 2 years. I work in retail as an HR manager, and the constant customer/employee interaction has done a number to improve my social skills. I used to prefer to be alone - and I am still introverted - but I love social interaction now. I am not the center of attention, but I do well in a management role that I have.</p>
<p>However, the lack of interest in some core courses in the business major will be a problem. Does he really understand the course requirements for his intended major and the responsibilities behind business management as a career? Maybe finding an internship as soon as he is able, or shadowing/interviewing someone in restaurant management will give him a more realistic idea of what it would take.</p>
<p>I would suggest an associates degree in business from a CC followed by an inexpensive culinary school if he’s still interested in running a restaurant a couple of years from now.</p>
<p>At the non-flagship state u. that S2 attends, business is a very popular major. Most of S’s friends who started out in business have now changed their major.</p>
<p>The business management major there requires:
Applied Mathematics for Decision Making
Principles of Microeconomics
Principles of Macroeconomics
Financial Management
Financial Accounting
Managerial Accounting.
Statistics for Business</p>
<p>My math averse kid would not have survived it.</p>
<p>My son’s business school requires a semester of statistics and a semester of calculus for the business core; some majors withing the school of business have additional math oriented requirements. Also, a lot of the accounting courses are fairly math heavy and use calculus.</p>
<p>Math is a subject that some people need more time to master. If they reach a point in their lives when they understand the specific purpose for mastering a set of math skills, they can do it. Pre-calculus in high school is just plain too abstract for a lot of kids.</p>
<p>If your son has had math issues from the get-go, it may be worth your time, trouble, and money to have him formally evaluated for dyscalculia. If that can’t be done at his high school, the school psychologist there should be able to recommend an educational psychologist outside of the school system who can do the testing.</p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think you need to stress quite so much about your son’s future just yet. He has a job. He is doing well there. Give him room to sort some of this out himself.</p>
<p>I think your son maybe a good “operations” person for any business. He sounds like he is good at learning new tasks and probably good at multi-tasking. For every successful business (whether it´s restaurant, hotel, hospital, bank, retail…), you always need good ops (or business manager) to make sure everything is running smoothly. Often kids with lower grades (not as good in academic) are better at process oriented jobs. They do not over think or over analyze things, they tend to be doers and do not get frazzled when too many things are thrown at them. </p>
<p>Not everyone can be a front man, and it is also not necessary to be a front man (sales, marketing) in order to be successful in life. </p>
<p>I think it is very good your son is doing something he is good right now. I am sure it gives him confidence in himself, and I think there is a real potential for a future career. He will not need advance math courses to do business math.</p>
<p>This varies greatly depending on a given undergrad B-school. Some undergrad B-schools, especially topflight ones like MIT-Sloan, NYU-Stern, U-Penn-Wharton, etc will have strong quantitative requirements which would give a math adverse kid some pause. </p>
<p>Many others won’t have such stringent quant requirements, however. In short, choose your undergrad b-school carefully…though keep in mind that some future employers may hold the lack of quant requirements of a given undergrad b-school against its graduates.</p>
<p>Some kids naturally love the theoretical/game aspects of math as a system or language unto itself, but some really dislike that. The OP’s son’s attitude towards math may be different if he encounters it in a practical context related to tasks that seem valuable to him. His dislike of precalculus may not mean that he dislikes financial and managerial accounting at all.</p>
<p>In any event, I would be interested in hearing more from starbright on why he or she thinks business isn’t essentially applied social science. That’s exactly what I think it is, and what’s more the vast majority of business school faculty I know slid over from a social science field, mainly economics, sociology, or psychology.</p>
<p>If your son enjoys working in a restaurant, maybe he should consider a program in hospitality management–there are college programs in this field. UMass in Amherst has one; it’s basically a business major that puts an emphasis on the food/travel aspect of it. Sister of my D’s high school boyfriend completed this program; she did quite a few internships and now manages a Four Seasons hotel in Las Vegas. She had no problem finding a job.</p>
<p>^ Bromfield has a nice idea. I have a young cousin who was a hospitality major at a generic directional state u, and she has a super-nice career going on. She’s essentially an event planner, five years out of college, and she just got recruited away from what was already a great job by a top-shelf mega ad agency in NYC. This is a young woman with meaningful LDs who struggled academically her whole life. (But no one would ever have described her as introverted.)</p>
<p>Is it worth considering whether the business major would help him develop his math skills and bring him out of his shell? Perhaps his interest in that program could give him the motivation he is lacking in HS. I’m an EXTREME introvert in all situations EXCEPT those related to my field, and perhaps he may be more interested in working hard in math if it’s directly correllated to whether or not he gets to do something he loves.</p>