<p>I have never taken a business class or been in a business-oriented club in high school, yet I’d like to consider getting an education in business. It seems very fast paced and rewarding, which appeals to me. I also like to work and negotiate with people and be creative but analytical at the same time.</p>
<p>I don’t know how good I am with numbers in a business sense, though. I also have never given much thought to economics.</p>
<p>My questions are:</p>
<li>How difficult is it to learn the math and economics of business?</li>
<li>Can I possibly be well-suited for a business major, or is my perception of what it actually is far off?</li>
<li>Should I wait until I take a couple business classes to make my decision?</li>
<li>Would waiting make me fall too far behind other business students when and if I actually do want to declare myself a business major?</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Easy (econ can be tough for some..but frankly, for many jobs you won't need to understand it even to the level that it is taught in class)</li>
<li>Yes. There are so many different fields you can go into from business that just about anyone can find their niche</li>
<li> Sure, but those won't be representative of many business careers (especially if you base your decision on classes like Accounting and Econ which students tend to take earlier in school)</li>
<li>Nope. Just check with your school to make sure you don't fall behind on a degree plan. However, technically, you don't even to major in business to get into business (whether that makes sense for someone would be more of a case by case basis)</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for the answers. I feel silly because I really don't know business.</p>
<p>Suppose I major in journalism and as an undergrad I get experience as an intern somewhere in that field. How difficult would getting into business school be? What undergrad electives would help me the most?</p>
<p>What kind of business do you want to get into? managerial, entrepreneurial, finance? There's a huge different in skills required between the three, and even within each.</p>
<p>Thanks for asking these questions coloradocutie. I'm just as new to this as you are. I wouldn't even know how to answer CollectivSynergy's questions.</p>
<p>Are you interested in a specific discipline in business like finance, accounting or management? Same thing Collectiv asked.
Can't just say business because its such a broad field, when you say you are interested in business, that is way too general.</p>
<p>Sounds as if you are interested in entrepreneurial business but I'm not sure, you must elaborate more...</p>
Suppose I major in journalism and as an undergrad I get experience as an intern somewhere in that field. How difficult would getting into business school be? What undergrad electives would help me the most?
</p>
<p>Assuming you mean MBA (master of business administration), being a journalism major will not disqualify you. However, I can only assume it would be a bit more difficult coming from different fields, but it is a possibility.) These programs tend to have students with diverse backgrounds from a vast variety of industries. See if your HS offers a introduction to business management course. </p>
<p>I would suggest reading a few business magazines such as "The Business Week" to obtain a comprehensive understanding of what the business world is like. Most business majors are extremely versatile; there is a ton of opportunity to be analytical and creative in business, heck that's what business is all about. Some view business an art, especially in marketing and public relations.</p>
<p>ish718 - she is just a kid trying to figure things out, obviously she is unfamiliar with the different functions and rolls business people play. There are many different fields of business that you may find attractive: </p>
<p>Marketing
Public Relations
Human Resources
Finance and Investments
Accounting
Economics
Quantitative method and modeling (Although it does sound as though you are looking for something more analytical and less quantitative)
Real Estate
Management Information Systems
Business Law</p>
<p>These fields are very diverse and play many different roles in businesses across the country and the world. Most will give you a good analytical education (structuring organizations, management, decision-making, strategic planning etc..) Marketing and Public relations are where you get to be artistic and have fun, the rest rely quite a bit on mathematical skill.</p>
<p>VectorWega gave some very concise excellent advice.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. It's definitely helped in getting a feel for this area. Since the possibility of business was just one that popped into my head as an exciting path of education, I think my best bet is to continue researching what specific fields I'm interested in (frankly, I'm still clueless about the good majority of those business fields previously mentioned).</p>
<p>I'm very interested in communications, so impulsively it sounds like Public Relations and Marketing, as UriA suggested, would be a good fit. Number crunching sounds a bit daunting right now but I feel that because those analytical skills are so necessary and beneficial for every person to have, I would openly put in the effort to give it a try.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the help!</p>
<p>Edit: Though it's too late for me to sign up for a business class at my high school, I just checked the college I'm going to next year and yes, they do have an Intro to Business course that sounds like a great overview of the different fields. Thanks for the tip!</p>