<p>I've come across articles detailing the major banks and other big corporate names who have openly stated that they prefer people who did not major in business because they said students in these areas have shown remarkably lower math and verbal skills than engineering or even liberal arts majors (I've found these articles in several places, but Google them and you'll see several). They even stated MBA programs often ignore undergraduate business majors and accept more engineering students instead (Because they know more stuff; I won't argue against that, but book smart alone won't get you anywhere in business) which would explain how a lot of the older generation (including my professors) had some engineering background first.</p>
<p>My question is how much of this is actually true. Are they seriously saying they DON'T want students who specifically studied what their future job would be because they're probably horrible at math or verbal reasoning? The reason I post this is that I have reasons that say otherwise.</p>
<p>First, yes maybe business majors have a lot more free time than other majors, but this is a good thing. You want a businessperson who's socially savvy, not someone who sits in the library with his/her face planted in a textbook. But calling out to business majors and calling us stupid because they have on average lower math and verbal skills? Math and verbal skills don't really deteriorate (at least not in 4 years), and some schools, even in undergrad, puts you through heavy duty coursework. My school is like that, and the admissions rate state the average SAT is over 1500 (out of 1600). So students from my school are already pretty smart to begin with and the work we do IMPROVES our ability, not weaken it. Despite all that, a company wouldn't hire anyone from our school because that person is a business major?</p>
<p>Another thing is business majors are too common and deemed worthless. Well it's not just one subject; it's multiple with a fair amount of overlap between subjects (hence why BS programs have a core curriculum comprised of several different subjects). Regardless, even if it's too common, these people spent 4 years learning SPECIFICALLY what the job is supposed to be. I realize all areas of business can be picked up on the job, but that takes time. But these articles I found suggest Goldman Sachs would rather hire a History major and expect him to learn everything on job (which may take weeks or months) and still do well instead of a finance major who's already familiar with what to do and require only a few days' training tops. And all because that History probably has better math/verbal skills?</p>
<p>This may have less to do with the actual content of the majors, but the fact that majoring in business tends to increase in popularity as one goes down the selectivity scale of colleges and universities, while majoring in liberal arts or engineering tends to increase in popularity at more selective colleges and universities. So if you do not control for the school, you may find that the average business major is less academically capable than the average liberal arts or engineering major. You would likely find much smaller differences if you compared students or graduates in the different majors from the same school.</p>
<p>Remember also that some of the “elite” investment banks and consulting companies favor high-selectivity high-prestige schools, many of which do not have undergraduate business majors.</p>
<p>Or could it be another reason? I also hear that many business graduates are actually Asians, and companies won’t hire them because they can’t communicate well in English. This comes off as very racist, considering I’m Chinese, but it does make more sense than any of the above reasons. Having lived in China, I can attest that from an early age, you’re taught to believe that book smart = success, and you were supposed to treat it like a religion. I carried this thought for several years too, but it wasn’t until the end of high school and after 2 trips to China, that I learned this “religion” was a lie. Having grown up in the US, I see that true success also requires capability: how to be independent, how to apply skills, and how to talk. Book smarts are nothing but tools.</p>
<p>Having said this, are companies just willing to forget me because I’m Asian? I grew up living the American dream and am a proud US citizen. I am speak perfect English, but also fluent in Mandarin.</p>
<p>Absolutely no truth to this. They wrote a story because someone in HR said it someplace (and it was so unusual that someone thought they should publicize it). But businesses actually want to hire people who are interested in… BUSINESS. And most of the jobs in the US are in… business! If you go to a lousy college and don’t have very good skills, you still will have trouble finding a job no matter what you major in. But this is just BS. You will have a far easier time getting an interview for a business-related position with a business degree than a humanities degree any day of the week. Businesses know that people with a basic understanding of accounting, finance, marketing, operations, business law, management information systems, etc. are going to come up to speed and contribute a lot faster than someone with no knowledge of these things.</p>
<p>Regarding being Asian, if your English is very good you shouldn’t have trouble. It could be a benefit to speak Mandarin in a global company, too. A local or regional company in the US won’t really care.</p>
<p>I would usually expect business majors to have higher GPA than other majors like math, physics or engineering. I have posted many times that I am not a fan of UG business degree. D1 was getting a lot more interviews as a math/econ double major with lower GPA than business majors. Once hired, she also did better during their training program (exam wise) than other business majors. Many employers (IBs included) would prefer to train new graduates. What they look for are intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, good problem solving ability, time management. I would always encourage young people to get a liberal arts degree than a business degree.</p>
<p>I say all things being equal in terms of the quality of the school (two students from the same school with similar SATs, etc.), most businesses will want to hire the person who knows something about business. Don’t get me wrong – both of my kids were/will be liberal arts majors because that is where their interests are. And one of them is working for a business and doing very well there. But as a business major myself (independent consultant project manager, BBA and MBA), I can tell you that I use the course work from my business majors every single day, and it gives me an edge in getting hired and getting my job done over people who don’t really understand the various components of the business. Most of them don’t even know what they don’t know… they act like what I am able to do is magic sometimes. It isn’t. But when I get into an interview and need to demonstrate that I understand GL or cost accounting or inventory or supply chain management – I get the job almost every time because I can do this. Of course you need good analysis and communication skills. Duh. But I have never really bought into the idea that students in the liberal arts somehow build stronger skills in those areas. If you are strong in those skills, you will do well, period. I went to a case-style business school where we analyzed, wrote, and presented like crazy. Also took some 400 level English classes – enjoyed them, got As, but I don’t imagine for a minute that those are what help me succeed in business every day.</p>
<p>Oldfort, when I did recruiting for one of the big consulting firms in the past, an econ or math major could get on the interview schedule because of the quantitative and analytical skills needed for those majors. But an English, history, philosophy, biology, etc. major would be unlikely to even get to sign up for an interview. Companies are willing to train – to a point. But someone who has shown NO interest in business or econ wasn’t going to get a first interview, and even if they did would be very unlikely to get a second interview or job offer.</p>
<p>Ok maybe ALL liberal arts majors sounds too exaggerated but I knew for a fact that a math/econ major are about the same because at its core, understanding business is analytical and quantitative. That being said, would a math/econ major have a HIGHER chance than say a finance major?</p>
<p>I tend to look for aptitude. I find philosophy majors are very logical and analytical. If they have some other relevant courses - econ, finance, programming - and have done well then I would prefer them over business majors. Of course, it also depends on what kind of job they are applying for.</p>
<p>If you look here:
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm</a></p>
<p>The majors with the most placement in finance jobs appear to be applied math, economics, math, statistics, business, and industrial engineering / operations research.</p>
<p>Note that business is a competitive admissions major (students apply for entry into the major during their second year), so some of the favorable placement for business majors is due to employers knowing how competitive it is to get into the major. There are also self-selection effects – people interested in finance jobs are not that likely to major in biology or psychology, for example.</p>
<p>Of course, the school you are considering may be different in terms of the recruiting scene.</p>
<p>I think another reason is MBAs. Obviously MBAs get higher starting positions than Undergrads, but MBA programs don’t seem to like business undergrads because it’s a complete rehash of what they just learned. For that reason, I don’t plan to pursue an MBA; I want to become specialized so I’ll go for an MS in one field and possibly a PhD in the future.</p>