Is this a good strategy for life/college?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm new to the site and had no idea where to post this, but i am a junior in high school and unfortunately have just gotten serious about my future
(i failed freshman year and had a average sophmore year) </p>

<p>but i'm not going to give up, what i want to know is going to college for business and math a good choice? i heard this from another poster on cc and it sounded like a good idea..i mean aren't those some of the top two things to have? also how would i go about doing this, do i major in business and minor in math? (i have no idea about college haha) </p>

<p>any help would be helpful, and what would be the best type of business to get into? I know it'll be hard to get "rich" but i want to be as successful as i can.</p>

2

<p>You shouldn’t pick a major just because it might make you rich or successful. Just do what you like doing best and life will turn out good.</p>

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<p>i didnt mean to make it sound like that was the only reason, but i do like business, and i like whatever makes me the most money in life period.</p>

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<p>Thats my main goal in life, be successful, not doing what i love. What i love is money and the closer I can get to that the better, i don’t care about doing what i love, tried that and thats why i failed freshman year, now help me be somebody.</p>

5

<p>Ok, well, the people who make money doing business with math are the people who love and are naturally good at math. That doesn’t seem like a good fit for you.</p>

<p>If you just want a defined route to success, think about med school. You have to be a very good student, but once you get into med school you have a pretty clear pass to being as successful as anyone in the middle class. (However, you will be working a lot, and you won’t get to the big bucks part of your career until you’re 40.)</p>

6

<p>Im actually learning to love math, i was always good in it, i just didn’t want to do it. Im not gonna lie freshman year i was the stoner in the back high not paying attention when he decided to come to class, sophmore year i decided to come because i didnt want to fail. Now im done with all that and just want to be someone, im really interested in math and business, because i think it will make me money, im willing to put the time and work to be good at it i dont care how hard it is, thats what motivates me so can you answer the question? If im doing the things i love then i wouldn’t even be thinking about college…</p>

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<p>You accomplish what you want by doing a math major and getting lots of business experience along the way. I hope you’re right that you’re good at math, because this is not the kind of thing that you can replace with hard work.</p>

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<p>what do you mean business is not the kind of thing to be replaced by hard work?</p>

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<p>I think (correct me if i’m wrong) amarkov means that the distinct ability and natural talent have to be there and that hard work can only get you so far.</p>

10

<p>so hard work doesnt pay off…damn, well thats life for ya</p>

11

<p>A good locksmith, plumber, or electrician can open a business and do very, very well. People need the service and are prepared to pay in an emergency. And a plumber in Bangalore can’t fix a leaky faucet in Chicago, so there’s no issue of outsourcing.</p>

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<p>OP, I think that (and I think that the other posters feel the same way) you’re underestimating how hard it can be to become successful in anything. You need both driving forces: the motivation to be successful (and rich) AND the motivation of doing something you enjoy. Having only one of them won’t get you far. </p>

<p>That being said, I’m only a stranger on the Internet, and you’re saying that you’re at the very least interested in math, so IDK, maybe you know what you’re doing. Just keep these things in mind. I’m curious so I have to ask… you say that you wouldn’t go to college if you wanted to focus on what you love. what do you love?</p>

<p>in response to your original question, definitely major in math if you want to go down that route. that’s a given. I’m not really an expert on business. things that come to mind are going to business school or you could double major or minor in business. from what I can tell, getting experience in business is the most important part.</p>

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<p>It’s fine to major in business if you see that as something you could enjoy studying and feel a biz career is the path for you. It will include it’s own relevant math. The kids who minor in math (or major in it, with an eye toward business) are usually particularly skilled at math- and very interested in it at the higher college levels, where it can get deeper and more theoretical than your hs experience. Often, they are thinking of “math-related” careers in business. You don’t seem to need the math minor. Wait and see how you do, this year, next- and maybe first year in college.
Best wishes.</p>

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<p>What would be a good minor then? and could someone list the types of business and a little bit about what they are?</p>

15

<p>You can google about business careers and even about prep for them. That’s better than us trying to lay it out. Look at a few college sites for dept info about paths kids move into.</p>

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<p>Congratulations on refocusing your life. I applaud your goal of being successful in business and hope you achieve it.</p>

<p>You say you like business. What does that mean to you? Being a CEO of a multinational company? Being a corporate lawyer? Running you own successful small business? Working as a well paid business consultant?</p>

<p>Each of those careers follows a different path.</p>

<p>Aside from making a lot of money, what would you like to do?</p>

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<p>Hmm…being a CEO peaks my fancy…mostly i like to have a purpose, like have a lot of people that depend on me, idk why i like the whole if i mess up that’s going to affect alot of people, i like pressure mostly, i always get excited when i see the people on tv, doing a presentation in-front of a room full of people, but i dont know what that is :stuck_out_tongue: BUT DEFIANTLY NOT A TEACHER.</p>

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<p>Haha, definitely at turn from slacker. For now, you can settle for “would like to run a company, someday.” Most important side effort is acquiring leadership experience. That’s more than hs clubs or empty leader titles. Think about it.</p>

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<p>how would i do that “lookingfoward”?</p>

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<p>I disagree with lookingforward - if you want a math-oriented business career then a math minor would be very lucrative for you. In fact, for people who want math-oriented business careers (like finance or operations research) I would say major in math and minor in business. You can always learn business as you go along, but you have to learn at least foundational math more formally. If you are just interested in mostly being a businessman with some math facility, then the business major and math minor will do you just fine.</p>

<p>Of course you need some natural ability in math, but I think the importance of natural talent is vastly overrated and the importance of hard work is underrated. Yes, you do need to have a love for math and some innate talent for logic and systems, but you don’t have to be a math wizard. Also, many students don’t develop that love until later. I myself loved calculus in high school but didn’t consider a math-oriented career until I got to graduate school, in a completely different field, and started doing statistical consulting. You can combine many fields with statistics and have a lucrative career, so my plan is to add an MS in statistics to my PhD (which is actually not uncommon).</p>

<p>Some lucrative business careers that require math: actuary, accountant, (bio)statistician, bioinformatics (also needs computer science), finance/financial analyst, operations research, software engineer (also needs CS), market research analyst.</p>

<p>Check out this link: [We</a> Use Math In Careers | We Use Math](<a href=“http://www.weusemath.com/careers]We”>http://www.weusemath.com/careers) </p>

<p>Management consultants do a lot of presenting and they work under pressure all the time - deadlines, lots of travel. The pay is very good - $75K for new graduates (usually $50K base and $15K of bonuses) and often $110-140K for new MBA graduates. You can make more than that when you move up the ranks. However, to get into those top high-paying firms you have to go to a top university, because that’s where they recruit. You can do consulting at smaller firms, but they pay less. It’s still a good career there, though.</p>

<p>Ways to acquire leadership experience: well, one way is through joining organizations that actually do things, and running for executive board positions. There are often large organizations on campus that run lots of activities and you can get experience that way. Another way is getting a business internship in college.</p>