<p>I went to a target business school for undergrad. Unfortunately, I decided to major in marketing and now I'm unemployed. At the time, it seemed like a good idea because the marketing classes at my school were fun and easy. Several of the other business departments had harsh grading curves, and I wanted my GPA as high as possible for grad school. The dean of our school insisted to us that a Bachelor of Science from our b-school would prepare us for ANY industry, regardless of major. She promised us that there were art history majors getting ibanking offers and whatnot. In addition, I had gotten a great marketing internship that paid over $20 an hour with no work experience, so I assumed I could get a marketing job right after graduation.</p>
<p>So now I'm unemployed. Marketing is pretty much a dead end in this economy, unless you can break into online/social media marketing. Unfortunately, my major and internships didn't prepare me for a job in online marketing. I also don't know any of the design programs so I can't go into advertising. No one's looking for someone with a marketing theory background anymore.</p>
<p>I'm currently enrolled in an unrelated graduate program. Is there any way I can find my way back to finance/accounting? I've taken all the (mandatory) intro courses. I'm thinking of enrolling in a M.Acc program. What should I do?</p>
<p>Don’t take my word of it but I think in this day and age, you need a Master’s Degree in order for employers to take you seriously. With only a BBA there’s not much you can do so I suggest looking into Master’s programs at schools with a good rep in your state that you know you could get into.</p>
<p>Not true, AAli. You can break into fields from a top BBA program that you would have trouble reaching from an average MBA program. The vast majority of grads from top BBA programs never get MBAs.</p>
<p>That said, I agree with Dawgie. You probably don’t have the work experience to get into a top MBA program, but MAcc’s are meant for recent grads and they would get you back into accounting/finance.</p>
<p>If your marketing degree is from a target school (the Ivies, plus 3 or 4 others) you shouldn’t have a problem as long as you network a little. I suspect you didn’t graduate from a true target school.</p>
<p>^ Or maybe the potential employers see that you always choose to take the easy route and have little to offer. It’s not the major, it’s you. Just go back to school and be a little more driven. Consider the field you want to get into. People are driven and run toward challenges, not away from them.</p>
<p>What else do you want him to do? He has a strong GPA from a strong school; he’s probably applied for tons of jobs and had his resume thrown in the trash by vindictive HR workers.</p>
<p>Marketing major is easily the least respected business major. I’m really sorry you got duped into it. I almost got duped into doing psychology because it was fun and easy for me. Thank God my intro economics course taught me about labor market supply and demand. I would suggest thinking outside the box and quit looking for jobs that require a marketing degree. Not gonna happen. Instead look for jobs that require a skill set that you feel you possess and sell your skill set to potential employers. </p>
<p>Also, focus on getting your foot in the door with a solid company, even if it’s a low-paying job, and then work your way up from there. I know there are a ton of sales-related jobs that you are well suited for, like personal banker for example. I know CH Robinson and other transportation companies hire a lot of entry level sales people for pretty cushy sales jobs. Those are just two examples off the top of my head. There are dozens if not hundreds of opportunities out there.</p>
<p>If all else fails you can go back and get a second bachelors or a masters in a technical field.</p>
<p>GPA of 3.5+, graduated with honors. Marketing GPA of 3.75.</p>
<p>I’ve had interviewers who were surprised that someone from my school with decent grades couldn’t get a job, not even as someone’s assistant. But they still wouldn’t hire me because they were looking for someone with 1-2 years of full-time work experience. Most marketing majors from my school that managed to get good jobs seemed to go the online marketing route. Other than online marketing and photo/video editing, a marketing major more or less carries the weight of a communications major.</p>
<p>My friends/classmates who majored in finance with below 3.5 GPAs were able to land positions at top investment banks (including in IBD), and the Big4 firms. None of them were even summer interns at these firms. A few of these friends didn’t even have ANY internships the summer of their junior year.</p>
<p>I did make some mistakes along the way, but I don’t think it discounts the fact that I’m still unemployed a year after graduation. So yeah, it’s pretty much hopeless now. I did manage to get an internship and a temp position at two large investment banks over the past year, but employers still weren’t interested. Now I’m currently doing another internship.</p>
<p>Taking the advice of relatives and family friends, I also attended graduate school for civil engineering / construction management for the past semester (3.9 GPA, but it was mostly luck). However, I’m not interested in construction at all and would ideally like to go back to something business-related. Plus, the construction sector isn’t doing well so I might still be unemployed after completing that degree. Oh, and I’m a girl (my relatives suggested I could possibly be a diversity hire in construction).</p>
<p>Have you tried getting sales jobs or does that not interest you? </p>
<p>I wanna say to go for a masters in a business field (by the time you graduate the economy should be a bit healthier) but I don’t know if your lack of work experience will prevent you from getting into a good school. Maybe someone else can help with that.</p>
<p>My guess is that you went to NYU. If you are still living in the area, you should keep close touch with the career office and look for jobs there.</p>
<p>So is grad school the only way out of the marketing major trap? I’m not sure if I could get into any good grad schools. (Or get a job afterwards.)</p>
<p>PM me if you want to read my former blog, lol.</p>
<p>Thanks, but my GPA was just barely over 3.5. And that’s because I spent a whole year taking as many art classes as I could possibly fit in. Testing - not sure how I’d do on the GMAT (no math courses since freshman year, and didn’t finish the math section on the GRE in time). Recs - no professors remember me. My internship managers would probably tell me to draft my own recommendation letter, which would have nothing remotely related to accounting in it. But also, I would have to explain to schools in my application essay why I dropped out of my construction management Ph.d program after only a semester. (Or why I’m still enrolled if I don’t drop out by then.)</p>
<p>You were in B-school and didn’t take intro finance, micro & macroeconomics, statistics, or financial & managerial accounting as a core? You didn’t study marketing.</p>