I have finally came to the fork in the road, finishing my fall junior semester, where I need to make the decision of majoring in finance or marketing analytics. I really enjoy being creative and coming up with idea’s, but I am also not much of a net worker and prefer the be hide the scenes action. I think I would like the strategic/ analysis and planning positions way more than the more sales directed positions. Although in the end I would also really like to have a job and have the most opportunity from my major. Something tells me a degree in general fiance would be better than marketing, maybe not more fun, but better in the long run. I have also heard that its way easier to get into marketing with a finance degree than the other way around. Any advice??
I majored in finance & management and am currently in marketing analytics 3 years out of college. Based on your description of yourself I would say analytics would be a strong match. It’s definitely easier to recruit for marketing positions from a finance background than vice versa since marketing is much broader and often times quantitative roles such as analytics allow you to carry over the similar skills. This is not to say it will be easy to convince recruiters but it is easier than the alternative.
There isn’t really any distinction between the two careers that would allow you to say one is “better in the long run” because it depends on your own career progression and goals. It’s not a linear path, I myself majored in finance & management, interned in real estate finance, worked at a finance tech startup, switched to market research and now work in data analytics. I plan on switching to a strategy & business analyst role for a startup in the near future but it’s a position that can be approached from both a marketing analytics & finance background since it requires a crossmatch of both skillsets.
Go with whichever career path you will be happier with regardless of which “is better” because ultimately when it comes to your behavioral interviews, a genuine interest will make a large difference that recruiters will be able to identify.