psychology

College Majors Business Major
1

<p>everyone says its terribly worthless as a degree unless you want to be a psychologist or get a post graduate degree. is this always true? i plan on majoring in psych. for a variety of reasons (im pretty horrible in math <em>its genetic trust me</em>, it interests me the most out of all majors, and i have satisfied about 43 credits worth of it so far) and i will also be minoring in business. </p>

<p>if i plan on possibly doing marketing or something in real estate, is this degree as truly worthless as everyone says it is? some people tell me its not a bad degree at all as it teaches you how people act, think, and react and can be used to get an MBA and some tell me its a cop-out degree and pointless as i previously stated. </p>

<p>p.s. i head that real world experience is the most important anyhow. i plan on trying to get an internship/becoming a secretary at a real estate firm this summer in my hometown, just to get my foot in the door and some knowledge of this area.</p>

2

<p>imo unless your at a top20 school drop psychology and major in economics/finance/engineering</p>

3

<p>like i said, mathematics is not a field i like or am quite proficient in. that is the reason i did not choose those majors, although they are great. any other advice?</p>

4

<p>I'm sorry, but psych doesn't help you in the real world, it's all fluff theories and what not for the most part. If you like it, take it, but it doesn't give you some edge on learning how people act and being able to read/manipulate them or something.</p>

<p>Psych really has nothing to do with most jobs and what most people think it'll teach them to help them in whatever career (how to read or manipulate or whatever else) is just a born skill. You learn how to read people and stuff through experience or you have it as a natural ability... nothing more.</p>

<p>It does help you get a grip on how people act and react and what not, as you said, but with my experience with psychology teachers (even in the one high lvl class I took) and psychologists is that they really don't know much more then the average joe when it comes to these things. Psychology teaches you the theories behind the brain, which are really just useful in coming up with theories to explain phenomena, help people with problems, etc... it won't really do much in terms of marketing (at least not getting a degree in it). </p>

<p>For the effort, I don't think it's worth it, but if you enjoy it, go for it. But I can guarantee you that someone who just naturally has a good sense of people will be a better marketer or real estate agent, not the guy with schooling in psych. </p>

<p>And there are plenty of degrees that don't involve math that are still useful. What about philosophy, english, economics (not that much math...), etc.</p>

5

<p>if you don't like math and never want to do it, your future career plans should not include business.</p>

6

<p>how much math in economics? </p>

<p>how is english more useful, honestly?</p>

7

<p>i dont recommend english either. A lot of math is in economics. if you want to avoid math, take finance and just focus on non-math classes in your major. your not required to take THAT much math.</p>

8

<p>well since i only went up to trig in h.s. i would have to take 2 accounting courses, a pre calc, calc, business stats, management information systems, and....something else i forget what.</p>

<p>the BA in econ at my school doesnt seem to bad, esp. since i completed macro and micro econ and stats at my jr college and got a's in all 3.</p>

9

<p>to be in finance (e.g. i-banking), would advanced mathematics be really useful? I just finished the calculus sequence, but my school econ department is offering honors to those who continue and complete linear algebra and differential equations classes. i don't exactly enjoy this kind of math, but would be willing to submit myself to the horror if finance calls for it.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
I'm sorry, but psych doesn't help you in the real world, it's all fluff theories and what not for the most part. If you like it, take it, but it doesn't give you some edge on learning how people act and being able to read/manipulate them or something.</p>

<p>Psych really has nothing to do with most jobs and what most people think it'll teach them to help them in whatever career (how to read or manipulate or whatever else) is just a born skill. You learn how to read people and stuff through experience or you have it as a natural ability... nothing more.</p>

<p>It does help you get a grip on how people act and react and what not, as you said, but with my experience with psychology teachers (even in the one high lvl class I took) and psychologists is that they really don't know much more then the average joe when it comes to these things. Psychology teaches you the theories behind the brain, which are really just useful in coming up with theories to explain phenomena, help people with problems, etc... it won't really do much in terms of marketing (at least not getting a degree in it).</p>

<p>For the effort, I don't think it's worth it, but if you enjoy it, go for it. But I can guarantee you that someone who just naturally has a good sense of people will be a better marketer or real estate agent, not the guy with schooling in psych.</p>

<p>And there are plenty of degrees that don't involve math that are still useful. What about philosophy, english, economics (not that much math...), etc.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Can you back this up? OR is it just your opinion?</p>

<p>I am an Accounting major with a Psychology minor, and I have learned a lot on how to act in social situations, how to understand what people "mean" when they are communicating (it's not always evident at first), and how to better assess myself and be a more well-rounded thinker from studying psychology. I honestly think it is a great degree for business, depending on your specialty (social/personality psychology is great for business). You can use the knowledge from psychology to build positive/well-rounded relationships with the right people, and that will get you far. Also, knowing where to start with relationships, how to assess the relationships, and what/how people communicate (verbal, with body language, etc.) is a very good foundation that gives people a stronger frame of reference for many situations--especially in sales.</p>

<p>That's my view of it, but remember, it depends on your specialty... I don't think clinical psychology is very good for business, but there are no guarantees with any specialty, just study what you love and you'll be great.</p>