Realities of a Marketing Major (and any alternative paths)

College Majors Business Major
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<p>i'm a rising high school senior who has a strong interest in marketing and advertising, and am thinking about applying to college as a business major. however, people have been telling me that an undergraduate degree in business is worthless, as students don't develop enough critical thinking skills and are falling behind liberal arts students in terms of academics. also, i've heard that undergrad business keeps the students so occupied that it's hard to find time to engage in extracurricular activities and gain more experience in other fields of study, which is a disadvantage for securing internships and jobs. is this true? </p>

<p>for those of you who have been through undergraduate business school and perhaps had a concentration in marketing, what was your experience like? do you think that an undergraduate business degree makes you more competitive for a good job, or is it only worth pursuing if you're going into accounting, finance or information technology? </p>

<p>and for those of you who currently have jobs related to marketing, which college majors made a difference in getting hired/promoted? what are the starting salary ranges? how difficult is it to rise up the ranks?</p>

<p>i've also heard that it's better to major in econ or psychology instead for marketing jobs and for applying to mba. is this true? i'm considering doing that if i do not get in a top undergraduate business program. </p>

<p>i know this is a long list of questions, but any advice or personal experiences are much appreciated! thank you for your input! :)</p>

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<p>I go to Cal Poly Pomona, which has a very good business program now that we have been hiring new professors and built a new 30+ million dollar multi building business college. It was not so great before I went to the school because of issues w/ the dean and the school being too focused on engineering (they were good at it after all so I see why they focused on it). </p>

<p>Most of the students from my experience, get jobs from accounting. Possibly finance. I do have friends in Marketing who have gotten good jobs and great internships though. It is more personality and project based for marketing. Get involved with entrepreneurs or become one yourself, create advertisements and marketing campaigns for small businesses for free. Learn videography and or graphic design. You have to really stand out and have projects and real world experience. I have a friend with a 2.8 GPA that has gotten internships at large companies helping with promoting huge shows like Vans Warped Tour and Coachella. Because he started marketing in high school for clothing brands and some small stores just as side projects. So remember that projects and personality and some artistic/creative thinking are going to be KEY. </p>

<p>If you go accounting or finance you will have better odds at a job. With these majors though it is harder to stand out. You have to have the grades, many firms won’t even look at your resume if it is below a 3.0. Larger firms want 3.3+ and the biggest firms want 3.5+ GPA. Which in accounting, is MUCH, MUCH, harder than in marketing. The course load is harder, by a long shot. My marketing friends study 5-10 hours a week where I have to study 40. And I am a fairly smart kid with a 3.2 (3.5 in accounting, 3.0 in overall because I slacked on my GE’s). </p>

<p>If you want to go on to an MBA I would go marketing. Psychology is useless, just trust me. You can read a few books on it or take a few classes on it in your leisure time, but don’t get a degree in it. Go marketing to MBA. Or if you go accounting then go on to a masters in accounting, they are only 1 year where an MBA will be 2. </p>

<p>FOR TLDR:</p>

<p>Marketing : Projects, creativity, personality, and networking are key. Grades aren’t as important but stay above a 3.0.</p>

<p>Accounting/Finance: Grades are HUGE. It’s professional services, not creative work. So 3.0 + is a must, and ideally a 3.3 + (B+ average) is a must. And at least a B or higher in all accounting/fin courses.</p>

<p>DO NOT, go Psychology, or Business Admin (Generalist). They are broad, and will make it hard to get a job. </p>

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<p>As the above poster said, Forget Business Admin, psychology, management. If you wanna go to business school, then do accounting/finance or economics maybe pair that with a CS or statistics minor and you will be golden.</p>

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<p>If you are interested in marketing and advertising, the ability to write is key. Another important skill is using the computer. There is so much content going to the Internet, so those two skills. My son listened to his mother who has 30 years of experience in marketing including quite a few years as a VP and he is majoring in journalism and minoring in IT. Having said that it is ok to major in marketing. Just make sure you develop those other skills. </p>