<p>People are wrong if you think the only way to be a successful business man is, to have a new idea. Of course there are people like Bill Gates who went to a top university, had a good idea, and became the richest person on the planet.</p>
<pre><code> However, Microsoft has created many millionaires who own stocks, or manage part of the company. The same goes for General Motors, Walmart and so on.
If you have a great idea, by all means use it, But realize that most people can't do this, so you can work your way up through a large company, and with
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<p>Wharton or a top business school in your resume, you will have these opportunities.</p>
<p>Yeah, this is true, The Revolution.
What I personally think though is that certain business courses are over-evaluated, especially if you are already doing something like that at undergraduate level: many of my classmates (we’re studying economics/business) are planning to go to b-school right after they graduate.</p>
<p>But I think that they thereby undervalue what they already learned at undergraduate level (because from what I have seen MBA teach you anything new, especially also if you already have some work experience in the field you want to enter).</p>
<p>I think that there are many important things we learn at undergrad level business/economics that could be applied in real life business, and if we also use our time in a way to get contacts and network with important people (millionaires, investors, etc.), I think we don’t necessarily need to go to B-school…</p>
<p>Some people are full of ideas. To those people, I recommend applying those ideas, as that is where the best money is. Obviously, most people don’t have great ideas.</p>
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<p>This is where you have it wrong. It is extremely difficult to work your way up through the corporate ladder of a large corporation. Most of the people that are rich from companies like Wal-Mart and Microsoft are rich because they started with the companies when they were relatively small.</p>
<p>For young people interested in making big money in fortune 500 type companies, I’d recommend working for a start-up with the potential to grow…or spend a few years working in a consulting type career and then transition into a high level position with a fortune 500 when you receive the opportunity.</p>
<p>Working for a startup obviously involves more risk, but youth provides the luxury of taking risks and a failed start-up isn’t going to kill your career. Rewards obviously often come from taking risk.</p>
<p><a href=“we’re%20studying%20economics/business”>quote</a> are planning to go to b-school right after they graduate.
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<p>Do they realize that top business schools generally don’t accept kids straight from undergrad?</p>
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<p>Business school certainly isn’t necessary for all. With a few years of work experience under your belt, you will have a good idea of whether you should attend graduate business school or not.</p>
<p>You don’t need a top school in your performance. It is important for entry level jobs, and adds to your resume (a plus) later on but experience & performance is far more relevant. </p>
<p>IE: recent Wharton grad applies for same job (let’s say retail territory rep) as Penn State graduate who has been doing the same job for 2 years with a 30% increase in sales within his territory over these two years, as well as a community college graduate who has been doing it for 10 years with a 50% increase in sales resulting in 5 new locations opening under his territory. </p>
<p>Odds are the community college graduate gets the job because he has demonstrated his ability to do the job well. A degree from anywhere (even Wharton) only demonstrates so much.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go that far. The purpose of attending college is not to train you to do a job, it is to provide you with the analytical skill necessary to do that job. </p>
<p>For example, A manager who has taken a course or two in business law may come across a ruling or judgment in a recent case which will have precedent if the company he is employed by ever runs into the same type of civil case. </p>
<p>A manager who has taken a course in Organization and Management, may recall a similar situation to one he is currently involved in, and take a different approach because the approach has worked in the past for others, and it seems relevant.</p>
<p>You make it sound easy. With Wharton on your resume, you’ll have these opportunities.</p>
<p>By the way, what is your experience? How do you know what opportnunities Wharton will give you? Just wondering. Are you an alumni? Or do you hire a lot of Wharton graduates?</p>
<p>In that case, just take our advice and leave it at that. </p>
<p>Wharton gets your foot in the door but after that your degree is fairly worthless. I’ve worked for a Fortune 500 and aside from the football fans that went to big universities, I had no clue where many of the people went to undergrad. I had no clue where my VP received his MBA from. I recently looked it up and he went to UT Dallas…a school that is decent but unranked. If you are successful in business, your accomplishments will quickly negate the importance of your degree.</p>
<p>The best way to work your way up a the corporate ladder is:</p>
<ol>
<li>Be a high producer (and make sure everyone knows it)</li>
<li>Network (try to meet as many people as possible..particularly mgrs, and directors)</li>
<li> Kiss butt - this is generally the most important point in large corporations</li>
</ol>
<p>What kinds of opportunities exist for business majors in the tech startup scene? It seems to me like everyone’s always searching for coders (php, xml, sql, ajax, java, etc) or basic admin work. Whereas I’d like to get more involved from a project management standpoint ala new idea implementation.</p>
<p>Startups are often far less structured than large corporations and you will find more opportunities for the guys doing the work (ie coders) rather than overhead type positions (ie project managers, system admins etc). There are definitely project management positions in more established companies, but in a small company my guess is that you will need to either start by getting your hands dirty (ie coding). The limited PM jobs that are available in startups are more than likely filled via networking (friends of the owner) or by the cofounders of the company. </p>
<p>^ I am not the most knowledgeable on tech startups but this is what I believe makes sense</p>