<p>Hi I am looking into colleges with a top ranked u-grad business program but I dont want to do anything typical like finance. My top choice now is UVa because of the environment and McIntire even though I know its not guaranteed that I will get in (but it is my goal :)) If I do get in, I want to do marketing and management with a good number of communications courses so I can seem more "well rounded" plus I actually like these concentrations :). So my question is do you know anyone who has taken this route to have a fun career or do you plan on goin this route? (My idea of fun is working for a company like IMG World where I make a lot of money and work for fashion week and do sporting events...a good life :)) Or, what do you plan to do to have a fun high paying career and where would you like to work??</p>
<p>What about Fashion Institute of Technology?</p>
<p>Communications= low pay, but fun
Fashion = low pay, but fun (for you, not for me)</p>
<p>I wanted to be a sports writer from 7th grade until I graduated high school last year. It would have been a very FUN job. But then I found out a lot of other people think it is “fun” also, so newspaper companies don’t have to pay these writers very much money. I will probably make more as far as my entry salary goes in Finance compared to me being 30 years old in Journalism.</p>
<p>Everyone on these forums say do what you love, don’t worry about the money. I am fine with just “liking” my job and making 100K+ rather than “loving” my job and making 50K or less.</p>
<p>@jrt336: FIT?!?! sorry but absolutely not 
I dont want a vocational career in fashion i’m not a fashion junkie and besides i want a well paying career also
@uxley.2: I dont want my career to be specifically in fashion or just communications (I know how low paying these fields are) that’s why I want to go to a well known business school (McIntire :)) and do marketing and management because I want to go into business but I also dont want to do someting traditional like finance or accounting just for the money I actually want to like/love what I do with my life :)… so are you going into your career just for the money then??</p>
<p>uxley.2 </p>
<p>I am just curious about how you’re so sure that you’ll be earning lots of $$$ with a finance degree</p>
<p>There have been a number of posts along these lines lately. One was about high pay in a career with little risk. Now this one wants lots of money yet fun in fashion and attending sporting events.</p>
<p>Let’s break down why those who make a lot of money make so much. First, it’s because they have skills or degrees few have. Next, it’s because they’re willing to work harder than most.</p>
<p>Then let’s look at how much jobs in most fashion and sports (non player) related fields pay. Little. Why? Because those wanting to have fun are willing to do those jobs for low pay.</p>
<p>So when we put this all together, you want to go to a good but not great B school undergrad (not a rare degree) and work in areas people take low pay to work in, yet make lots of money.</p>
<p>I think you need a new strategy.</p>
<p>@hmom5: I saw the other post and it became a debate on accounting which I could care less about… first of all this “one” is a freaking person and I am not saying that I want that to be my whole career I just thought it was an entertaining career esp for a young professional in nyc… and I obviously know that you have to work hard to have a rewarding career which is why I would like to go to McIntire and go into marketing and management and stray away from money hungry i-bank hopefuls who may end up with a dreary life…so are you implying that a degree from McIntire is not reputable??? and what “rare degree” comes from u-grad business schools except for B.S. in econ, BBA or B.S. in Commerce?? and what is YOUR proposed strategy that I should take???</p>
<p>Relax, I was just trying to make the point that most people, at least initially, have to choose between fun and making a lot of money. Once you get to the point where you call the shots in any career you can have fun. But those that make you a lot of money usually involve lots of sweat upfront.</p>
<p>As an ibanker for 30 years, my life was a lot of things, but never dreary. I traveled the world, worked with some of the smartest and most fascinating entrepreneurs and I won’t even mention all of the amazing seats I got a fashion shows and sporting events. I put my 3 kids through the best schools, showed them the world–it’s been a very rewarding life. I chose it knowing what I wanted in terms of both work satisfaction and financial success and I never regretted the choice.</p>
<p>Sure, I paid my dues with some grunt work and long hours, but I don’t regret a second of it and at 52 I can pretty much do whatever I want with my life. I really could have at 45 but needed to get my youngest launched.</p>
<p>So only you can decide what’s most important to you and how you’re going to get it. But you’re unlikely to achieve the goal of making a lot of money if fun is an initial priority.</p>
<p>And UVA is a fine school, a rare undergrad business degree, however, would be one from Wharton or MIT.</p>
<p>^ so does the “rare undergrad degree” in a way recession-proof your finance career?</p>
<p>because i am assuming that:
IF a company hires during recession, it would have a desire to pick from the best schools</p>
<p>so, i know that finance really is a risky business, but once you’re at a school like Wharton, Sloan, Olin, or McCombs, does it somewhat protect you?</p>
<p>hmom5,
since I always like to hear different point of views, what is your stand on accounting. As in stand, I mean your experiences with people/friends who majored in accounting and later transitioned into finance, or even the ones who stayed in accounting. How successful were they in achieving their goals, climbing the ladder, making those six digits, assuming everyone worked to their potential and were thrilled about their job. I was also wondering how is the minority standing in the banking job market (only answer it if you don’t mind).Also, To be honest, I could wait until my late thirty’s for those six figures (never lived a rich life nor have a impatient desire for one ) but when I see obligations piling up, I have to start thinking out of the box.</p>
<p>Student 01, this should answer your question, but honestly, we are probably in a once in a life time downturn:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/business/economy/18grads.html?scp=1&sq=wharton+students+job+offers&st=nyt[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/18/business/economy/18grads.html?scp=1&sq=wharton+students+job+offers&st=nyt</a></p>
<p>I don’t personally know many accountants. I went to Wharton both undergrad and grad and there were no classmates I knew who went in that direction. I don’t think it’s hard for a good accountant to make 6 figures, the guys who advise and do taxes for the wealthy certainly make well into the 6 figures, but probably few who stay in accounting get wealthy as in top 2% wage earners which most bankers are.</p>
<p>As for minority hiring, most firms have concerted efforts going to recruit minorities. If you happen to be a minority woman, you’d be even more in demand.</p>
<p>Sandra:</p>
<p>I am not advocating the money first aspect ever. I am just saying writing/ journalism is the thing I would LOVE to do, however, leading the lifestyle I want to live (house, couple cars, wife, kids) I don’t think I could ever get into the “comfortable stage” with that as a career. So I thought what do I like that I could see myself doing for 30+ years that I could make a decent wage, and this is how finance came up. What locked up Finance is my dad telling me to research financial planning and then I put a thousand dollars in the stock market. </p>
<p>Student:</p>
<p>I am not sure of anything. I mean I am 19 years old but I have been someone who sets his mind to do something and then does it. I won’t lie, I don’t think I could make it in the world by only having a job where I made 60-70K a year, so I know I am going to have to bust my ass for the first 3 or 4 years out of college to set me up. You may have seen my posts about the financial planning and all that stuff. That is me doing research. I am not a top student and I do not have a million contacts so I have to make up with that by getting as much info as possible.</p>
<p>If you don’t believe me then look at hmom’s post. She obviously knew what she wanted and what she needed to do to get where she is now. Things are not just given to you.</p>
<p>Nxt</p>
<p>I started as a CPA, got an MBA from top school, transitioned to strategic planning, now CFO of a company. Know plenty of accountants who’ve leveraged their background into interesting career paths.</p>
<p>Think of accounting (in terms of business career development) as being like a language capability. It is easy to transition to finance roles (or strategic roles) if one builds on this capability and demonstrates business acumen.</p>
<p>One suggestion, however, don’t pick accounting (or any business career path) starting with money as the primary objective. I heard Warren Buffet give some great advice to students – which was “pick a path where you will spend the day doing what you enjoy doing; odds are you will be more successful”. People in accounting are detail oriented. They enjoy learning rules and regulations (like an attorney) and applying that insight to business. There is also an analytical element (which is why so many transition to finance roles). If these types of things are interesting to you – it is an excellent path (and, yes, you can make plenty of money as well).</p>
<p>so DrPep and hmom5, what would you think of a marketing career? Do you think it is subpar to other industries like finance and accounting?? Do you think they overall make less money?</p>
<p>and yay for minority hiring :)!</p>
<p>Although I have taken both introductory Accounting courses and liked them, I seem to enjoy more of the analytical side of it. But as you mentioned “business career development” being a “language capability” and sort of a long term investment, that bounces me back to thinking about Accounting again. I’ve heard from many that there is an advantage in learning the language of business so hopefully, I’ll have enough opinions and narrowed down my choice by the time I declare my major. Thanks for you input.</p>
<p>Sandra</p>
<p>Marketing is a very interesting career path. Most of the folks I’ve worked with in marketing have much different orientation/interest than those pursuing a finance career. Outgoing people, enjoy the creative process. From what you’ve written – sounds like a better fit for you. I think you are wise to broaden out your coursework to include management and communications. Marketing is a very competitive field to break into – this will help in differentiation. Successful colleagues I’ve worked with have endorsed getting experience at an agency as part of career development (to see all sides of the creative/development process). Seems like you are on a good path.</p>
<p>If you commit yourself to excellence in this field – the pay will come. A VP of marketing at a reasonable sized company can make $250K annually (with bonus). Note – that excludes equity/long-term compensation. Just know that getting to this type of level requires hard work and commitment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great life too! Best of luck.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve read that if you enjoy marketing, brand management is the field you want to get into if you’re looking to make money. Also, it might be a good idea to take some classes in statistics and maybe even economics (economics gives stats skills, and helps you understand how demand shifts due to price and all that good stuff)</p>
<p>"Everyone on these forums say do what you love, don’t worry about the money. I am fine with just “liking” my job and making 100K+ rather than “loving” my job and making 50K or less. "</p>
<p>I couldn’t agree more.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think that what people are arguing is that those who truly love their jobs are the ones that will excel and these people WILL end up making more money in the end anyways. </p>
<p>To elaborate a bit more, let me talk about my own experience. At my current job, I’m making around >$12 an hour after taxes which is pretty good for a sophomore in college. I hate living off of my parents, so I was really happy when I got this job, since I could now buy a couple of blazers and sunglasses that I wanted. But, now that that’s over and I’ve gotten what I’ve wanted, I waste 40 hours of my summer which I could spend having fun doing mind-numbingly boring work, and I walk out on Friday dreading coming back to work on Monday. </p>
<p>The point of my little anecdote is, while I might be earning more at this job currently, if I picked another job (let’s say at a department store) that I really enjoyed, I could be promoted to manager and earn more money, and not dread coming to work nearly every day. I know for sure that if I had a job like this for the rest of my life, and given how lazy I’ve become already, there’s no way I’d get a promotion (and this is besides the fact that my co-workers are nice people, imagine if I disliked one of them).</p>
<p>This upward mobility will be there at some point for people that love their jobs. True, some jobs just don’t pay as much (i.e. I doubt garbagemen have much potential for salary growth), but we’re all intersted (or at least we SHOULD BE) in business, where there is no glass ceiling, so just do something you like, and at some point, you will make good money is what I figure, even if it doesn’t happen right away.</p>
<p>I was in the same boat. I just graduated high school and was just taking online classes at a CC before I transferred to OSU. I worked at a collection job making $10 an hour and I was good at and was making 2K every month (with bonuses) but after about the third month I was asking myself why I was doing this. It was another five months before I quit.</p>
<p>The fact is there are a lot of things people “love” to do. A lot of people “love” to cook and want to do it professionally. Sure you could end up being the next Emeril Lagase (sp), but in reality you probably will only be making 35K a year and be struggling to pay your bills</p>
<p>I would even argue that alot of people think to themselves that they would love to have a certain job, and they actually do it and really like it alot. But then, the paycheck comes and that love turns to hate.</p>
<p>If you aren’t interested at all in something then do not get a degree in it. But just because you don’t “love” a particular job or field doesn’t mean you should automatically rule it out.</p>