<p>I completely agree with JHS and oldfort. The education that will help someone become most successful is one that will develop critical thinking skills. As an MBA, I’ve seen so many accountants and CPAs that are so by the rules, black and white, inside the box while the most successful ones are the ones who can creatively develop an idea and present that idea. That’s what I look for. Combine that with strong work ethic and you’ve got great potential. From all the managers I’ve worked with, my favorite that I miss the most was an economist. </p>
<p>“Work hard, try new things, keep learning, help other people” - I also really like this mantra.</p>
<p>I don’t care for it at an undergrad level. At a grad / MBA level, that’s different. But I don’t think you can teach a young’un VC funding, product development, etc. when he doesn’t have any real world experience. I am finding more and more I prefer smart people that I can teach my business to, versus people who are “trained in business.”</p>
<p>Just wanted to chime in with another “I agree with JHS and Oldfort.” I graduated with a degree in Math and Biology from a liberal arts college and ended up at a top tier management consulting firm. I was arguably the second most recruited student in my class (from a consulting firm/iBank perspective) at a school that was known as a feeder school for top consulting firms and banks. I had numerous offers from different firms and eventually spent three years consulting before going back to get my MBA at Kellogg (was also accepted at Stanford and UCLA (full ride) for business school). The reason I was recruited and the reason I had a relatively easy time applying to top tier B-Schools was that I was bright and had proven that I could learn quickly by doing well in college. The firms didn’t care that I hadn’t ever taken a finance or accounting class. I had taken graduate level math classes and done research on the Human Genome project (back in the 90s when it was in it’s heyday)…they knew I could pick up the content knowledge because I had a proven academic track record. I strongly disapprove of undergraduate business majors…I truly believe the model of getting several years of work experience and then going back to get an MBA is more effective. I can’t imagine reading a marketing textbook and trying to learn about marketing without the context my own career and the careers of my classmates to provide insight. I know I was lucky to be at an elite liberal arts college where the firms came to recruit and maybe if I were talking about what to major in at a big state school, my perspective would be different, but at least in the industries I’ve worked in – High Tech, Consulting, Finance – a degree in Business Administration would be far less valuable in terms of career prospects than a liberal arts degree and/or a degree in economics.</p>
<p>For the last 27+ years I’ve been in positions that often required me to review new hires, (well, at least back when we used to hire people). My experiences tell me that creativity, hard work and critical thinking are individual attributes and have little if anything to do with what field a candidate studied in college. I’ve hired individuals with just about any undergraduate major you’d care to name, but I can’t say I’ve seen any correlation between success and course of study, (or individual college for that matter).</p>
<p>The people who succeed are the ones that have inquisitive minds to begin with, the ones for whom learning is interesting and important in its own right. Whether they end up studying Heidegger, Milton, Keynes or Trump oftentimes seems to be more the result of fortuitous accidents than any well thought out plans. What they bring to their company/community is a desire to know more, do more and grow more. I don’t see how an English or Economics major has an advantage on that front over a Marketing or Accounting graduate.</p>
<p>The hiring rule we live by is one I learned from a high school friend who went onto become a photographer. I asked him why he took some many shots of seemingly the same scene. His answer was the 100-10-1 rule: “If I take 100 shots, 10 will be good and of those, 1 will be spectacular”. Frankly the rule applies to people. The vast majority are forgettable, 10% will be intriguing and 1% will be a stunners, regardless of the subject they study in college. To the OP I say study what truly excites you; if it’s business great, but at least try and find a program that requires some outside, liberal arts, exploration.</p>
<p>IMO. Sports analogy:
First, the entrepreneur needs to get up to bat and get a ‘hit’ on the opportunity.
If he makes it to first base, he needs to get to second-base. This is where the ‘schooling’ becomes valuable. Moving on to third-base and home-base, will be determined by other people. </p>
<p>The most important part is getting to bat and hit. </p>
<p>Ask again in 3-5 years. DS has incorporated.</p>
<p>Actually, in California you need a 4 yr bachelor’s degree to be a CPA:</p>
<p>*Designed for individuals who will practice only in California and requires:</p>
<pre><code>* A bachelors degree;
24 semester units in accounting-related subjects;
24 semester units in business-related subjects (accounting courses beyond the 24 required units may apply toward the business units);
Passing the Uniform CPA Exam;
Two years of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and
Passing an ethics course.*
</code></pre>
<p>In most states, you are required to have 150 college hours to be certified - which equivalent to a Master’s degree.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>These days almost no one can get certified without a 5 yr college education. California is one of the few without the 150 hour rule and if you move to another state, chances are you won’t be grandfathered in.</p>
<p>Do community colleges in California issue bachelor’s degrees?</p>
<p>sorry, of course that is correct. I meant to post that one could take the accounting courses (i.e., “24 semester units”) required for a CPA at a local juco, but I was in a rush.</p>
<p>I have a different opinion than previous posters.</p>
<p>Not only do you need to ask yourself what you want to do, but you need to look at the requirements for each major at your college. Additionally, you need to look at the syllabuses for these classes. </p>
<p>At my school, business is one of the top programs in the country and economics is not even an accredited B.S. program (you can receive a B.A., however). Being a finance or accounting major at the business school here is EXTREMELY problem-solving and math heavy and econ is actually considered the “softer” major. Looking at their hw it certainly doesn’t look “force fed” in any way - more specific terminology perhaps, but that doesn’t equate to “tailored”. Additionally it is well-recruited and my friends have no problems finding internships or other opportunities because their knowledge of math and their problem-solving skills are perceived to be superior to liberal arts majors. </p>
<p>Look at the classes in the major - not just a few, because it’s true there are stupid ones, but really look at what’s POSSIBLE to do within the major and what skills are emphasized. It will vary greatly between schools and no one can tell you “business major is always better than econ or vice versa” because again, it depends highly on the individual program.</p>
<p>Undergrad economics major here. I chose it because I saw it as the most practical of the social sciences (even though it was in the business school at my college). But I knew very little about it.</p>
<p>Econ was very unlike anything I took in high school. If I was advising someone now, I’d tell them to keep their options options until they’d taken an econ course or two. I was lucky, but it isn’t for everyone. It requires a very different way of thinking.</p>
<p>One thing I’ve been trying to figure out…my son is considering switching his major from computer science to economics or computational finance. I’d gotten some excellent information from cc about computational finance, but I’m still concerned if he chooses economics, in this crappy environment for God knows how long. Computer science was as close to a guarantee of a job from this high tech school, so I’m thinking nooooooo! But he absolutely loves, and is obsessed with anything economics. </p>
<p>The degree is a bachelor of science, very few liberal arts classes, very statistics and math heavy. It is also a very strong school for business. Maybe combined with alot of programming classes? But I don’t know, are there going to be any jobs out there for this major ever, in his lifetime?</p>