<p>I'm currently a HS senior and trying to figure out the next four years of my life. I know I want to major in business, but I don't know what specifically. I really want a career that allows me to travel abroad. I would be open to anything as long as I don't end up staying in the same place. Basically what I'm asking is, what major would best suit someone who is looking for a career in international business. Thanks!</p>
<p>Well…how about INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. </p>
<p>From what I understand, getting a degree in international business is like getting a degree in marketing. As in that it is easier to get a marketing job if you hold an accounting degree than if you have a degree in marketing.</p>
<p>If you seek out travel, you can find it in many different areas of business. There is no need to pick a major while you are still in HS. I’d suggest that you get into a business school, take some classes in different areas such as finance, marketing, accounting etc. (which you will be required to do to fill a business core curriculum) and see what is the best match for your interest and abilities.</p>
<p>I would like to take a similar path with my life. I am planning on majoring in accounting (as a foundation for all fo business) and minoring/double majoring in international business. </p>
<p>Why not pick an industry that involves a lot of international travel instead of a major.</p>
<ul>
<li>learn a second or third language</li>
<li>double major or minor in an area study program - Latin American studies, far eastern studies, etc.</li>
<li>go into the airline industry, shipping industry, import/export business, and the list goes on and on.</li>
<li>join the military or the work at the State Department as a foreign service officer to build some intl cred.</li>
<li>get a masters degree at a foreign school, e.g. Oxford U.</li>
</ul>
<p>If it the major that matters most to you - I say economics. Accounting may be totally different in a foreign country and you won’t know the laws there well enough to be competitive in an interview right out of college.</p>
<p>I think your best option might be international business. You could take the basic classes at a college until you make your final decision. You could also apply for jobs that offer a lot of travel. </p>
<p>In my opinion finance and accounting wouldn’t involve much travel if any. </p>
<p>@Eniam666
</p>
<p>I would advise against this if you really wanted to travel outside of the country. A large portion of accounting is law which completely changes from country to country.</p>
<p>My advice is the same and similar to Noteworthy’s advice.</p>
<p>I think the difficulty is that schools market their programs but don’t ever discuss the results. I find corporations to be very risk averse these days. Sending an American kid with a newly minted degree to do business on the international stage is highly risky and I don’t see it happening unless that kid already has an extensive international background or advantage (I.e., comes from another culture, speaks several languages, has lived abroad, has international connections, etc.). Otherwise, you will spend years working to earn the trust to work internationally and expect to pay your dues working in a less than desirable area in the beginning.</p>
<p>Learning Chinese or Arabic gives you an advantage. Studying for a semester or year in China or the Middle East or Latin America will give you an advantage. Taking area-studies courses will help. Studying international law or finance at the grad level will help too. Don’t believe the marketing hype that a UG degree will get you where you say you want to be - I say do an undergrad in a language or area-study or both. Take business electives so you can do well on the GMAT. Join the peace corps, work for the State Dept or UN, do extensive study abroad or go live in another country for a year, then come back and get an MBA. Then maybe you’ll be competitive for the type of work you’re looking to do. Plus, you’ll be much smarter about it all.</p>
<p>Also I would like to mention from my research, I would honestly advise against business if you are set on traveling internationally. It’s a lot more rare these days because of how efficient technology has become. Having a webcam meeting or conference call meeting is how most international business is done these days. Additionally, when there are international meetings in person, they typically are performed by the higher-ups of the company so it would be quite a while before you would be given that opportunity.</p>
<p>Note: Like I said, I’m speaking from research other than experience so if someone with experience wants to verify my claim feel free.</p>
<p>Major in Economics and minor in a foreign language.</p>
<p>Or major in Business Admin with the same minor.</p>
<p>Accounting is not Marketing; it is part of a Business Admin program, like Marketing is. The all-around Business major is BA. If that is not offered, I’d choose Econ.</p>
<p>A lot of schools (I know michigan in particular) has a simple BBA degree where you don’t have to pick a specific major. Lots of schools are doing this for the business schools so that you can get an overall degree</p>
<p>@joeylin
</p>
<p>I feel like that would be a bad thing because most companies hire for a certain position which a general degree really wouldnt be competitive to someone who has something closer to that position.</p>
<p>@Noteworthy Not at all, it’s great for the general understanding of business. You’re never going to learn everything you need for any job in school. The majority of what you learn that leads to success comes from your work experience. The basic skills are what are most necessary in school…</p>
<p>@Joeylin I agree that you arent going to go into any job knowing everything but it’s like how marketing or professional sales majors (type of business major) don’t get accounting jobs and vice versa usually. Most businesses hire for a certain position and dont really hire to have a “team member”. At least at the entry-level of positions, once you have experience, all of this goes out the window.</p>
<p>I mean if I need someone to do accounting work, I’m going to hire an accounting/finance/economics major over a general business major. If I need someone to do marketing work, I’m going to hire a marketing major.</p>
<p>Consultants typically travel depending on assignments. Worth looking into.</p>
<p>International business or Marketing</p>