<p>Which business majors can almost assure you a job with decent pay?</p>
<p>Which ones are harder to find?</p>
<p>accounting majors-easiest.</p>
<p>what is your definition of decent pay though…some people on this forum talk as if 100k is pocket change and they want salaries in 200k-500k even though they dont realize how hard it is to get to that level.</p>
<p>I want to be a CEO and make $100 Million/year. But I’d be okay with $200,000. :)</p>
<p>Decent pay = at least $40,000 - 45,000 starting salary.</p>
<p>Most starting accountants, actuaries and maybe statisic majors wouild make the most. All other business majors, especially from schools that don’t have a major Cache, pay the least.</p>
<p>One caveat: Marketing is based on performance. If you are a terrific marketer and sales person, you can make a bundle. Many of the newest millionaires are sales people. However, this is a tough profession.</p>
<p>^ sales is just on area of marketing and many marketing roles are not performance based but they are generally lower paying than some of the other positions in business.</p>
<p>If you go to an average school accounting and MIS generally pay the best. From a top undergrad business school you are probably ok regardless, but I’d say finance has the most upside.</p>
<p>Students get too bogged down in salaries though. If you don’t enjoy what you do you aren’t going to be very successful.</p>
<p>I agree vectorwega, it seems like so many students these days are obsessed with whatever career/job will make higher salaries without actually thinking about what they are actually interested in. People should just decide a career on what they like or what they excel in rather than choosing based on salary. You can make money at any job depending on how good you are at it.</p>
<p>Vector and Cool I agree and disagree with you.</p>
<p>First, my dream job was to be a sportswriter. I held onto that dream while I was a junior high til the day I graduated high school. But then I realized, I might love this job, but it was not going to be worth the money for school ($15,000 a year for good J-School) and I really didnt’ want to travel to a good J-School and pay dorm and other expenses (probably another $8,000-$10,000 a year). Mix in the fact that I would also have to do an unpaid internship. And last but not least I would MAYBE start off at $25,000 (BIG MAYBE) and have to start paying back a $80,000- $100,000 student loan on that salary.</p>
<p>I had talked with many writers who said with all the newspaper closing and jobs being cut (not just because of economy) a Journalism degree would be a bad idea. That is when I re-evaluated what was important to me. I decided if I am going to work my ass off I want to be making some money and journalism surely was not the answer.</p>
<p>I agree with you that college kids (such as myself) think way too much about money and not about enjoying their job. My father was in finance, so were both my grandfathers and my Uncle has an MBA, CPA, and a PHD in Mathematics and Economics, and was a VP at a mid-size insurance company. He is now happily retired at age 55. With that mindset I decided that Finance was maybe not my dream job but it is something I think I will enjoy and i could actually be able to afford a nice car, nice house, and the opportunity to go on a vacation or two a year.</p>
<p>Money should not be the deciding factor, but it should be a factor that turns you away from certain jobs. I mean look at the articles that have been written. Chances are you are not going to be able to do what you love, and by the off chance you do get to do what you want making a decent wage would be even more difficult.</p>
<p>My list is basically:</p>
<p>Do I find the career interesting at all?</p>
<p>Could I see myself doing this for five, ten, fifteen, etc. years?</p>
<p>Can I live a comfortable lifestyle with this career?</p>
<p>Can I see my family a good amount or will I be spending 60+ hours a week in the office or traveling?</p>
<p>Those were my four questions I asked myself. I answered 2 out of 4 right for Journalism. For finance I was 4/4.</p>
<p>Very good post, uxley.</p>
<p>I agree that a lot of people only go to business school because they like money and don’t know what else to do, not because they like business.</p>
<p>However, I also believe the bigger problem is with people who get attached to a dream where there simply isn’t enough money in the field to support that many people comfortably. There are a lot of people who want to be sports writers and there are only so many people who need a sports writer and the contribution they bring is only worth so much money so most people in the field will make less than they want.</p>
<p>When I was choosing a major, I asked myself if it reflected my hobbies, if it opened doors for me right after graduation, if it would continue to open doors for me 15 years from now, and if it was more marketable than most degrees.</p>
<p>in my defense, decent pay means about 60,000+</p>
<p>I would have to say 50,000+ for me.</p>
<p>Yeah. I definitely agree with a marketable degree. I mean Finance, Economics, and Accounting are always in the top ten best degrees money wise. I mean if you get into a solid B- School have a solid GPA and know a couple people it really should not be that hard.</p>
<p>I am expecting that when I graduate (2012) I have a job offer around $45,000. I mean call me crazy but that is what I expect. </p>
<p>The funniest thing about me changing majors was that I told myself I would never deal with a career that dealt with numbers. And then what do you know, I am getting involved in a career that involves numbers.</p>
<p>My whole thing is work to live. Not live to work.</p>
<p>You are being practical about your future career. That’s a good thing.</p>
<p>very practical~~~ almost every Business school student wanna be Warren or Sorros. I expect my starting salary is above $60,000.</p>
<p>uxley, I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. However there are many careers/jobs out there where your salary is low but your college tuition and debt is very high. It may be tough to make ends meet but some people still go for it because they really like the job or they have a goal to excel at what they do and make good money later on. For example, architects are paid quite low when taking into consideration that they work long hours sometimes, they accumulate a lot of debt, and it is very hard to break the six figures even with experience. Despite all this, there are still people who choose to enter the field because it is their passion and they have the appropriate skills for the job. Later on, some of these architects may have great management/business skills and eventually start their own firm which would pay them well. I’m not saying this will happen to everyone or everyone should enter a field without thinking about the financial aspects of it…I’m just saying that some people don’t let tuition and earnings scare them away.</p>
<p>Like many of you have said, I’ve decided to go for accounting because I feel like I would be interested in it and it is a marketable degree which can open doors for many other opportunities. I’m not really that concerned with money and I just want to make a decent amount. Most people on this forum seem to aiming to become ibankers, hedge/mutual fund managers, accounting firm partners, etc and make lots of money. Thats great if people want that stressful lifestyle with long hours and overwhelming responsibility. I just want to work decent hours and make decent money rather than living to work.</p>
<p>coolkidd, it’s ironic that you bring up architects because I was sure that’s what I would be in jr high. I learned that I probably wouldn’t be licensed until I was in my 30s and the pay opportunities were limited, and I changed my mind. Besides, business is also reflected in my hobbies so I’m not selling out completely, just choosing something much more practical that would allow me to better provide for myself and my family, which should be more satisfying anyway.</p>
<p>“I agree that a lot of people only go to business school because they like money and don’t know what else to do, not because they like business.”</p>
<p>“Most people on this forum seem to aiming to become ibankers, hedge/mutual fund managers, accounting firm partners, etc and make lots of money. Thats great if people want that stressful lifestyle with long hours and overwhelming responsibility.”</p>
<p>These two statements definitely apply to me, I cannot fathom how people know what they want to do with their lives…theres so many possibilities and so much pressure to find the one that fits you the best.</p>
<p>Tbh, I feel so apathetic about picking a career or job, I’m way more concerned with how happy I will be in the future, and yet a part of that happiness comes from a certain “success” that I feel I am already qualified for. </p>
<p>And I’m probably going to the business school at GWU for international biz, what careers are out in this field and can I expect them to pay ‘decently’ and be less stressful?</p>
<p>International business seems really fun as long as you don’t consider travel via flight, adjusting to different time zones, or going places where you might not be very fluent in the language to be stressful. It can be enjoyable for some, but I have an aunt and uncle that are both international businesspeople and they rack up so many frequent flier miles it’s insane. I guess they like what they do, but they don’t really talk much, so I can’t be sure.</p>