I am lost. I went to a career night today for athletes and came out of it more confused than I already was. And that was pretty confused. I know eventually I would like to own my own business - whether it be a non-profit, a bakery, a sporting good store, a restaurant, or something else - but the money to do this doesn't grow on trees (although I will gratefully accept donations) and there is no guarantee that my business will be successful. Basically, I need to raise some money first. That is why Accounting seems like a good option; I'd get a job right out of college which is a definite plus, but I've heard it's a huge yawner. FInance is another good option, and following the stock market was what first got me interested in Business, but I don't know if I want to look at stocks all day. Another dilemma I have (amazing I know that all of this is going on in my head at one time) is the fact that I have always been great at math and think quantitatively, but Marketing and other non-mathematical subjects have started to interest me a lot more the past few years. This just confuses the whole process.
All things considered, my current major choice is Economics. I figure this is definitely business-oriented, but doesn't tie me down to a particular field that doesn't really interest me like Accounting and Finance. This degree, I think, looks a little better than a Marketing degree (no offense at all to you Marketing majors, my sister included) and adds the Math/Finance aspects to it. Using it for a career such as a market researcher or a brand manager sounds appealing.
Well, I could go on, but I will stop here since I have no doubt bored you already. Any thoughts on what I should do? Major/Career advice? Even suggestions for a summer job (unrelated, but important to me nonetheless)? So many choices, three and a half years to decide! What to do, what to do...
I will absolutely donate to your business and help you in any way I can... I think it would be really cool if you started a restaurant... My dad does the stock market stuff and likes it. He majored in accounting though but never ended up doing anything with that.. I'll try and help you get a summer job. Let you know by Sunday. Good luck with everything!
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Economics is one of those degrees that doesn't have a specific job function out of college.
A business degree with a marketing emphasis prepares you to be entry level in marketing (unless you have an in somewhere or they just happen to really like you, you likely won't get a call back for a marketing job). ( I am hiring an assistant marketing manager and I haven't picked a single person with a economics degree). Same with accounting.
Economics will prepare you for a job in financial services, hedgefunds, financial sales, etc. This is a male dominated industry, so you could "Go Girl!" It's also really competitive, but can be fast paced and interesting as far as I can tell.
Ken had a business economics major is having a lot of trouble finding a job in finance (so is everyone). No matter what you will have to start at the bottom. Very few people get their dream job off the bat and even fewer people are well paid for it. But you work your tail off and eventually move up the company and start making $$$.
It's important to be at a company that you like and respect and they treat you well. You're likely not going to hop out of bed and say, "Yay! I get to go to work today!" But, having a job that you like at a company that treats you well makes it a lot easier.
So as someone 3 years out of college who went through the whole job search and knows what it's like to be applying to literally hundreds of jobs, my two cents is this: Don't worry about this stuff now. Your major won't make or break you. Have fun while you can, life gets tougher after you graduate. You have 3 years until you need to find a job.
Thanks for all that info. It's crazy that you're only three years out of college! You've done so well for yourself! I may still want to do Econ and possibly focus it on Marketing and minor in Entrepreneurship. I pretty much just take all core business classes sophomore year anyways so I'll get exposed to finance, accounting, business information systems, marketing, management, supply chain management, and econ a little more. That should definitely help me find out what I like. Anyways, thanks everyone for your help!
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