24-08-2005 19:54									#31
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

so even though I plan on going to grad school, it is better to do something specific as opposed to Management/major?

	24-08-2005 20:07									#32
	Get a bigger avatar today!

YES.

	24-08-2005 20:16									#33
	Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

Albert, this cannot be stressed enough - you will not get into a good MBA program without several years of post-undergrad work experience. Keep that in mind if you feel what you major in is important to the job you get after you graduate.

	24-08-2005 20:36									#34
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Albert, this cannot be stressed enough - you will not get into a good MBA program without several years of post-undergrad work experience. Keep that in mind if you feel what you major in is important to the job you get after you graduate.

That ain't entirely true. Yet, is more the norm than not. I have a friend who went to Pepperdine right form his undergrad. Private schools might be a little different. However, unless you really kiss someone's arse having an MBA and no work experience will still land you in the trenches, and you will be sad because you have a Masters and the same job as some schmuck with a BA who is getting his MBA on the companies dime.

	24-08-2005 23:16									#35
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

African-American studies.

	25-08-2005 01:06									#36
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

quote: Originally posted by Japher That ain't entirely true. Yet, is more the norm than not. I have a friend who went to Pepperdine right form his undergrad. Private schools might be a little different. However, unless you really kiss someone's arse having an MBA and no work experience will still land you in the trenches, and you will be sad because you have a Masters and the same job as some schmuck with a BA who is getting his MBA on the companies dime.

Well, if he wants to get into Wharton, it's true . Wharton won't take you right out of undergrad. Though I agree it's best to go to work for a few years and then have the company pay for your MBA.

	25-08-2005 01:15									#37
	Remove this text

quote: Though I agree it's best to go to work for a few years and then have the company pay for your MBA.

Not just the pay, but what if you get out and find you don't like your field? It doesn't happen often, but does as enigneers who find that they prefer a different industry and that all the work they did as a grad student was worthless.

I guess in buisness it may be different.

I guess, what I am getting at, is that if AS goes into buisness/whatever he is pigeon holing himself for something he doesn't even know that he will like or even need. If, on the other hand, he does something that gives more of a skill set he won't be directing his career path at this time, rather, he'd be setting up his "in" to whatever career he wants. If, at sometime in the future he finds that in order to go further in his career he needs a masters he can ask himself then if he likes his industry and if it would be worth getting that Master in Buisness Admin/Pharma or whatever... and yes, the company will pick up the tab.

	25-08-2005 01:24									#38
	Support Apolyton

Whats all of this non-sense about business, if you want a real major take political science.

	25-08-2005 01:27									#40
	Increase Your PM Length

quote: if you want a real major take political science

or philosophy?;P

	25-08-2005 01:47									#41
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Skanky, Dauphin (has he changed his name yet again, or has he just not been round for ages, and I missed the "I'm going to Australia/Thailand/Chad/Utah" thread?) and I are accountants, or at least training to be.

Make of that what you will.

	25-08-2005 03:41									#42
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Some of you seem to be saying that the major I pick now doesn't have to even be business-related. I figure if i took poli sci or something I could manage a GPA above 3.75 but would I be able to get a job at somewhere like a bank as a non-business major like Kontiki said he did and then get my MBA a few years later? Or should I go ahead and major in finance or marketing, get an internship, job, whatever... then a few years later go to business school?

	25-08-2005 04:20									#43
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

quote: Originally posted by Albert Speer but would I be able to get a job at somewhere like a bank as a non-business major like Kontiki said he did and then get my MBA a few years later?

Easily. I've met managers who were doctors, historians, hockey coaches... It's more about being educated on an academic level rather than having done a business-related study.

quote: Or should I go ahead and major in finance or marketing, get an internship, job, whatever... then a few years later go to business school?

Do what you want! Follow your own heart and gut. It's about the academic level anyway, so make it yourself as pleasant as possible and do something you enjoy.

On the MBA-thing, I agree that it is much better to do it in a later stage. With the baggage of experience, you'll be able to complete the MBA with much more added value. You'll also understand the essence of what you're doing much better as well.

	25-08-2005 04:26									#44
	Inflate your Upload Space

what I'm asking is if i major in something that is a real strength of mine (like poli sci, history, or philosophy), would i be able to get an alright job after graduation? I know my GPA would be quite high if I took those courses (I've taken a few and got 4.0's in them as opposed to mere 3.0's in my principles of accounting course, my marketing course, etc.) but would i be flipping burgers or could i actually get a job?

	25-08-2005 04:44									#45
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization 2

Yes, as I mentioned, there are people who made it despite not having followed a business education. This is where the MBA adds value as a postdoctorate degree.

Some examples:

Gerlach Cerfontaine, general director of Schiphol International Airport: med-school (used to be a G.P.).
The sponsoring director of ABN Amro Netherlands (I forget his name): history

	25-08-2005 05:07									#46
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

huh... maybe i've wasted a year already taking business core classes! maybe I should be shooting for a 3.9 GPA in liberal arts!

something doesn't seem right about this though... yes, I can go to an MBA program with a non-business major but wouldn't i be behind the other students as I wouldn't have taken courses in business? or would i be able to get a business-related job before grad school that I can use as experience for an MBA? basically, suppose i try for a degree in philosophy... could i get an internship at all? would i be able to get a job at some corporate mailroom or records office with a philosophy degree as opposed to a degree in finance?

	25-08-2005 06:41									#47
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

can i get some input on this?

	25-08-2005 06:57									#48
	Get a bigger avatar today!

Now, I have to add that I have spoken multiple recruiters during my university period. This is what it usually boils down to for economic/management jobs:

- an academic degree is the indicator of intellectual ability;
- a specialization in an economic/management area is preferred because of the familiarity with terms like NPV and SWOT;
- hard skills > soft skills; at least over here. Companies like people who have finished a technical study (like civil engineering or aerospace engineering) because these people tend to have greater analytical skills, as opposed to philosophers or socio-cultural grads that are more "bla bla".

OTOH, Carly Fiorina made it to being the CEO of Hewlett-Packard with her philosophy degree... but notice how she completely farked up the company

	25-08-2005 07:13									#49
	Suffering from ads?

if I were to major in philosophy and get a 3.9 GPA, would it be better than majoring in Finance and getting a 3.5?

that's one of the things that's getting me... 'soft skills' are something i'm too good at...

of course if i were to switch to a technical study like engineering or biology, i would be in school for 5 or 6 years instead of 4 because i would have taken none of those courses over the past 2 years.

i dont know... i'm just confused. would it make more sense for me, someone aspiring for an MBA but somewhat of a polymath interested in everything, to major in Finance or to major in philosophy or to major in science/engineering/healthcare/whatever? What would get me the job pre-grad school that would provide me with the proper experience for admission to a top MBA program? I'm scared I'll be flipping burgers with a philosophy degree or starting a technical career with engineering.

	25-08-2005 08:23									#50
	Suffering from ads?

quote: Originally posted by Kontiki If you actually want to do any of things on that list after you graduate, focus your efforts on that. If none of those things in particular grabs you, or you plan on going to grad school, you might be better served by taking a more broad approach.

quote: Oh, and Actuarial Science is basically about calculating probabilities of outcomes as they relate to people - ie. risks of death etc. for insurance purposes. It can be quite lucrative, and is almost certainly filled with the most dull nerds who walk the face of the earth.

That's true. We did have the UBER hottie that majored in it at our school, it was very funny to see her among her peers. Man she was smoking.

I'd hit it.

	25-08-2005 12:36									#51
	Increase the size of your Attachments

quote: Originally posted by Albert Speer I do plan to go on to grad school... hopefully Wharton but, if failing that, Temple's Fox School. so, kontiki, do you suggest going the management/major route if I'm going on to grad school?

Many MBA (or other business) degrees require you to have working experience, sometimes 5 years or more.

	25-08-2005 12:37									#52
	Got spare money?

quote: Originally posted by Japher Sounds like a high paying job that will bore your socks off.

MIS generally deals with databases and writing reports for your managers. Boring, and doesn't pay well.

	25-08-2005 16:02									#53
	Enter the AD-FREE zone

quote: Originally posted by SlowwHand Something associated with the health care/medical industry. Pharmacist maybe.

That's good advice. My gf is a pharmacist and makes more money than my friends who are doctors (though none of them are in really lucrative specialties). Plus you finish school sooner so you make money sooner and have a good deal less debt, and no internships or residencies either.

	25-08-2005 20:10									#54
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by Albert Speer i dont know... i'm just confused. would it make more sense for me, someone aspiring for an MBA but somewhat of a polymath interested in everything, to major in Finance or to major in philosophy or to major in science/engineering/healthcare/whatever?

Ask yourself, what is that you would like to do everyday* until you retire?



* Excluding holidays and possibly unemployment.

	25-08-2005 20:17									#55
	Got spare money?

The most practical options on that list are probably the accounting and actuarial plans. The latter would require more math than the former (and take a decent probability course to make sure being an actuary wouldn't bore the hell out of you or wouldn't too difficult for you).

All that management crap seems useless. If you want those skills, probably it'd be best to get an MBA after you finish a more substantial undergrad degree.

	25-08-2005 20:18									#56
	Got spare money?

AS, CEO and chairman of the board for Johnson&Johnson has a BS in Biology, and that is it.

IMO, tailor yourself to the job you some day want. Don't let fear of flipping burgers guide you. Rather, use your education as a stepping stone for what is to come next. Also, don't take advantage of school by taking the easy way out. Work on those aspects of yourself that needs improving.

If I were you, AS, I wouldn't major in poly sci. or philosophy or buisness. I think you would find finance or marketing more exciting and rewarding. But then, that is coming from someone who only knows you from these boards.

	25-08-2005 23:50									#57
	Support Apolyton, buy Call to Power 2

Check this out:http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/jul/15mba.htm

an argument between Finance vs. Marketing MBA programs for their ability to produce better CEOs.

I still stand firm, with the others, that AS shouldn't move directly into an MBA program, but this is still something to consider, for I think he will get to the MBA one day, and a god foundation should be laid.

Marketing or Finance?

	26-08-2005 08:26									#58
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

I'm fairly, but not especially, outgoing so... Finance it is.

besides, i found the stuff they taught in my marketing classes to be very vague, reminiscient of all the management and HR crap. The successes and failures of marketing departments of various companies was interesting and seemed worthwhile, but something about it turned me off. it didn't seem like i was really learning anything... only common sense things and vague things about product placement and product mixes.

	26-08-2005 08:36									#59
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: Management/Healthcare

Growing field. You'll make a fortune.

	26-08-2005 09:10									#60
	Increase the size of your Attachments

Forgot about future jobs for a second. What would you really be interested in studying?

Let's say you're into history. You could do that as a major. You'll likely get high marks because you enjoy it so that will help you get into grad school. You can also take some business courses on the side. You might even be able to do a double major.