Is a business major necessary or recommended for someone who wants to go into business?
I'm interested in eventually going into Business (as in running my own business). I currently have an online numismatics business, but hope to go through college and ramp up my business all the while. Some people have told me that while studying business as an undergraduate, one will learn just things that can be learned in 6 months on the job, so it is more worthwhile to study history or economics for example. Others have told me that business undergraduate degrees are very valuable.
To be specifc, I'm enrolled to attend Notre Dame and am wondering whether to continue in the business school, or leave the business school to study economics. Notre Dame does have the best undergraduate business school in the U.S., but the counterargument is that there aren't many undergraduate business schools in the country. #college #business #professor #finance #economics
4 answers
Artemio San Martin, MBA, MS, PMP
Artemio’s Answer
Hi Luke: You don't need a Bachelor's degree to start your own business. If you're passionate about your idea and want to pursue it, you can simply go for it and make it happen. However, having a degree would allow you to have an intellectual baseline of knowledge to empower you to make better judgments and decisions for you and your business. If this degree happens to be in business, it would allow you to understand general concepts around finance, accounting, marketing, economics, etc., making you a more informed individual when facing business problems. A college degree would also serve you as a solid backup plan in case your business doesn't go as planned. Good luck!
Horatiu G. Stefan
Horatiu G.’s Answer
You absolutely do not need a business major if you are interested in going into business, whether for yourself or for an enterprise. In fact, your major is irrelevant. What is relevant are the skills you develop. I suggest taking classes in finance, accounting, marketing, psychology (consumer behavior), statistics, entrepreneurship ... balance that out with art, music, sociology, philosophy, history. Take advantage of being in school to stretch your brain and increase your frame of reference ... not to mention your network. I am by no means athletic but joined the club rugby team while in collage and met some awesome guys that I otherwise would not have. That has incredible value.
Incidentally, I majored in economics and political science and have pursued a career in business. I went to a school that emphasized analytical and problem solving skills, which are precisely what has taken me so far in my career. I don't think I ever directly applied learnings from my economics classes in my career.
nice question
sana
Christopher ’s Answer
What other majors would you be interested instead? I would not say a business major is essential in starting your own business but there are certainly aspects that would be beneficial. For example, if you are planning on starting an online company, maybe a computer science degree is more relevant. But as Horatiu said above, there are classes and skills that would be beneficial - especially microeconomics, macroeconomics, and accounting (do not underestimate how important accounting is to a small business. Understanding cash flows, revenue and expense streams, margins, etc is vital). Basically I would advise that a business degree is not necessary but is beneficial so maybe at least a minor or take some classes as electives.
Estelle’s Answer
Good luck!