I am about to complete a dual B.A in Global Business and Management as well as a minor in Education.. What field would you suggest pursuing? Is Edupreneurship something to look into?
I am an undergrad who concentrated on business but has recently explored and found great interest in the field of education. I would like to hear about others experience in transitioning from Business to Education or combining the two in a certain career.
5 answers
Jared’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team
Education is serious business! Congrats on your upcoming degree (major achievement) and I'm glad that you have discovered a passion for education. I'll answer each of the two parts of your question separately:
What fields could be a fit? Given your training so far, my guess is that you would not find yourself well prepared for front-line instruction without additional training (or participating in a program like TFA or something). You may find yourself competitively positioned for a business role at a for-profit corporation in the education space. How do you refine down your options? There are two ways I would suggest you think about this - sector and role. The Education market could be divided into sectors like: K12 education (further subdivided by grade level or by the socioeconomic status of the communities you serve), higher ed institutions (further subdivided into private vs. public, research vs. instructional, etc.), publishing, EdTech, administration platforms, professional development, assessment, test prep, vocational training programs, and others. Role could be things like administrator, counselor, teacher, admissions officer, or any of a huge variety of roles in corporations (marketing, operations, finance, etc.). You are in Boston, and it looks like Nicholas has already given you the names of companies based in Boston that are in the education space. I would also add in that the Greater Boston area enjoys a great proliferation of education startups right now, so you may want to consider any of the many 5-50 person education companies we have here right now (to find startups, either attend meetups or research Boston-area venture capital firms to find out who in their portfolios are in education and hiring).
Would edupreneurship be something to look into? The experience of being an entrepreneur is particularly distinct. If you feel you would like to be an entrepreneur, or if you have been one already, then doing that in education could make sense. But unless entrepreneurship is extremely attractive to you, I would urge you to look elsewhere. It's just too difficult to succeed as an entrepreneur for someone to pursue it without a deep passion for building the skills of an entrepreneur. There are several questions on CareerVillage already about entrepreneurship as a career, but feel free to ask a new one if you like I'll be sure to answer it.
My personal experience (the basis for my responses): I started my career in business. I got a B.Sc. in Business (finance concentration) from NYU Stern and then started working at McKinsey & Co. as a consultant. After 6 years I left to build CareerVillage.org. We're definitely an education sector organization, but we're not a traditional school or higher ed program. More like a social sector service organization. As the founder of CareerVillage.org, I consider myself a social entrepreneur by trade.
(I don't normally answer questions on CareerVillage.org, preferring instead to leave the stage to our amazing volunteer pool, but since your question so closely matches my own professional story I couldn't resist this time. Kudos for working on your career prep today!)
Nicholas’s Answer
Firstly, your desire to combine business and education is a great idea. I congratulate you on that pursuit.
There's a number of avenues if this is your interest.
Pursuing opportunities directly in education - in particular higher education. There's always needs in enrollment and admissions - which requires business, relationship, and communication skills. There are some schools that look for individuals with international interests to work with international students.
If you're interested in the more corporate route, I would suggest Education Technology and/or education publishing companies. For example: Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Cengage Learning, and others. These are global companies with many business needs and exist to develop educational products.
Finally, if you'd like to have a more immediate impact, I would suggest more mission driven organizations or educational non-profits. There are plenty out there and I would bet that you could get internships while still in school to explore these options. Another company that I would suggest looking into is Education First / EF Tours.
Hope this helps.
Laura Rose’s Answer
Very interesting marrying of the major/minor. If you have a newfound interest in education, I suggest you go try it out somewhere! Do an internship or volunteer for a couple weeks or find someone in a position you could see yourself/are curious about and take the time to dive in. The only way you'll know what you like is by doing it! If you don't end up enjoying it, that's one more thing to cross off your list. The more experience you have, the more educated your decision will be about your career choices because you're more in tune to what makes you tick. Good luck!
Amy’s Answer
Congratulations on the upcoming degrees. I actually received my undergraduate degree in Education and Psychology and ended up in the banking field managing communications and training for online services. I'd recommend looking into Organization Development or Industrial and Organizational Psychology. I think your background would suit you well to follow a similar career path. Happy to talk more about it if you're interested.
Sierra’s Answer
To learn more about the industry, I'd suggest you take a look at Edsurge - great one-stop shop for learning about the emerging education technology industry. You should also look at Education Pioneers - a great competitive program for people coming out of school and looking to transition from business to a role in education. They work with a wide variety of partners.