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How can I determine which sector to pursue as a business student?
Currently, I am engaged in pursuing consulting; however, I am uncertain about fully committing my career to this field. Thank you.
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4 answers
Updated
Madi’s Answer
Hi Nick,
There are many fields you can pursue when it comes to Business (e.g., consulting, finance, marketing, management, etc). Many colleges offer a broad spectrum of business courses, providing you with a golden chance to explore these diverse fields before narrowing down which one you want to be your major. I encourage you to leverage this opportunity during your first few college years.
Wishing you all the best on this exciting journey!
There are many fields you can pursue when it comes to Business (e.g., consulting, finance, marketing, management, etc). Many colleges offer a broad spectrum of business courses, providing you with a golden chance to explore these diverse fields before narrowing down which one you want to be your major. I encourage you to leverage this opportunity during your first few college years.
Wishing you all the best on this exciting journey!
Updated
T.J.’s Answer
Hello Nick!
A thing you could do is look at each field within business and spend time researching, experiencing, and reflecting on them.
Colleges usually provide these business fields:
- Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Marketing
- Economics
- Computer Information Systems.
To research these, you'll need to set aside time to look at them in depth.
You can start your research with Googling jobs + YouTube videos.
1. Look up "Jobs in ____" {Jobs in Business Administration, Jobs in Marketing}
2. Look up the day in the life of "X" or career vlogs on YouTube | When you found a job that interests you, add in that role to the search bar. {Day in the life of a business analyst, Day in the life of a brand manager}
3. See if there's jobs for that where you live. | Use Indeed, Zippia, or LinkedIn to see if there's a demand for the role you're looking into. Type the role in the job search engine { Business analyst in [Location] }
4. Reflect on yourself. | After researching, you need to decide whether the job works for you. Some questions you can ask yourself are:
- How does [this job] match my personality?
- How does [this job] match interests and strengths?
- How does this field or role match my values?
If you don't know what your personality, strengths, or values are, you can take quizzes online. I recommend this one: https://ikigaitest.com/
5. Decide if the job's worth pursuing. | Do you actually want to do the job you're looking at? Are you willing to take the necessary steps to get there?
- If it's yes: Great! You have a career idea now.
- If it's no: Go back to step one. Search another job in a field, or start searching in another business field.
Finding a career takes time and trial & error. You're not going to find your dream job right away. In fact, you shouldn't find it right away.
Don't rush the process. Give yourself time to think about what you want out of life.
Sending you encouragement with finding a career. You got this :)
A thing you could do is look at each field within business and spend time researching, experiencing, and reflecting on them.
Colleges usually provide these business fields:
- Business Administration
- Accounting
- Finance
- Marketing
- Economics
- Computer Information Systems.
To research these, you'll need to set aside time to look at them in depth.
You can start your research with Googling jobs + YouTube videos.
1. Look up "Jobs in ____" {Jobs in Business Administration, Jobs in Marketing}
2. Look up the day in the life of "X" or career vlogs on YouTube | When you found a job that interests you, add in that role to the search bar. {Day in the life of a business analyst, Day in the life of a brand manager}
3. See if there's jobs for that where you live. | Use Indeed, Zippia, or LinkedIn to see if there's a demand for the role you're looking into. Type the role in the job search engine { Business analyst in [Location] }
4. Reflect on yourself. | After researching, you need to decide whether the job works for you. Some questions you can ask yourself are:
- How does [this job] match my personality?
- How does [this job] match interests and strengths?
- How does this field or role match my values?
If you don't know what your personality, strengths, or values are, you can take quizzes online. I recommend this one: https://ikigaitest.com/
5. Decide if the job's worth pursuing. | Do you actually want to do the job you're looking at? Are you willing to take the necessary steps to get there?
- If it's yes: Great! You have a career idea now.
- If it's no: Go back to step one. Search another job in a field, or start searching in another business field.
Finding a career takes time and trial & error. You're not going to find your dream job right away. In fact, you shouldn't find it right away.
Don't rush the process. Give yourself time to think about what you want out of life.
Sending you encouragement with finding a career. You got this :)
Updated
Kaitlyn’s Answer
Talking to people in different business-related fields (including consulting, finance, audit, marketing, etc.) can help you learn more about what you may and may not be interested in. I would also recommend trying to take some intro courses in different business areas if you're able to. For example, take an intro to finance course, and if you're interested, you can look into it more; if not, you'll know that finance isn't for you. Whatever you end up doing, keep in mind that you can always change your mind, whether that involves changing your major or making a career pivot later down the road.
Updated
Andres’s Answer
It is common for universitiy students to change their major, from related roles such as finance to accounting, to large leaps like marketing to statistics.
The best way to figure out what you like when there are so many options is to try to expose yourself to all the options that you have an interest in: join the finance club, become a marketing member of a different club, try to get an internship in accounting, etc...
At university you are also at a crucial moment where you are surrounded by people learning and teaching everything about the careers you may want to go into, email a professor for a coffee chat, ask your friends what they think about a specific career path.
If all else fails or you are more socially anxious, you can go the text route and message people on LinkedIn about their career choices or watch YouTube videos on the differences of the work.
The best question I would ask myself when making this decision is: "What do I want to be doing with my life." OR "What impact do I want to have made after X years." With the followup, "How do I best get there".
Happy Learning!
The best way to figure out what you like when there are so many options is to try to expose yourself to all the options that you have an interest in: join the finance club, become a marketing member of a different club, try to get an internship in accounting, etc...
At university you are also at a crucial moment where you are surrounded by people learning and teaching everything about the careers you may want to go into, email a professor for a coffee chat, ask your friends what they think about a specific career path.
If all else fails or you are more socially anxious, you can go the text route and message people on LinkedIn about their career choices or watch YouTube videos on the differences of the work.
The best question I would ask myself when making this decision is: "What do I want to be doing with my life." OR "What impact do I want to have made after X years." With the followup, "How do I best get there".
Happy Learning!