i am a senior in computer engineering (electrical engineering and computer science)..
i was thinking of spending another semester and getting a minor in business (General Business)
is it worth it? thoughts/comments from the business ppl would highly be appreciated?
P.S. we have two options for doing the minor. I think i would prefer General Business than Entrepreneurial Studies Minor.
Yes it is absolutely worth it.
If you plan to be anything other then a computer geek then a business minor or major is really useful in giving you an idea of how the rest of the corporation/company operates. I would say focus on some of the finance courses cause they can help you understand what the important issues are for companies and also do some Organizational Behaviour classes to see how you and other people affact each other.
Great Advice HMCQ :k:
Building on that, I would recommend finance and business courses, and microeconomics, as stepping stones. You will definately have an edge over other people in the job market. No offense to liberal arts majors, but why pursue a career in finance/business after graduating with an English degree? I am sorry to get off topic, but it doesn’t make sense to decide to pursue a different career right after college. I mean doing a minor in business and a major in whatever you like, will atleast give you a solid basis to begin with.
It depends on your situation. Many engineering majors from my college got jobs in investment banking and management consulting where they learnt all about business and positioned themselves well. They just had very good GPA's and resumes. Whatever business and finance they needed to know was taught to them during training in the first few weeks. However if that option is not available, then certainly try to stay on and get a business minor.
thanx for the advice guys.
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*Originally posted by Kareem: *
It depends on your situation. Many engineering majors from my college got jobs in investment banking and management consulting where they learnt all about business and positioned themselves well. They just had very good GPA's and resumes. Whatever business and finance they needed to know was taught to them during training in the first few weeks. However if that option is not available, then certainly try to stay on and get a business minor.
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First, it really sounds odd that they being engineering majors got jobs in the business sector. I don't know which companies you are referring to. But reputable companies would prefer business majors for business sectors. Thats what they are there for. If companies start doing that then there would be no point of having business majors. Then again, there might be another side of the story which perhaps i cannot comprehend.
Having a business minor for an engineer would help him/her to get a business related coop/internship or even a full time position which would have some element of his/her major field involved.
For engineering majors, doing a minor in business would facilitate them position which require leadership, management or similar skills. Though companies do look for previous skills which reflect these skills, but that line saying "Minor: General Business" reiterates a strong positive image in a recuriter's mind.
generally the engineers that used to end up in I banking was in the high growth economy when even liberal arts people (no offence) were consultants. this has fallen significantly, though the logical and analytical backgrounds of engineers are still great for adding them to do the roughwork in these industrys. For the big name jobs, its generally requires an MBA. By combining business and engineering you get a head start in engineering or a better start then an engineering degree alone in business. However if you are aiming for pure business I would turn the degrees around, ie major in Business and minor in engineering. You want to add the most skills where you are focusing your future career on.
^Poppycock...
Kareem is right.
It’s interesting to see that almost all CEOs neither have business nor technical education. Most have philosophy undergrad and may be but not always a Law degree.
Getting a place at some of the good schools in undergrad lib arts programs require more brains than getting a Nobel prize in Physical sciences. “Analytical and logical” engineers???, you are joking HMCQ?
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*Originally posted by NYAhmadi: *
It’s interesting to see that almost all CEOs neither have business nor technical education. Most have philosophy undergrad and may be but not always a Law degree.
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CEO's are brilliant people managers and salesmen. That's about it. :)
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*Originally posted by hmcq: *
For the big name jobs, its generally requires an MBA.
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Actually undergrads and MBAs compete for different positions in an I-bank or consulting firm. Undergrads typically go in as Analysts while MBAs go in as Associates. Big difference in salary too :)
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*Originally posted by NYAhmadi: *
Getting a place at some of the good schools in undergrad lib arts programs require more brains than getting a Nobel prize in Physical sciences. “Analytical and logical” engineers???, you are joking HMCQ?
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Sorry, this statement is total rubbish! What Undergrad Lib colleges are you talking about?? I don't want to insult Lib Arts people but the truth is that their background for business is zero-zilch. True many have made it in business but believe me not have the proper training hinders your growth prospects. What hell is Lib Arts anyways?? I went to NYU, they made me take these courses because of the MAP (core curriculum) and I have EASY A's on my transcript. Violence in Film, Antiquity and the Middle Ages...yeh real tough ones there! I took summer courses in Princeton as well, same results. I called those classes grade boosters. THATS REALITY. Anyone with half a brain could BS his/her way through an essay, but bring in quantitive and analytical madels they run the other way. Sorry hard sciences, mathematics, engineering, business and any other majors requiring actual thought prepare you for a good career including business. Is it any wonder that English majors average 23k per yr?
PS: Sorry for offending Lib. Arts people. If you like what you do and your satified, that is what counts. But please...please don't come here talking about how it is hard or prepares your for business.
What is the question? Business Minor??? Waste of time
I-Banks and Consulting firms hire people from all sorts of backgrounds. People with techincial and sciences have a leg up but other factors do apply. I-Banking is a big field...M&A requires deal making ability apart from just hard financial analysis. Trading is different. A lot of prop.trading depts of i-banks hire technically superior people as most of the trading is becoming quant driven. (hedge funds, derv. example).
Kareem is right. As an analyst at the buldge bracket banks, training is provided by HBS and Wharton professors in the first 6 weeks or so around, accounting, Corp fin, and business law. THis is done for the benefit of those who are accounting mavens but lack finance background or those who are english majors from harvard but have only taken Econ 1&2.
Rajput, can you a write a 5000 word essay on "if Othello loves Desdemona"? Tell us if he loved about her and not her, or was she his gloire.
You would need to refer to at least 150 thick volumes to even know if her murder was an honor killing. Trust me.
Any jackass can get a degree in business by reading 2 books on strategy, a few on accounting and finance, and a couple of case studies that have been killed to death. Lower that a bit and you get an engineer.
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*Originally posted by NYAhmadi: *
Rajput, can you a write a 5000 word essay on "if Othello loves Desdemona"? Tell us if he loved about her and not her, or was she his gloire.
You would need to refer to at least 150 thick volumes to even know if her murder was an honor killing. Trust me.
Any jackass can get a degree in business by reading 2 books on strategy, a few on accounting and finance, and a couple of case studies that have been killed to death. Lower that a bit and you get an engineer.
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I surely have to kill myself before even bringing myself to that venture. HOW does Othello effect business? Wheres the link? If your going to come up some spiel about business relationship and psychology, save your breath, as you link would be as tenous as me saying without Art majors we couldnt appreciate fine art.
Oh horrors that I have to refer to 150 thick volumes to support MY SUBJECTIVE opinions! You could come out with a contridicting opinion using 300 volumes, and guess who would be right? BOTH of us. Is that hard to decipher why Lib Arts careers make the lowest $$?? How about the fact that their relative contribution to society is as much as the homeless guy who opens the door at my neighborhood 7-11.
I don't know what kinda jackasses your referring to, who get degrees just by reading books, but for the rest of us who do care to take our business education to the next level, it does involve creative thought, presentation and networking skills and a lot of marketing. Hey theres always going to be people who bring a bad name to the profession by doing things halfassed but the majority of do use our brains on a daily basis to solve intricate problems that ACTUALLY affect the world.
RF: That's all good and well. But that doesn't preclude English majors from becoming bankers and consultants.
Rajput, you are making me laugh. I wasn’t comparing business people to liberal arts people, I was just commenting on the fact that figureheads always talk is vain about creative people. If one thinks that business education requires keener sense of problem solving or creativity, one is a total idiot. Most people study liberal arts and social sciences not because they want to rich themselves, but to enrich themselves.
By the way, Gandhi couldn't add 2+2 even if his life depended on it. Don't tell me Welsh or Iaococa would even know about the intricate problems that ACTUALLY affect the world.
*Rajput, you are making me laugh. *
Am I? Or it an awkward laugh created by the fact theres no rebuttal :D
** I wasn’t comparing business people to liberal arts people, I was just commenting on the fact that figureheads always talk is vain about creative people. If one thinks that business education requires keener sense of problem solving or creativity, one is a total idiot. **
Business education fine tunes your abilities for the career. And yes you were comparing, as evidenced by those illustrious examples. I have studied business, liberal arts, sciences...i find myself excited and challenged by $. We study business because we like it and thus we excel at it, not because I'm some broke actor who realizes that my life will be spent as a perpetual waiter, so let me sign up for a "consulting" position. Could that failed actor be a good businessperson? yes but most likely NOT! How rare is it become a CEO? With or Without a business background the chances are slim indeed.
Do a reality check and you'll find that people who like what they study tend do better professional. I want to cut through this crap about "oh you can be whatever you want even after that lib art degree." If one wanted to pursue a certain career track WHY BS yourself in thinking 'oh my english degree will allow me to go far in business." It is illogical AND sad.
** Most people study liberal arts and social sciences not because they want to rich themselves, but to enrich themselves.**
Thats wonderful to hear. Then why come up with the pretentions of interest in lib arts? If thats not going to be your career, study something that is more relevant. I know why they do it..to graduate with a brainless degree with a high gpa. Like I mentioned, I took lib arts courses. I love social sciences, politics and the like..but I dont see myself making it my lifes journey. So I work in finance, do reasearch, read articles relating to my other interests in my spare time. Who is being truthful to themselves? I think the folks you've mentioned are certainly not!
By the way, Gandhi couldn't add 2+2 even if his life depended on it. Don't tell me Welsh or Iaococa would even know about the intricate problems that ACTUALLY affect the world. /
Why take one in a million examples to prove your point? Are they the majority? no way! There was 1 Ghandi, there is one Welch, Iaococo. Lets get real here, people like you and me, moderate to high intelligence looking for a career. Again that philosophy degree doesnt cut it!
RF: Curious..what excites you in Business (a broad term as it is).
I know a lot of monkeys who studied accounting, went to Ok schools, got an MBA, they are like 30/32 but just can't seem to make more than $200K a year. What do you think is their shortcomings.
I think these sorry souls should change their career in my opinion.
Rajput, That explains why I toss so many resumes in my trash bin on weekly basis. Bhaijan, business education is a recent phenomenon, which is a hodgepodge of stupid courses put together. I wouldn’t say it without actually knowing top players in the NYC business world with degrees in Music, Fine Arts, and History. When you study price theory in your business degree, it is actually macroeconomics, and when you study organizational development it is actually industrial sociology. Have you ever wondered how many business professors have degrees in Business? May be one out of a thousand.