The internet makes me feel embarrassed of my college major

QueenX · April 5

Business marketing. I haven’t got hate of my major from students(although I don’t have that many STEM major friends). One time I was talking to one of my friend’s math professor who was 24. He asked me what my major was and I said what it was and he laughed and said “you’re never gonna get a job”. Ever since then, I google my college major sometimes and I see a lot of forums like these trashing it. I’m part of my school’s marketing club. I told the club leaders this information and they said don’t listen to them and almost all of the club alumni they knew got jobs right after graduation. Who should I trust the most? I mean, of course the bus school administration are gonna lie and say the major is great.

HeartofDixie · April 5

I have had some comments about my management major being useless, and honestly right now it isn't doing me any good. Some of the people I graduated with have been very successful with their management degree. I think for majors like marketing or management that personality and connections plays a huge role in success. Some majors might do well as long as they are good at what they do and have at least average interpersonal skills, while some majors require exceptional interpersonal and communication skills as well as strong connections. I think that I chose the wrong major for my personality,and also made some poor decisions early on. I don't think a major in marketing means you can't get a job, you will just need more going for you than having the degree.

TS0104 · April 5

I REALLY would not take anything that a 24 year old says about career development seriously. He is one person, who has been in the workforce for what, two years? Did he work in the college placement office? How would he have any knowledge of job prospects for a business marketing major?

Everyone will always have opinions. And there will ALWAYS be stories/situations of people having trouble finding jobs, and people who easily found jobs. It is wise to realize the intent/perspective of those that are giving you advice, but I think in general you can trust in-person people that you can verify are even in the field over what you read on the Internet. You can probably do some research on Linked in to look at graduates from your school in your major.

happy1 · April 10

If you take a marketing major I'd also take a bunch of statistics/business analytics classes as those will be helpful in the job market.

oldlaw · April 10

You shouldn't care, at all, what anyone else thinks about your major. If it works for you, that's all that matters.
And on a basic level, regarding the math professor, do you think he would have reacted differently if you had said "Poly Sci" or "English" or "Music Performance"-or "biology"?
Nah; my guess is anything sort of "math" would have gotten some sort of snide comment.

RelicAndType · April 10

oldlaw wrote: »

Nah; my guess is anything sort of "math" would have gotten some sort of snide comment.

You should hear what math people say about computer scientists!

QueenX · April 12

I was thinking about that. Do business analytics classes involve any accounting? Accounting is my worst.

oldlaw · April 12

The only way you'll know is if you check what are the required courses for that major, which you should be able to do online.

GKUnion · April 12

I have an accounting degree. In 28 years I’ve never done one day of accounting. It isn’t what your degree is in, but what YOU bring to the organization that counts.

happy1 · April 12

Look at the course descriptions online and google "data analytics" to get an idea of what is involved in that subject. Probably won't require accounting -- more likely statistics, algorithms etc.

QueenX · April 12

I actually know two people with accounting degrees and they’re both special Ed teachers now. Is it because a lot of accounting is computerized/automated now?

privatebanker · April 12

You don’t have a lot of internet cowboys standing up for your major - simply due to the fact that most of the people with your major are, you know, working. Lol.

They don’t have time to debate the undebatable.

Like mentioned above try to add some analytics like finance and cs classes to the mix. And don’t leave college without becoming a master with windows excell.

Angry people on the internet are unhappy with their own life and want to drag you down. They also maybe trying to unwind the cognitive dissonance. It’s troubling to them that their innate excellence and wonderful choices are not being recognized as such in the real world.

Your major outside of preprofessional track like engineering or nursing will offer very little difference in your long term success or career.

That’s my many years of experience in the real world.

TS0104 · April 12

I was a business major too and had huge struggles in my first accounting class. How many more are required? I think I only had to take 1-2 as a business (not accounting) major. Accounting is quite separate from stats. It's kind of its own thing, but having a general grasp of accounting principals and terms does become important if, say, you end up in a small business management where you need to have a grasp of accounting principles, or in finance. Marketing, not so much; and I doubt that you have to take many more accounting classes for a marketing major. My husband works in accounting software (I started at the same company), and while yes it is computerized, you have to know the principles. The people I know with accounting degrees still work in accounting.

happy1 · April 13

@QueenX FWIW I am a CPA as is my H and my S. We all still work in accounting (or related fields). Much of the work is done on the computer but the work of CPAs remains important to audit firms and industry.

Knowsstuff · May 3

Many business majors I know especially in marketing are reps for medical /drug companies and making a nice living. I always ask the young reps what degree they graduated with.

yearstogo · May 3

If many of the top kids in your program are getting employed in suitable jobs upon graduation I would feel very good about that and ignore anyone else. If you do not know if they are getting employed, find out, but it seems you say they are so I do not think there is too much to worry about for you. Good luck!

For what it is worth, I majored in accounting (because I was good at it and I saw the older ones getting jobs upon employment) and used it every day until I retired. Accounting is great for those that like it, but there are many other options.

privatebanker · May 3

This is another thread where the OP hasn’t been back in weeks.

The internet makes me feel embarrassed of my college major

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