Choosing Your Major: Is That Your Final Answer?

An obvious statement is that whatever you decide to do at school will play a large role in your career thereafter. A less than obvious statement is that most of the classes you enroll in will become irrelevant. School is important because it shows you the basics, provides you with a framework to solve problems, tests your discipline and gives you an ability to learn. In general though, it is understandable why so many employers tell you to forget everything that you have learned when you start your first job.

Your major could play a determining role in what industry, company and department your first job will be. Once your career is launched though, expect it to have very little bearing on where you will end up.

It is thus important for you not to pigeonhole yourself as a function of what you major in, which electives you choose and how much (or little) exposure you get to the outside world. This world includes the Social Sciences, Health Sciences and the Creative Arts.

The suggested course of action is to leave as many doors open as possible. Moreover, your major should teach you a "differentiating factor" and not simply consist of lectures on ideas, concepts and theories.

Finance, Accounting, Decision Sciences & Quantitative Analysis and Management of Information Systems are majors that are considered to offer substantial differentiating factors. After all students need to understand Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to master accounting. A financial advisor needs an understanding of security investing and tax concerns in order to give advice on investments. The same applies to MIS students who learn about technical aspects of the business world.

Management, International Business, Entrepreneurship and Marketing are equally important fields of business but offer less in terms of differentiating factors. As examples of fields that are heavier in concepts, theories and ideas. Management’s main differentiating factor may integrate some classes in labor laws, employees' legal rights and payroll accounting – but the concepts of management issues, employee motivation and compensation are more accessible to the general student population than concepts in Accounting, Finance and MIS. Marketing students learn quite a bit about marketing research – a rigorous empirical field – but determining what works in advertising and what would backfire in public relations is fairly straightforward for most to grasp and master. A major in these fields ensures that you have the proper terminology down for each field, but it will do little to ensure that you will rise to the top of your profession.

This being said, the last thing Finance, Accounting and MIS students should do is adopt a holier than thou attitude. In fact, many mock Management students, but they are the most sought after employees when corporate life questions about severance, pay and vacation time arise.