WhatIsLove2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I'm 23 and I'm in my second year of college. I was a business major, then changed to biology. But now I'm thinking of switching back to business just to get done and go to grad school (MPH). How did you choose your college major? Did it change, a couple or few times? Any specific business (finance, marketing) majors? Just looking for some guidance. Any advice on majors to avoid. Is business a good major? Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites
ExtraSpice Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I already graduated from college as a mechanical engineer. My major did not change from start to finish mostly because I was fairly certain of what I wanted to do but some of my friends did change their major once, not really more than that. When I was first deciding what major to do I only went on what I liked but if given the change again I would consider other things. Though it is very important to choose something that interests you, it is also important to look at its future prospects realistically. Some majors are very hard to get a good job in and that is just the reality, so whatever you choose be aware of how it will affect you in the future. As for business being a god major or not, this is my opinion on it. Business by itself is not the best choice in regards to ease of getting employed and salary level. Does that mean it is impossible to get a good paying job with a business degree alone, no! It just means it is difficult. I think if you are choosing business it is a good idea to choose it in tandem with something else. For example one of my friends did finance but he also took applied mathematics with it. It looks good to employers when you have some business experience combined with knowledge of whatever field you choose to go in. My friend with the finance and applied mathematics got a great job with an investment bank because of it. That's just my two cents, if you want to discuss it further feel free to ask whatever. Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I was an English major because I knew I could easily get good grades in that subject which would enable me to get into grad school while still having fun as an undergrad. I needed the grad school degree to do my job. My undergraduate major was almost irrelevant. You need to pick a major looking at several factors: what are your interests / passions? what are you good at? what is going to get you a good ROI, meaning a job after college to pay back any student loans & put a roof over your head? If it's a sound field from an economic standpoint like engineering or another science, that doesn't matter if you would be miserable in that career & don't have the aptitude to pass the classes. Generally, avoid liberal arts as major but do take some classes to be fluent in another language. Bilingual people have an edge in almost every market. Link to post Share on other sites
SJS Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 If you haven't already, check into taking one of those questionairres that tells you what jobs you'd be good for. At my college it's in the career services department. You could also see a career counselor to help guide you. I actually just switched my major. I talked with an advisor and told him this is what I want to do in a future job, this is what I'm taking now, and this is why I'm doubting this path. We talked about different jobs, classes that I'd take & have taken, hobbies & interests, the difference between my old major and new major, the difference between BA vs BS in my field. It was an awesome meeting and I'm so glad I talked to him. Because you have it narrowed down to the 2 subjects, I'd meet with advisors from both and tell them flat out that you're unsure and need their help. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
newmoon Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 I'm 23 and I'm in my second year of college. I was a business major, then changed to biology. But now I'm thinking of switching back to business just to get done and go to grad school (MPH). How did you choose your college major? Did it change, a couple or few times? Any specific business (finance, marketing) majors? Just looking for some guidance. Any advice on majors to avoid. Is business a good major? Thank you! biology and business are so vastly different that it seems from those two directions you are still confused about your ultimate job path/interests. there is a distinction you have to make between what is a hobby/interest and what can financially support you as you look for work and positions after college. which of the two - biology or business - comes closer to being a hobby? and which do you see more as a job? look for the one that you will be the happiest in, because there is nothing worse than a person who pursues the wrong path. business is very broad and has a ton of various sectors you can enter, biology as well, but with biology you might be looking at more than just an AA or bachelors or whatever lower degree you are pursuing. read the Occupational Outlook Handbook (online). it is an awesome resource for learning all about every job. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
devilish innocent Posted November 1, 2014 Share Posted November 1, 2014 If Public Health is what you're really passionate about, the colleges/universities I'm familiar with offer some form of an undergraduate public health degree- (Public Health, Community Health, Health Science, Health Behavior and Society, Health Policy, etc.) A friend of mine was majoring in Biology her first two years of college, but then decided it was too difficult and switched to a Health Behavior and Society major. She found it to be a lot easier. Why not see if your university offers something like that? Or even see if you can build your own major or transfer to another school? Link to post Share on other sites
Got it Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I'm 23 and I'm in my second year of college. I was a business major, then changed to biology. But now I'm thinking of switching back to business just to get done and go to grad school (MPH). How did you choose your college major? Did it change, a couple or few times? Any specific business (finance, marketing) majors? Just looking for some guidance. Any advice on majors to avoid. Is business a good major? Thank you! My father's advice, if you aren't going to graduate school, major in what will make you money. If you do go to graduate school, major in what you enjoy. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
jonsnuh Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) If Public Health is what you're really passionate about, the colleges/universities I'm familiar with offer some form of an undergraduate public health degree- (Public Health, Community Health, Health Science, Health Behavior and Society, Health Policy, etc.) A friend of mine was majoring in Biology her first two years of college, but then decided it was too difficult and switched to a Health Behavior and Society major. She found it to be a lot easier. Why not see if your university offers something like that? Or even see if you can build your own major or transfer to another school? A Masters in Public Health is pretty hot right now. Consider taking healthcare - economics classes. I would stay away from business school unless you are confident you will be at the top of your class, and having a brandname school makes it a lot easier to find jobs. It's very difficult for accounting jobs, and the finance sector is shrinking. If you are really interested in high finance, I would suggest taking computational finance courses (i.e. big data). That's where the money can be made, and to future-proof your career. Edited November 7, 2014 by jonsnuh Link to post Share on other sites
pink_sugar Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I went from Nursing, to Psychology, to Real Estate and when I got a job doing Marketing, I loved it and changed my major to Business Management. I think Business is a good major as it doesn't require extended education and you can do anything with it. Biology, however, you're going to at least need a Masters degree to be competitive. Link to post Share on other sites
elseaacych Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 If you are ultimately interested in pursuing a MPH, you should work backwards, look at what it takes to get an MPH degree, and what classes you can take as an undergrad to adequately prepare you to get into an MPH program and succeed. That should be your first line of attack. Your second line of attack is to go speak to advisors in both the business and biology schools to figure out how to graduate as fast as possible with the game plan you established in step one. This is my opinion: Major in biology. Minor in business. Most business minors give you enough of the basics (Intros to Accounting, Economics, Business law) so that you know enough to be dangerous. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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