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Jason R. Henske / AP
Dartmouth College graduates Greg Agron and John Agbaje laugh as Conan O'Brien delivers the commencement address in 2011. New research finds that college grads with business degrees may face better job prospects.
If you are heading off to college in the fall and looking to get the most bang for your buck, you may want to major in business.
IBISWorld, an industry analysis firm, took a look at fields that are expected to see the most growth in the next five years. Then, they looked at which of the most popular college degrees a person would need to get a job in those industries.
The analysis found that business grads had the most positive outlook through 2017. That’s because business graduates are most likely to work in industries where higher-than-average job and wage growth are expected.
Those fields include commercial banking, reinsurance carriers and human resources. Jobs typically held by business degree holders pay an average $70,000 a year, which is expected to rise to $77,000 by 2017, IBISWorld said.
A degree in health sciences also is likely to serve you well. The IBISWorld analysis found that job growth in health-related fields such as primary care, dentistry and nursing care will be about on par with the overall economy, but wages will grow at a slightly faster rate.
The outlook is less promising for people who major in social sciences, history and education.
Other research has shown that college graduates are more likely to be employed if they choose a major with a specific career path, including business. But that research, from Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, was more bullish on education because of the projected low unemployment rate in that field.
If you don’t have a head for business or an interest in health care, that’s not necessarily a reason to fret. Other research has shown that just going to college should give you a leg up in life over those who don't.
The unemployment rate for people with a college degree or higher was just 4 percent in April, compared with 8.1 percent for the general population. College grads also are likely to make more money than their less educated peers.
Related:
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Yes, college degree has value – try $1 million
Leave a Comment:
I got a business degree in college, but now I'm wishing I actually learned something while I was there.
I was going to school for an Electrical Engineering degree and then decided on a business degree, Finance, and a minor of Computer Science. Boy, I wish I would have stayed with EE!! :(
I thought we were flush with people with business degrees, and MBAs flipping burgers at Mc Donald's. Thats right MSNBC lets flood an already inundated market. Glad I'm a special ed teacher.
This article is a load of crap from the perspective that it depends on where you earn your business degree in order to score that awesome first job paying $70K. My business degree didn't garner much attention coming from a jerkwater school; but graduate from Stanford, for example, and you could score something substantial.
I graduated in December with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and was hired at HP the same month.
Might not be a bad idea to get a more well rounded business education at this point, than pursue a specialized course of study. It helped me quite a bit to get a business degree to go along with the engineering degree I already had.
The last thing we need is more business majors. The school of though taught by modern business schools (short term profits at the expense of all else, including making quality products) has driven our economy into the ground.
Besides that, business majors are typically morons. Learn something useful like a hard science or engineering, THEN get an MBA. You'll suck a whole lot less at life.
I agree with the article. I have a degree in business and I have always been able to get good jobs. I have been with companies that have felt the burden of the economy however, I have always faired well with my degree, my experience and my Faith in God !!!!
Liberal Arts degrees are useless. This is how three majors would discuss a widget. The engineer would ponder how it was manufactured and how it functioned, the accountant would ponder how you would maximize profits per unit volume, and the Liberal Arts major would ponder "do you want fries with that?"
I can't wait to hear how the business major or engineering degree grad is going to teach my child English; there are roles in society for everyone.
Besides, any decent Liberal Arts grad would ask "would you like fries with that?", so joke's on you!
No spinfatigue, if you have a Liberal Arts degree, the joke is on you.
Yes, I have a liberal arts degree and a master's degree in literature and I love my job. I have never been unemployed, and more importantly, the study of liberal arts has enabled me to understand, not only the finer points of grammar and punctuation with which our society communicates in any field, but also and perhaps more importantly, the keener art of irony that is missing in so many other disciplines. So your lame fry joke was not missed by me, but I guess my response was not that clear to you. Alas.
spinfatigue, I don't care if you have a PHD in literature, it means nothing. It's like having a doctorate in pottery or sand castle architecture, you may have a job, and you may make a living, but it means nothing. No more than an expensive hobby. You want fries with that?
I am starting to feel sorry for you now; I guess I will take the fries you keep offering. The point of the article is to suggest that, to have a usable degree, one should consider a business degree. You took that headline as an opportunity to disparage a liberal arts degree, insinuating with a now-tired fry joke that it would only prepare one for a job in fast food (which, I believe, is technically a business). My response was that a liberal arts degree does enable one to be employed beyond a fast food job, and that a business degree for everyone would be foolish for every line of work. I also pointed out that, in addition to being employed with my non-business degree, that I love my job. While not the point of this article, it is a valid concern when considering a job and indeed a life. Happiness and financial security can be obtained without a business degree. That seems to threaten you. You know nothing of my job to say it means nothing. Your hostility is interesting.
Theatre majors have to learn a little about everything and I'm always rediscovering how well my Theatre major helps me in non-theatre work.
I'm 28 with a Political Science degree and make between 110K-150k annually. As long as you have a degree, work hard, and can sell yourself your major is not that important.
I know many deaf people who got a business degree and have never found a job even 10 years after graduating. The deaf are the most discriminated group on the planet--nothing else is even close. Unemployment has hovered around 75% for the last 30 years.
I realize that my world is very small, but I know more unemployed business majors (BA and MBA) than any other group of grads. I have a science degree, and although career limited and lower pay than desired, it has meant stable employment.
OF COURSE it's going to help. Got a PhD in ForLang + Minor in Linguistics from a top 20 U and it's certainly made my life ..... sweeeeeeet!!! Tell everyone I know: college is THE best way to go.
business degrees are like an oil change. you can get one anywhere and its the same.....doesnt matter. Its all part of a scam. business degree means you didnt know what to do.....i have one. I am a manager in commercial finance....also a veteran. I have been hired numerous times because of my veteran status and work ethic...not the degree. college is a business. we need more hard workers. education is practical when its specific....like accounting, anything medical, lawyers, etc. but then....everyone has to choose for themselves.
Have a Marketing undergraduate degree + MBA and finishing PH.D in Organization and management. Base salary $190k at International corporation with bonus and options $250k per year - Go business degree
I have my undergrad in History and a Masters in teaching with an english language learners endorsement, I have yet to find a job. I have discovered most districts that I am interested are not interested unless you can speak another language. But, I do not regret for a second the degrees I have obtained.
I received a Bachelors in Mathematics from a major state university high g.p.a., Dec. 2008. I have applied to a few hundred positions not one interview. Still working the same job I started university with, fork lift driver in a warehouse.
That advice is why food is so expensive and this is just one example heh heh. Good advice and keep it up, soon you'll all be either starving or living in the cold with no one to keep the gears going for you all LOL. But then, you all can have your food or other products shipped in from over seas. Hope all that stuff doesn't have to much poison in it LOL. Stupid people, to funny heh heh