Hi All, I'm currently working in a marketing type of role at my company and I decided go back to school in the evenings/weekends for my MBA. I was pretty set on focusing on Marketing but as I talk to more and more friends, they did Finance and seem to do very well for themselves. This pertains to undergraduate or graduate. But I enjoy learning market strategies, interacting with people. Finance seems a bit more tedious but the money seems good. I guess its possible to do really well in both areas. Finance seems a bit more defined though. Just thought I'd get the BBS's take since I'm sure many of you had to decide, even during undergrad which business major to choose.
what i just read: "I like Marketing, but Finance pays more. Should I go for what I like or the money?" (and given that money will be there for either one, I'd obviously suggest the former)
As an undergrad, go with marketing. Quite frankly, a degree is a degree regardless of major. And this is coming from someone with a degree in finance and economics. Masters degrees should be more catered to what you'll be doing career-wise, so choose the one that fits what you do or want to do more closely.
I have a major in "General Business Adm.", if I had to choose it over again, it would be Finance because I think companies would prefer this specialty. The funny thing is I'm a sales manager, so Marketing isn't bad if that is your preference.
There are more jobs out there that like Finance degrees, even if its not technically a finance job. If I could do it all over again, I'd go with Accounting, because lots of jobs, even finance jobs, like accounting majors even if they don't get their CPA. Also, be wary of marketing. I have a couple of friends with marketing degrees and they often have trouble placing themselves in jobs because companies like to pigeon-holde them into sales positions or into buyer positions. True blue marketing positions are few and hard to come by often.
The money in finance may be obscene in some areas, but you have to enjoy what you're doing because you will be working a lot of hours. So if it comes down to doing what you enjoy doing vs. doing the job that pays more but you aren't really passionate about it, do the job that you enjoy doing. If you don't you are just gonna be miserable and probably quit. So my advice is to do what you are passionate about. If you love finance, do finance. If you love marketing, do marketing. The money will be there in both areas, the earnings potential may be lower in marketing than finance (virtually every job's earning potential is lower than in finance), but you can still have a very comfortable life doing what you enjoy doing.
I remember one quote from my Investment Theory professor, Greg Hallman, that made me laugh: "I learned everything I need to know about marketing by selling used cars one summer." You can certainly take both finance and marketing electives -> there's no set curriculum. But seriously, if you want to get the most tangible gain for your buck, take as many finance and accounting electives as possible. You'll learn about valuation, financial modeling, risk management, options pricing, and financial statement analysis. Your marketing courses will be primarily case-based, and are typically filled with lots of fluff and buzzwords. Really as long as you have the basic understanding of product targeting, positioning and segmentation, as well as the "4 P's" and "3 C's" that's all you really need to know. The rest is pretty much fluff.
Finance taught in Business Schools should really be called "Investment Banking" or "Wall Street" finance, or something like that. With the downturn in the economy directly affecting the Finance job placements, I see Finance majors that are not set up in some "honors fund" (i.e. the Cougar Fund at Bauer) graduating with little to no job prospects. A lot of them are coming back to school to pick up accounting hours to sit for the CPA exam. Plus if you get a BBA, don't get a MBA unless some company is going to pay for it or it has a specific concentration that will further your career. If you do a Finance BBA get an MS in Finance. No sense in getting another general business degree (MBA).
Your working background in marketing will suffice if you want to remain in that so do finance. Finance is worth way more than marketing and as someone with experience in marketing and a masters in finance you will still be a strong candidate for most of the marketing jobs you covet.
Do marketing. Some finance jobs pay very well, some do not. Same with marketing. And my impression was that the average with marketing is actually better. Talk to the b-school recruiters or their career office about the numbers. I think your impression that finance makes more money is mistaken. And, hello, we just had a global economic meltdown that has put thousands of finance guys on the job market. Finally, you will perform better in the sort of job you enjoy more. You will be paid better the better you perform. And, you will be paid better and have an easier time finding work when your resume shows experience in the field. Stick with marketing. Marketing guys probably get more chicks too.
Switch to Accounting and get an MS in Accountancy. Guys with jobs tend to do better than out of work sales guys...
Accounting firms aren't doing well. My friend at KPMG said they're laying off and outsourcing to their cites in India. Tax teams with 20 are now cut down to 12, the forensics department is completely wipedout. Also a friend at Deloitte said they laid off 70 people last month. Accounting is not immune to the crisis. Clients that were once a given for the big firms are now opting out and creating bidding wars and that's leading to a lot of lay offs as well.
This is because the glut that hit the accounting industry after Sarbanes Oxley is finally over. Accounting is going back to what it did in the past "normal times", cutting the bottom 20% of dead weight that can't produce enough billable hours. If you are in the top 50% of producers you are safe. If you are in the top 20% of producers you are thriving.
Disagree. The requirements of Sarbanes Oxley still remain. However, because many companies have been affected by the recession, they cannot afford audits at traditional prices. Therefore, public accounting firms have been forced to lower their fees, and since Big4 employees are salaried (who don't get paid for overtime), the Big4 have been laying off some underperforming employees while the remaining ones are working more hours. For what its worth, one of the Big4 companies had layoffs in August, and these layoffs were comprised of first-years who had not sat for any portion of the CPA and seniors who did not have a CPA.
