Undecided about which specialisation to go for in Business (Help Needed)

Hello,

Sorry if this has been posted before I did search and just couldn't find one with all the relevant info.

I intend (hopefully) to go to Uni in September, but I am really struggling with the choice of degree I am wanting to study, I know that I am set on studying business, but I'm looking for the most rewarding/sought after and career enhancing one available.

The choices I have are:

Business and Management (BA)
Business and Financial Management (BA)
Business and Human Resource Management (BA)
Business & International Business (BA)
Business and Marketing Management (BA)
Business and Cybersecurity (Bsc)

There are obviously a lot of choices, and there are modules in each of the courses that interest me.

My biggest interest is Human Resource Management, I have always been naturally good at training and developing people and could definetely see myself doing that in the future, however (no offense intended) it worries me that this particular area is a female dominated environment, would employers hire a female over a male? And I've noticed that HR salaries seem to be on the lower end of the scale.

This is closely followed by Finance, I love numbers and figures (although generally a little rusty at maths). It's not numbers as such I guess it's money and finance that I like working with.

As for International Business, I don't really have any aspirations to work overseas, As a mature student (27) I am settled living at home with my girlfriend (who has a stable job), and that has never really appealed to me.

The Business and Management degree seems a little too 'Blanket' for me, although some interesting modules, I would rather specialise in an area such as HR and Finance.

The HR Degree is accredited by CIPD, but this doesn't mean you have membership, so what does it mean exactly does it matter?

Is a Business Degree generally seen as an 'Easy option' I see mixed reviews and that is putting me off considerably, I however do have around 9-10 years of work experience, so I'm hoping that would put me in a valuable position once I graduated from University.

I guess I am just looking for some thoughts and perhaps experience from anyone in a similar situation, I'm looking to do something I enjoy, but I would prefer something lucrative that will set me up for life.

Apologies in advance for the huge thread, hoping you can help.

PS. The Uni I am applying for is Sunderland, I understand this may not be the best Uni to study a Business degree at, however apparently their business courses are ranked 3rd in the UK.

Thanks

Hello,

First question could I ask what work experience you have?

I think a lot of this hinges on what you actually want to do, choosing a course specialism won't exactly stop you from applying to other job sectors. For example with a Business and Financial Management degree you could still apply to jobs in purchasing, HRM etc. As Business degrees share a lot of similarities no matter what you specialise in. But if you know exactly which area you want to be in then it would be beneficial to pick that specialism.

One question worth asking Sunderland is after the first year if you want to change specialism is it possible? Because I noticed the first year for all the specialisms are extremely similar. The first year seems to introduce you to all the specialisms at that point you will probably know where you want to swing towards.

I would definitely say Business and Management is an easy course but employers still like it! At my university there was an extreme amount of flexibility and I favoured the finance/economics modules because I found them more interesting. University prestige doesn't really matter I met plenty of people during interviews from universities at the top to the bottom of the league tables. And many from the lower universities do end up securing jobs with market leaders in their industries. Work experience was more important in determining whether people got interviewed. I assume you would be going for direct entry jobs not graduate schemes? The exclusions are if you want to go into investment banking and Big Three consulting, the most lucrative jobs. Apart from these you can basically go for any business job available.

Whoever is more qualified/shines at the interview would get hired for the HR job. Yes generally there are more women in HRM. A lot of this hinges on what you define as a good salary which you want.

I assume you did GCSE Maths, universities generally recommend you got more than a C. Looking at the modules Maths shouldn't be an issue for Financial Management. Accounting modules won't trouble you and the finance modules should have relatively easy formulas. The degree dodges the modules where I would recommend A-level Maths such as Financial Econometrics.

International Business does not bring much that a generic Business and Management degree doesn't.

In conclusion choose HRM or Finance. Finance is harder and that's only because there is an element of Maths in it where GCSE Maths will suffice. A business degree can be valuable as some job roles do prefer degrees such as Business and Management but they never specify specialisms which they prefer. I applied for over 100 graduate schemes with a generic Business and Management degree and it sufficed for getting an interview at Banking, Manufacturing, Automotive, Aerospace, Civil Service and Accounting roles etc. So a Business degree is rather flexible. I hope that helps any further questions feel free to ask.

Hi there!

Thank you for your interest in our courses.
We understand it can seem a bit of a minefield at first, especially when trying to figure out which is the best route to get to your chosen career, but we are here to help.

All of our Business courses are excellent choices but I would be more inclined to advise that you choose a course that grabs your interest most. You'll be studying this for three years so you need to enjoy what you are learning to ensure you stay interested and motivated.

As most of the UG Business courses that you are looking at have a common first year before specialising in stages 2 and 3 – if you are unsure about the route you wish to take, there is scope to transfer from Business and Management to Business and Human Resource Management and Business and Financial Management once you get an introduction to the subjects in your first year. This would give you a little more time to figure things out and get an initial introduction to these before you specialise.

With regards to the CIPD accreditation, this is not just recognition of the quality of the course, it also means that by fulfilling the CIPD-related areas of the degree the graduate meets part of the requirements for professional membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) if they wish to pursue this professional qualification.

It’s definitely a competitive job market, but whilst at the Business School, there are many other extra-curricular opportunities to make students stand out from other graduates like networking opportunities through the guest speaker programme, a business society, the faculty’s own employability and placements team who can introduce students to prospective employers and placement providers. Plus there will be an in-faculty Marketing Hub opening soon, which is a great opportunity to get work experience in a competitive field. I’d advise students to fully take advantage of any opportunities like this to get the most out of their University experience.

I hope this is useful, and if you would like more information, or to speak to an academic, or a business graduate perhaps, just let me know

Hello

This has provided some really great insight and has been a massive help! Thank you. As for Work experience, it's been a mixed bag. I have 4 years of experience in the Energy Industry, working in customer services, debt collection and complaints. I was lucky enough to get promoted twice which is what got me interested in Business in the first place - However not the salary I desire (£21,000).

I also have some Banking experience, and was a personal banker for around a year and Now I work in Claims Management, it's a broad job, I've been known to train, supervise and lead, however when it boils down to it, it's a very junior position and entry-level salary. I took the job for a bit of a lifestyle change, as I am a carer for my father.

As for Maths, I failed this at GCSE - Grade D (2 Marks off a C - Though I know that doesn't matter, it's still a fail lol). I do have an equivalent which is Key Skills Level 2 in Application of number, it's not great, but it hasn't been a barrier as of yet.

I think everyone aspires to have a high salary, I guess I would just like to move out of the £18-21,000 salary point and move to the £30000+ Salary point, money isn't everything, but I'm at a stage now in my life, where I feel I need to reach a little higher.

I haven't really given a graduate scheme much thought, I guess it's not something I would have an issue with, again though I've heard stories about age being a key factor here, would a Business/Organisation prefer to hire a younger person, so they can be 'shaped' to their organisation?

I'm so sorry to throw all of these questions at you, but I really really appreciate your help




Hi Guys,

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate the help as well. I am naturally worried as I obviously will be a mature student, in a younger dominated environment, I mean that's completely fine and I've heard wonderful things about the University, but the anxiety is still very much there. I am a naturally quiet and perhaps a little unconfident person, which is also something that worries me slightly.

I suppose it would be helpful if there were Mature Students who have graduated from the Unversity with work experience who could provide some insight into how they've found finding a career afterwards, would you say there are equal opportunities, do businesses prefer experience over qualification, a mixture of both, or does it truly lie with the individual? I have seen how difficult the job market can be, I'm just wondering if a Degree will enhance my career opportunities coupled with my experience, or whether it doesn't matter.

The ability to change specialisation in the 2nd year is perfect! Thank you! I will have hopefully had the opportunity at that point to speak with the employability folks and find my feet (assuming I am successful in my application).

The HR Course sounds incredibly appealing, especially now I understand the CIPD aspect.

Thanks again for your help.

No, they don’t care about age. It’s illegal discrimination if they did....

No, they don’t care about age. It’s illegal discrimination if they did....

Thought so, thank you J-SP.
@Dweelan also you have a lot more work experiences to talk about than many graduates.
This article below is quite nice too.
https://www.graduate-jobs.com/blog/post/591/How_to_job_hunt_as_a_mature_graduate

Hi Guys,

Thank you for your response, I really appreciate the help as well. I am naturally worried as I obviously will be a mature student, in a younger dominated environment, I mean that's completely fine and I've heard wonderful things about the University, but the anxiety is still very much there. I am a naturally quiet and perhaps a little unconfident person, which is also something that worries me slightly.

I suppose it would be helpful if there were Mature Students who have graduated from the Unversity with work experience who could provide some insight into how they've found finding a career afterwards, would you say there are equal opportunities, do businesses prefer experience over qualification, a mixture of both, or does it truly lie with the individual? I have seen how difficult the job market can be, I'm just wondering if a Degree will enhance my career opportunities coupled with my experience, or whether it doesn't matter.

The ability to change specialisation in the 2nd year is perfect! Thank you! I will have hopefully had the opportunity at that point to speak with the employability folks and find my feet (assuming I am successful in my application).

The HR Course sounds incredibly appealing, especially now I understand the CIPD aspect.

Thanks again for your help.