Anything I need to know going into a business management degree?

Original post by Baacil

I did an engineering btech in college and am now set to do business and management at university. Mainly because I do not know what I want to do in life but have to go to university. But I wanted to know if there was anything important to know before I start the degree. Readings or ideas or even anything essay related. Any help would be appreciated

I do not know what I want to do in life
This is fine. People take time to figure out what they want.

but have to go to university
This is not fine. Nobody has to go to university. Going to university without an aim in mind is a waste of time and money; these won't be small sums either.
Who gave you this idea?

Also out of all subjects, why pick management?

I wanted to know if there was anything important to know before I start the degree
Key things to note about a business management degree are:

•

It's not a degree required for any particular role i.e. you would likely going to apply for jobs that either require a degree in any subject or don't require a degree at all after uni.

•

Whilst the information you find in a management degree can prepare you to start your own business, you can get the same information without doing the degree. Qualifications like A Level Business Studies and CIMA's BA Certificate tend to be better suited.

•

It's essentially a repeat of A Level Business Studies with a few bells and whistles.

•

Once you graduate, you will quickly realise you didn't really pick up any tangible skills that you can sell to employers, and you would likely need to learn things about business from the ground up in specific business roles.

•

The degree would allow you to do PhD in Management or a business related subject, but not a DBA though

•

If you don't like writing essays (as implied in your BTEC), you might struggle with this

•

Employers won't value your degree in management, because they care more about your relevant experience

•

Although it's my opinion, I think it's a widely shared sentiment: you can't learn about management in a classroom

•

I don't recommend reading business books prior to doing the degree; not because they books aren't useful and contain valuable and practical information, but more so because a lot of the information can conflict with what they will teach you in academia and academia don't like you quoting from these books.

•

Rule of thumb: if it's not from a university approved journal, it's probably not appropriate to mention it in your assignment even if it's absolutely correct.

•

Accounting is not as mathematical as you think; it's more about organising numbers. If you want something more mathematical, consider the finance and economics modules (if you are eligible for them)

•

The subjects in management can be broadly organised in 2 camps: 1) those that are more arty e.g. organisational behaviour (business psychology essentially), business strategy, marketing, business law vs 2) those that are more sciency e.g. accounting, finance, business analytics, business economics, operations management

•

A management degree won't teach you how to: sell, present (they offer you opportunities to present, but they don't teach you how to present), manage people. These are skills that you would need to learn outside of uni.

•

If you intend to start a business, you would need to pick up a trade prior to this. The degree only gives you the overview of what you need.

•

A management degree is like a mini-MBA. Once you have a business undergrad degree (or arguably Business Studies A Level), there is little point in doing the postgrad degrees unless you intend to go into academia

•

There are professional qualifications that you can apply for after the degree, but don't expect the degree to give you that many exemptions. You should be able to apply for CIPD (HR for the UK) or get a few exemptions in professional accounting qualifications (about 6 out there for the UK)

•

Accounting involves a lot of pro formas; get the pro forma wrong, or if you don't get your layout organised, you will have a hard time with this.

Readings or ideas or even anything essay related
Mostly Business A Level material. Otherwise, consider Harvard Business Review (HBR), the most widely respected journal for subject.
There is often a number of YouTube channels from US universities that offer free business related courses (usually for MBAs). I recommend watching a few of those to give you a vague idea of what it's like.

If you want specific information, I would need specific questions.

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 2

ilovelemons

15

Original post by MindMax2000

I do not know what I want to do in life
This is fine. People take time to figure out what they want.
but have to go to university
This is not fine. Nobody has to go to university. Going to university without an aim in mind is a waste of time and money; these won't be small sums either.
Who gave you this idea?
Also out of all subjects, why pick management?
I wanted to know if there was anything important to know before I start the degree
Key things to note about a business management degree are:

•

It's not a degree required for any particular role i.e. you would likely going to apply for jobs that either require a degree in any subject or don't require a degree at all after uni.

•

Whilst the information you find in a management degree can prepare you to start your own business, you can get the same information without doing the degree. Qualifications like A Level Business Studies and CIMA's BA Certificate tend to be better suited.

•

It's essentially a repeat of A Level Business Studies with a few bells and whistles.

•

Once you graduate, you will quickly realise you didn't really pick up any tangible skills that you can sell to employers, and you would likely need to learn things about business from the ground up in specific business roles.

•

The degree would allow you to do PhD in Management or a business related subject, but not a DBA though

•

If you don't like writing essays (as implied in your BTEC), you might struggle with this

•

Employers won't value your degree in management, because they care more about your relevant experience

•

Although it's my opinion, I think it's a widely shared sentiment: you can't learn about management in a classroom

•

I don't recommend reading business books prior to doing the degree; not because they books aren't useful and contain valuable and practical information, but more so because a lot of the information can conflict with what they will teach you in academia and academia don't like you quoting from these books.

•

Rule of thumb: if it's not from a university approved journal, it's probably not appropriate to mention it in your assignment even if it's absolutely correct.

•

Accounting is not as mathematical as you think; it's more about organising numbers. If you want something more mathematical, consider the finance and economics modules (if you are eligible for them)

•

The subjects in management can be broadly organised in 2 camps: 1) those that are more arty e.g. organisational behaviour (business psychology essentially), business strategy, marketing, business law vs 2) those that are more sciency e.g. accounting, finance, business analytics, business economics, operations management

•

A management degree won't teach you how to: sell, present (they offer you opportunities to present, but they don't teach you how to present), manage people. These are skills that you would need to learn outside of uni.

•

If you intend to start a business, you would need to pick up a trade prior to this. The degree only gives you the overview of what you need.

•

A management degree is like a mini-MBA. Once you have a business undergrad degree (or arguably Business Studies A Level), there is little point in doing the postgrad degrees unless you intend to go into academia

•

There are professional qualifications that you can apply for after the degree, but don't expect the degree to give you that many exemptions. You should be able to apply for CIPD (HR for the UK) or get a few exemptions in professional accounting qualifications (about 6 out there for the UK)

•

Accounting involves a lot of pro formas; get the pro forma wrong, or if you don't get your layout organised, you will have a hard time with this.

Readings or ideas or even anything essay related
Mostly Business A Level material. Otherwise, consider Harvard Business Review (HBR), the most widely respected journal for subject.
There is often a number of YouTube channels from US universities that offer free business related courses (usually for MBAs). I recommend watching a few of those to give you a vague idea of what it's like.
If you want specific information, I would need specific questions.

Did you do a Business degree?

Reply 3

Original post by ilovelemons

Did you do a Business degree?

Yep. Wasn't the best use of time.

Reply 4

a322107e

3

Original post by MindMax2000

Yep. Wasn't the best use of time.

what do you do now if you dont mind my asking and what would you have done differently if you could go back? just need a bit of advice for my next steps.

Reply 5

Original post by a322107e

what do you do now if you dont mind my asking and what would you have done differently if you could go back? just need a bit of advice for my next steps.

Doing a different undergrad, after finding out the jobs out there don't excite me.

If I have done things differently, I would have done more self reflection and figure out what I actually want.
Key lesson learned was that no matter how much you are willing to plough through the work, who you want to help, no matter how much you can help people, no matter how many hours you are willing to put in, no matter what the distance you are willing to go, no matter how much you are willing to change, no matter how much you are paid, if you personally don't want the job itself you're no good to anyone. Find what you are passionate about, and figure things out once you get there.

The thing is by doing one type of degree doesn't mean employers would think you're a better fit, they won't think to not put you elsewhere, or you can't do something else. There are enough jobs out there that accept graduates with a degree in any subject for you to pivot to something else - enough for people who want it. Also, although employers can be "persuasive", they can't legally force you to do another job - if they do this, they're probably not the sort of people you would willingly want to work for.

Reply 6

ilovelemons

15

Original post by MindMax2000

Yep. Wasn't the best use of time.

Which Uni ? What Undergraduate course are you doing now ?

Reply 7

a322107e

3

Original post by MindMax2000

Doing a different undergrad, after finding out the jobs out there don't excite me.
If I have done things differently, I would have done more self reflection and figure out what I actually want.
Key lesson learned was that no matter how much you are willing to plough through the work, who you want to help, no matter how much you can help people, no matter how many hours you are willing to put in, no matter what the distance you are willing to go, no matter how much you are willing to change, no matter how much you are paid, if you personally don't want the job itself you're no good to anyone. Find what you are passionate about, and figure things out once you get there.
The thing is by doing one type of degree doesn't mean employers would think you're a better fit, they won't think to not put you elsewhere, or you can't do something else. There are enough jobs out there that accept graduates with a degree in any subject for you to pivot to something else - enough for people who want it. Also, although employers can be "persuasive", they can't legally force you to do another job - if they do this, they're probably not the sort of people you would willingly want to work for.

I appreciate the reply, thank you. this makes my choice a lot clearer now.

Reply 8

03tw

1

Original post by Baacil

I did an engineering btech in college and am now set to do business and management at university. Mainly because I do not know what I want to do in life but have to go to university. But I wanted to know if there was anything important to know before I start the degree. Readings or ideas or even anything essay related. Any help would be appreciated

I suggest you don’t waste three years on a Business Management degree from a mediocre university that is super easy to pass with top grades, but instead do an apprenticeship/degree apprenticeahip If you really want to go to uni, you may be better off doing a more comprehensive degree such as economics or accounting, rather than one as broad as Business. If you’re dead set on Business Management, ensure to do a sandwich year/year in industry/year abroad, get as much work experience as you can between now and uni graduation, apply for as many internships as possible and try to get a committee leadership position while at uni to boost your CV. Work experience and leadership demonstration is key in being successful with a Business Management degree and the degree itself is very interesting! You’ll learn a lot. I didn’t study it but I helped my partner write his dissertation when he was studying it. I Hope this helps. :smile:

Reply 9