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Finance or Business Analytics
I would love to pursue a degree in Business Administration but not sure majoring which of the above . #business #finance #business-management
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Nicholas’s Answer
Hello DD,
I believe both of these are great career paths. I was in the exact same position as you when I was in college. While you are pursuing a degree in business school, you may be required to take some finance and analytics courses. From there you maybe be able to decide which major/career you would like to pursue. For example, I majored in finance, but as a prerequisite for advanced finance classes, I was required to take basic analytics courses. Then, when I had flexibility to choose other finance courses, I decided to take advanced financial analytics courses where tools like R, Python, Excel, and Tableau were taught and used as part of the course curriculum.
My recommendation is, if the school allows, start off in the business school without declaring a major. Usually, a school will let you take prerequisite courses for the first year or two before you declare a major. While in those prerequisite courses, take a couple finance and analytics classes. These classes might give you a better idea for what career you would be interested in. If you still cannot decide, you can double major, or major in one and minor in the other.
There are also many schools that offer Masters programs for finance and business analytics. Once you are finished with your undergraduate degree, you can continue to learn and grow toward which career your decide through a Masters program. While in a program, you sometimes have to ability to pick concentrations or take electives. For example, after receiving my undergraduate degree in finance, I decided to get my Masters in Business Analytics where they offered financial analytics courses as electives.
I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with your future career!
-Nick
I believe both of these are great career paths. I was in the exact same position as you when I was in college. While you are pursuing a degree in business school, you may be required to take some finance and analytics courses. From there you maybe be able to decide which major/career you would like to pursue. For example, I majored in finance, but as a prerequisite for advanced finance classes, I was required to take basic analytics courses. Then, when I had flexibility to choose other finance courses, I decided to take advanced financial analytics courses where tools like R, Python, Excel, and Tableau were taught and used as part of the course curriculum.
My recommendation is, if the school allows, start off in the business school without declaring a major. Usually, a school will let you take prerequisite courses for the first year or two before you declare a major. While in those prerequisite courses, take a couple finance and analytics classes. These classes might give you a better idea for what career you would be interested in. If you still cannot decide, you can double major, or major in one and minor in the other.
There are also many schools that offer Masters programs for finance and business analytics. Once you are finished with your undergraduate degree, you can continue to learn and grow toward which career your decide through a Masters program. While in a program, you sometimes have to ability to pick concentrations or take electives. For example, after receiving my undergraduate degree in finance, I decided to get my Masters in Business Analytics where they offered financial analytics courses as electives.
I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with your future career!
-Nick
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Noah’s Answer
This is a great question. I received my bachelors in Business Administration and contemplated a concentration in both Finance and Analytics. As previous individuals have mentioned, there definitely is an overlap. My first question to you is - what does your gut tell you? I believe deep down you are leaning towards one or the other. Maybe some self-reflection and deep thinking will lead to a clearer answer.
What is your personality type? Do you see yourself dealing with more operations and management, or dealing more with investments? Would you rather do a lot of research, analyzing, and interpreting of data? If I were you, I would try classes from both majors. There is no need to make a decision right now, as most people change majors year over year. I would also advise you to read the prospectus for classes under each major. You might find certain classes more interesting than others. In the end of the day, you will get a phenomenal education wherever you do. I'd advise you to choose a major that you find most interesting within the field of business.
What is your personality type? Do you see yourself dealing with more operations and management, or dealing more with investments? Would you rather do a lot of research, analyzing, and interpreting of data? If I were you, I would try classes from both majors. There is no need to make a decision right now, as most people change majors year over year. I would also advise you to read the prospectus for classes under each major. You might find certain classes more interesting than others. In the end of the day, you will get a phenomenal education wherever you do. I'd advise you to choose a major that you find most interesting within the field of business.
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Nick’s Answer
I think your passions and interests can help guide you when thinking about Finance or Business Analytics as a major. Do you enjoy the stock market? Do you have a passion for statistical learning?
Answering questions like these can help you decide where your interests lie and which major could be a better long term fit. One important key to success in choosing a major and a subsequent career is where your interests lie and passionate you are about the subject.
Answering questions like these can help you decide where your interests lie and which major could be a better long term fit. One important key to success in choosing a major and a subsequent career is where your interests lie and passionate you are about the subject.
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Sajid’s Answer
All are good choices and have a lot of overlap. They can all open doors to similar jobs. From my experience, your future career depends more upon the field in which you decide to work after you finish business school than on what exactly your major was so be more selective in choosing your first job.
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Kathryn’s Answer
Perhaps narrowing down what specific occupations are attractive to you could help. For example, do you like sales and strategizing with clients, do you prefer working independantly on data sets, or do you want to manage business operations? Your answer may help you discover which jobs have those attributes and which degree could help you get those sorts of jobs the most.
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Greg’s Answer
Great question, I'd recommend to do some more research on what your school offers in terms of majors and minors. I think going the Business route and then minoring in Finance is the right one. However, getting a sense on what exactly what you want to do will help you select classes. Get a better sense on what industry you see yourself in. Be selective in classes! Pick the ones your interested in but also think will be relevant as some may overlap.
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Debbie’s Answer
I think either you choose is good. You will find they overlap so you'll be able to do either. You may want to compare the differences in the classes required to see if your interests and talent lean one way or another. In the end, I believe you will find no matter which you choose, once you start working you're job experience and strengths will lead you.
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James’s Answer
Great question and as a student you probably feel like you have to make a choice. There should be a good bit of overlap; however business analytics may be more generic whereas finance is a bit more specific. Understand what would be your preferred career path but regardless the biggest piece of analytics is understanding where to source the data from and how to use it. Data mining courses would be extremely useful and you can easily transition to many fields. Hope this helps!
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Sara’s Answer
Both are great choices. I suggest researching the offerings at your school of choice and comparing the required classes for each as you may see several that overlap.
hmmm..ok
Thankyou
DD
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David’s Answer
If your school allows it, you can always major in one and minor in the other. As you progress through the course work, you may find you have more interest in one over the other as well.