College "Inquiries"

[CubaTBird]

i start the four year college of my choice in mid august so i guess you could say i am all pysched up for it.. i am majoring in business with a concentration in marketing.. thing is though.. from what i have gathered online and in books.. starting salary's for out of college students looking for a job within that field only make between $17,000 ----> $21,000.... i was kind of hoping for more than that... those high school guidance counselors and their cliche "everybody will be making $40,000 out of college"... hehe yeah right eh? :o

well anyway... is their a field within marketing that perhaps makes more? i mean im not going into marketing for the money... im smarter than that... i particularly like the "market research" field in which one analyzes trends and what not...

i have a student orientation date coming up fairly soon and was just wondering also how do these things go down? mine is planned as an all day event.. im supposed to meet my counselor there and select classes and check out the clubs available... and tips i should know so as not to make a fool of myself in front of my councellor that day? :o

any advice is greatly appreciated. :o

[eva01]

I think Theo Epstein has a degree in business, or marketing of some sort, and he probably makes a few million a year.

[wordmunger]

If you really know your statistics, you should be able to do much better than $20000 a year in Marketing. That's probably what marketing assistants make -- what these people do is run focus groups and mail brochures out to the sales force. Real market researchers design studies and do data analysis. It might actually be better to get a degree in psychology than marketing.

[the_ron]

Ah the joy that is summer orientation. The main tip I have for your advising appointment is have an idea of what you want/need to take your first semester. Most degree programs that I've come across have online example curriculums. It would probably be a good idea to look at it and get a general feel for the classes it says to take during your first year. A little bit of preparation can make things go a lot smoother and make a good impression on your advisor. You don't really have to worry about that stuff too much though; you advisor won't expect you to have everything planned out. Just be responsive and don't be afraid to ask questions.
A general tip for you entire visit is to try to meet a bunch of the other students there with you. "Hey, didn't I see you at summer orientation?" can be a very good conversation starter when fall finally rolls around. At my school, the orientation groups were split up by dorms so I ended up living around most people I was grouped with. Just remember to have fun and don't get too stressed out.

[MacUser1]

i have a student orientation date coming up fairly soon and was just wondering also how do these things go down? mine is planned as an all day event.. im supposed to meet my counselor there and select classes and check out the clubs available... and tips i should know so as not to make a fool of myself in front of my councellor that day? :o

any advice is greatly appreciated. :o

Only one day? We had a whole weekend for our orientation, but everything was nicely spread out. Anyway, just be yourself while you are there. You are going to meet a lot of new people that you'll be spending a lot of time with over the next four years or so. But most of all, just have some fun.

[skubish]

i start the four year college of my choice in mid august so i guess you could say i am all pysched up for it.. i am majoring in business with a concentration in marketing.. thing is though.. from what i have gathered online and in books.. starting salary's for out of college students looking for a job within that field only make between $17,000 ----> $21,000.... i was kind of hoping for more than that... those high school guidance counselors and their cliche "everybody will be making $40,000 out of college"... hehe yeah right eh? :o

well anyway... is their a field within marketing that perhaps makes more? i mean im not going into marketing for the money... im smarter than that... i particularly like the "market research" field in which one analyzes trends and what not...

i have a student orientation date coming up fairly soon and was just wondering also how do these things go down? mine is planned as an all day event.. im supposed to meet my counselor there and select classes and check out the clubs available... and tips i should know so as not to make a fool of myself in front of my councellor that day? :o

any advice is greatly appreciated. :o

If you are majoring in business or marketing you are better off getting an MBA. A Bachelors in Business is almost worthless these days.

[neildmitchell]

starting salary's for out of college students looking for a job within that field only make between $17,000 ----> $21,000.... i was kind of hoping for more than that...

Follow your heart and what you like to do, and the money will follow.

[jefhatfield]

If you are majoring in business or marketing you are better off getting an MBA. A Bachelors in Business is almost worthless these days.

when the economy is bad, the mba (and business bachelor's) diplomas are like confederate currency, to quote us news and world report

but when things are good, business is a good subject

when i was an mba student there were 14 mba areas

the top pay being

operations management
accounting
taxation

and the worst being

arts and entertainment management
marketing

marketing, and advertising are not high paying business professions for the most part, but many find it more fun and enjoyable than being an mba consultant in taxation

i started an advertising business with a fellow mba marketing student and in the process of looking for people, i interviewed this woman who was a graphic designer who worked for many fortune 500s in nyc...though the advertising business went bust, i married the graphic designer and today, we are married almost 8 years :)

do what you like and the money will follow, and if it's not a lot of money, if you like what you do, you won't care because you will have met plenty of big money makers who hate their life

[YS2003]

Any first job is tough to get. I got the first sales job and I worked 15 hours a day 7 days a week for 2 years to get my self aclimated with the industry (I was fresh out of college). That boot camp I put myself in for my own sake put me in a better posistion to move up to another offer from my competitior at that time and I took the position and I am now better off by that. I enjoyed the day i submitted my resignation letter and my former boss cursed on me (in a professional manner) becasue I chose my future with the competitor). To this day, I make sure my previous company will get hammered by my current company.

[CubaTBird]

is it true that to finish college in 4 years one would have to take 15 creds per semester? or is that a false..

[wordmunger]

is it true that to finish college in 4 years one would have to take 15 creds per semester? or is that a false..
It depends on your school, different schools have different requirements. Most schools tend to expect you to take four classes/semester, with most classes being 3 to 5 credits.

[eva01]

depends on thes school how many credits classes are worth

one school i was at 4 credits for regular classes 5 credits for classes with labs

now school i am at is 3 credits normal classes 4 credits class with lab

[superbovine]

http://mattfischer.com/ramen/

[CubaTBird]

http://mattfischer.com/ramen/

LOL! yeah though i see what you mean i won't be dorming for at least the first year out... ;)

[devilot]

http://mattfischer.com/ramen/
Oooh, thanks for that link! I really like ramen (and yes I know that processed "foods" are bad for me) but I think some of those recipes are still too advanced for me, no joke, I can't cook to save my life. :o

[savar]

17k is very low. If you do well in school you can get a job at a good firm that pays 30k, with the opportunity to move up in two years to a job that pays more than double.

i start the four year college of my choice in mid august so i guess you could say i am all pysched up for it.. i am majoring in business with a concentration in marketing.. thing is though.. from what i have gathered online and in books.. starting salary's for out of college students looking for a job within that field only make between $17,000 ----> $21,000.... i was kind of hoping for more than that... those high school guidance counselors and their cliche "everybody will be making $40,000 out of college"... hehe yeah right eh? :o

well anyway... is their a field within marketing that perhaps makes more? i mean im not going into marketing for the money... im smarter than that... i particularly like the "market research" field in which one analyzes trends and what not...

i have a student orientation date coming up fairly soon and was just wondering also how do these things go down? mine is planned as an all day event.. im supposed to meet my counselor there and select classes and check out the clubs available... and tips i should know so as not to make a fool of myself in front of my councellor that day? :o

any advice is greatly appreciated. :o

[CanadaRAM]

Oooh, thanks for that link! I really like ramen (and yes I know that processed "foods" are bad for me) but I think some of those recipes are still too advanced for me, no joke, I can't cook to save my life. :o
You may have to... ;)

Seriously, eating out is a major avoidable expense. Learn a couple of standbys that will keep you healthy at minimum cost - which you can cook one big batch of and refrigerate or freeze portions for later eating:
Chili, casseroles, pasta dishes

[wordmunger]

I used to pick a "meal for the week" in college. Then I'd mass produce it at the beginning of the week and just reheat as necessary. So one week it'd be spaghetti, then the next week tacos, and so on, with an infinite variety of possible meals. Of course usually I just ate spaghetti and tacos.

[CubaTBird]

when the economy is bad, the mba (and business bachelor's) diplomas are like confederate currency, to quote us news and world report

but when things are good, business is a good subject

when i was an mba student there were 14 mba areas

the top pay being

operations management
accounting
taxation

and the worst being

arts and entertainment management
marketing

marketing, and advertising are not high paying business professions for the most part, but many find it more fun and enjoyable than being an mba consultant in taxation

i started an advertising business with a fellow mba marketing student and in the process of looking for people, i interviewed this woman who was a graphic designer who worked for many fortune 500s in nyc...though the advertising business went bust, i married the graphic designer and today, we are married almost 8 years :)

do what you like and the money will follow, and if it's not a lot of money, if you like what you do, you won't care because you will have met plenty of big money makers who hate their life

operations management.. thats like business information systems? or are those two different things?

[ravenvii]

Heh, I'm considering adding business as a dual major along with philosophy. I want to start up a business. Work for someone else? *spit* We shall speak of them no more! :)

[jefhatfield]

operations management.. thats like business information systems? or are those two different things?

operations management, facilities management, logistics management are some of the more dull, tedious and boring "behing the scenes" necessities of running a business that very few people like to do, thus the much higher salary for that specialty

in general, the more tedious/stressfull/maddening/heavy math oriented aspects of business administration pay more than the fun aspects like advertising, marketing, and arts/entertainment administration

like being a lawyer or tax accountant, if you don't like/love operations management and you land a job in it, your soul will be sucked out of you in six months

i had an mba friend who did ops mgt and accounting and made good money at both, but he was such a people person that he couldn't stand to be in either field for any period of time

[CubaTBird]

operations management, facilities management, logistics management are some of the more dull, tedious and boring "behing the scenes" necessities of running a business that very few people like to do, thus the much higher salary for that specialty

in general, the more tedious/stressfull/maddening/heavy math oriented aspects of business administration pay more than the fun aspects like advertising, marketing, and arts/entertainment administration

like being a lawyer or tax accountant, if you don't like/love operations management and you land a job in it, your soul will be sucked out of you in six months

i had an mba friend who did ops mgt and accounting and made good money at both, but he was such a people person that he couldn't stand to be in either field for any period of time

ahh that's useful information... so what would you say is a concentration within the business major that is both *fun/interesting and *pays the bills.... i mean i like marketing.. i really do.. i can seriously see myself in that field.. but why work my butt off for four years to start makin' only 17 grand a year?

[jefhatfield]

ahh that's useful information... so what would you say is a concentration within the business major that is both *fun/interesting and *pays the bills.... i mean i like marketing.. i really do.. i can seriously see myself in that field.. but why work my butt off for four years to start makin' only 17 grand a year?

one option is to move to a big city where even the least hireable majors can actually make a good wage/salary

when i was in the mba/arts administration program in 1995, i was told that the average mba in this field made only made $14,000 dollars a year and most of us already knew that we would work for non-profits, fledgling plays and new tv shows on cable, and represent young unknown artists and musicians...but i had spent 20 years as an amateur guitarist previous to that stint in school and not made a dime so i knew that managing artists was at least a paycheck as opposed to being a "starving artist"

don't go for the big money because you will very soon regret it

sure a business major can end up being a manager at a mall for eight dollars an hour in some small cowtown, like where i live, but in the city, you can get starting salaries at 25k a year and eventually work into 40k and 50k jobs well before you are in your late-20s...and ivy league mba grads around 30 years old (with more than five years of managerial corporate experience, too) make six digits if they go into consulting doing accounting in the big cities, but can work 80 hours a week, or more ( read the mba advantage by yeaple for lists of great b-schools and strategies)

i have never really met any business major/mba majors who went into working over 80 hours a week and those were only hours i saw some lawyers, doctors, and restaurant owners get...some people who work 80 hours a week fluff up the number and tell people they work over 100 hours a week which is basically impossible for the average person

[Jschultz]

30k a year? That is absolutely terrible. Even my mom who has just a high school education and just answers phones all day as a customer service rep makes 35K a year.

Also, 17K a year is roughly 8.75/hr. Heck, I even make 9.50/hr sitting around on my keester all summer long at Circuit City.

My take is: if you're making less than 30K a year, and you have a college education, you seriously made some wrong financial decisions somewhere. Even someone like myself who is going into education ( a terminally plagued field for low incomes) will net at least 32K fresh out of college.

But I will say, above all else, do what you love.

[Steven1621]

30k a year? That is absolutely terrible. Even my mom who has just a high school education and just answers phones all day as a customer service rep makes 35K a year.

Also, 17K a year is roughly 8.75/hr. Heck, I even make 9.50/hr sitting around on my keester all summer long at Circuit City.

My take is: if you're making less than 30K a year, and you have a college education, you seriously made some wrong financial decisions somewhere. Even someone like myself who is going into education ( a terminally plagued field for low incomes) will net at least 32K fresh out of college.

But I will say, above all else, do what you love.

Exactly.

[jefhatfield]

30k a year? That is absolutely terrible. Even my mom who has just a high school education and just answers phones all day as a customer service rep makes 35K a year.

Also, 17K a year is roughly 8.75/hr. Heck, I even make 9.50/hr sitting around on my keester all summer long at Circuit City.

My take is: if you're making less than 30K a year, and you have a college education, you seriously made some wrong financial decisions somewhere. Even someone like myself who is going into education ( a terminally plagued field for low incomes) will net at least 32K fresh out of college.

But I will say, above all else, do what you love.

it's all relative

i know a man who works at (at one of circuit city's rivals) in the monterey california area who probably makes a little more than $10 dollars an hour being that he is a manager there and he seems to be perfectly happy there having been there for years

now his brother, lifetime major league hitter often well into the .300 range, made very serious money in his years in professional baseball

both brothers have vastly different lifestyles but when (the baseball player) comes back into town, he is just one of the regular boys in a city of 29,000 people and he really just blends in...that is until an out of towner baseball fan sees him and totally freaks out (which is what you get when only a few people like ty cobb and barry bonds have better numbers than you) and you make more money per game appearance than the average american does in a year