Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in business have made a wise career choice. Graduates with business degrees (along with computer science and engineering degrees) are among the highest-paid graduates in the Class of 2013. Just having a business degree, however, is no guarantee of a good position; job seekers should ensure that they have a competitive edge in today’s competitive job market. One way to get that edge is to complement their business education with a minor. This article will discuss some of the possible minors available to business majors.
Business-Related Minor or Not?
The first decision to be made when considering a minor is whether or not it should be business-related. Although a business-related minor seems intuitive, there are other indirectly related disciplines that can be beneficial.
Business-Related Minors
Adding a business-related minor may be a good idea if a student has high interest in a specific business area. For example, a student that wants to focus on sales may want to add a minor in marketing or a student with interest in fund raising may minor in finance or accounting. Some popular business-related minors for business students include:
- Accounting: Accounting is the production of financial records for an organization. It is considered to be the “language of business” because it is how financial information about a company is reported to different groups.
- Computer Information Systems (CIS): CIS is the study of networks of hardware and software used by organizations to create, collect, process and distribute data.
- Economics: Economics studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services within a market.
- Finance: Corporate finance deals with the capital structure, funding sources and allocation of resources within business entities.
- Management: Management involves coordinates the efforts of a business’ employees to achieve its goals and objectives while using its resources effectively and efficiently.
- Marketing: Marketing is the process of communicating with customers in an effort to sell them a product or service.
- Supply Chain Management (SCM): SCM is the management of the flow of goods for a business.
Other Minors
There are fields of study not directly related to business that may be beneficial as well. A minor in political science, for example, may help a student interested in a career in government. Other minors that can help business students include:
Political Science: Political science studies the politics and processes of government.
- Biology: Biology is the study of life and living organisms.
- Engineering: Engineering involves the designing, building and maintenance of structures, machines, systems and devices.
- Legal Studies: Legal studies are the study of law and legal systems.
When making the decision to add a minor while pursuing a business degree, the main consideration should be whether the minor will support the student’s career goals. It is not necessary to have a business-related minor. In many cases a non-business minor will serve just as well. Students should carefully consider their options and make the best choice for their circumstances.