There are so many professions and new industries that have been introduced in recent decades, with the options for new students and professionals seemingly endless. Choosing a business-orientated degree to study will set you up for success as there are so many directions you can take this study. There are short courses in business planning or longer graduate certificates in business administration available to keen students. Here we will discuss all the considerations you need to think about so you can choose the right business-orientated degree to study. Let’s get into it.
Identify an area that interests you
Before any choice is made, you must first identify what areas interest you as this will guide you to the appropriate degree. If you are interested in health care, then you may wish to study a healthcare administration course. If you are interested in hospitality, you may want to peruse a degree that puts you on the path to becoming a hotel general manager. If you are looking for a more generalist business pathway because you don’t have any firm interests, then studying a degree in business or commerce will expose you to different sectors so you can get a taste of these areas.
Research course plans and units
Choosing a business degree should not be something you rush into, especially if you have the time to study a course plan and unit list deeply. When you have shortlisted the universities you wish to study at, you can then explore how they teach that chosen degree and what the subject units look like. You may find that a business administration degree has quite a lot of theory and not a lot of practice, whereas a business commerce degree has quite a lot of real-world Practice and more opportunities to immerse in the business world. The last thing you want to do is enrol in a business degree only to find that it is not the path you want to be on.
Many universities and educational institutions will have in-person or virtual open days. Here you can attend information sessions, ask questions of lecturers and get a sense of what the university is about. Typically, these days are close to the start of the first and second semesters so keep your eyes peeled and attend as many information sessions before you enrol in your chosen business degree.
Know what role you are working towards
Perhaps the smartest way to choose a business degree is to reverse engineer that journey by starting with the profession you want. If you want to be a business analyst, then jump online and see what qualifications employers require a business analyst to have. Look at a few different job ads in your state and beyond so you have a well-rounded idea of what the expectations are of employers. You will also learn what characteristics and skills people are looking for in your field, so you can understand what you need to develop to succeed in this profession.
You may also like to go on LinkedIn and see what kind of qualifications employees have to work for the kinds of companies you want to work for one day. If you are a particularly confident person, you may even email HR professionals directly to gauge what they are looking for, and what kind of skills stand out to them. This might seem like a lot of sleuthing, but it is all about research and better preparing yourself for the journey ahead.
Speak to a career counsellor
Working with a career counsellor can be an invaluable exercise. These qualified professionals have an intimate knowledge of all career pathways and can be there too, and provide any information and gaps in your knowledge about a certain profession. More importantly, a career counsellor will get a sense of who you are, and what you value and that can be the missing ingredient in weighing up what career is best for you.
A career counsellor will give you quizzes to complete which gauge what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are in the ways in which you want to be challenged at work. They can also make introductions to student advisors and dedicated fields, so you leave with an idea of what you want to do and information on how you think to get closer to that goal.
It is a very weighty decision to choose a business degree. As our world expands and the number of professions grows, it can be even more complicated to determine what career path is right for you. Ensure you have enough time to adequately research all of the choices out there, and then commence your shortlisting and engage university representatives and career counsellors if you need further clarification.