You thought majoring in Business was all fun and games...
And you were right. But just because you're whizzing through your four years in undergraduate and spending three nights out per week starting your junior year--a conservative guess, I admit--does NOT mean you're right and everybody else can go to hell. Of course, if you're rich and bored and your parents made you go through the painstaking process of obtaining a higher education just to keep the family in good honor, party away. But I'm guessing that most of us here are reasonable, motivated people looking for the best way to live a happy and accomplished life.
So did you know what you were getting into when you chose to be a business major? Or are you still deciding whether banking or marketing or archaeology is for you? As a business major who's remained happily cynical and proud of it, I'm here to give you the dark side of what goes on within the business school. I'm not hoping to come off as some angry hermit who hates the business world and all that accompanies it, but merely as someone who finds the current "traditions" and the ways we're required to act if we want to be successful to be ridiculous.
If you're already going after that finance or accounting degree and are a really proud or sensitive person, you might find some of my criticisms to be scathing or unfair. If so, just disregard them as being from the point of view of somebody who "just doesn't get it." And that's fine, if that's what you need to do. But having seen girls in Mann library walking by with boots more expensive than the combined cost of all the shirts I own, I think I do get it. In fact, I think I get it more than most people.
So without further ado, here are some reasons you might not find majoring in business to be the most satisfying, enlightening and warm experience of life.
The Cons
1. It's like being in high school again
Regardless of whether you're still in high school or a proud graduate, we can all agree that the experience in all its glory--namely domineering teachers, smothering peer groups and a general lack of freedom and mobility--pales in comparison to the bigger and better things that came, or are coming, later. That is, unless you're a Business Major.
While any number of psychology or humanities classes devote a significant portion of time to dispelling the "myths of stereotyping" and explaining the reasons not to expect certain behavior from an individual based on an ill-informed public perception of the crowd, trust me. With business majors, you'd be foolish not to stereotype, because they're really, really similar. And if you take offense to this, realize that you've been training yourself for all your college years to fit in; to wear the right clothes, to follow the interview and networking ritual the right way. As a result, you've become similar; I'm sorry for for your loss. Why do you think "developing your own personal brand!" is such a hot topic in networking right now? It's because if you're not careful in today's collegiate customs, you start to look oddly like a commodity.
When you walk through the business/agricultural quad or the library here, you'd swear you were in one of those black and white films from the 1950s. Everybody's wearing identical black pea coats, girls are sporting Uggs and both genders cashmere scarves, and there's a blackberry in every hand, which tends to cause a number of near-collisions when more people are walking with their heads tilted toward their palms than not. But when you're sitting down for conversation in Sage Atrium or Mann library lobby, it only gets worse.
If you dreaded the veiled, light jabbering about AP scores and SAT results in high school, you're in for a treat when it comes to interviews. "How'd your interviews go? What are you going for?" usually precedes a response that goes something like: "Oh, you knew I had some? Well, not too bad, just trying to get something I want. You?" Spring after spring, the ceremonial fluff gets tiring and the hushed whispers of "How did HE get IBD at JPM? IMD at GS? But they put me on the wait list and I spoke with my friend who said that if I hit the technicals I'd be able--" makes you want to scream.
2. It's a passionless pursuit
Don't get me wrong; I know your first reaction, especially if you're a business or finance major, is to tell me that I couldn't possibly know what you're passionate about. And you'd be completely right because I'm not a mindreader, end of story. But what I am pretty sure about is that you're not making decisions based on your passions, but on monetary benefits and tangible reward.
For example, a common "problem" that arises for business majors, if they're lucky to have it, involves receiving two offers for completely different types of jobs. The huge dilemma is always that one job typically has reasonable work hours and would be at least moderately enjoyable for the offeree, while the other job either originates at a firm with a better name or features harder and longer hours for more pay. I've heard many such stories from being around my fraternity, and the outcome is always the same. Investment banking--i.e. 100 hour weeks--over a more moderate position that more closely matched the candidate's interests. But many people counter by claiming "investment banking opens so many doors!" True, but is that really why you're doing it? Or is it a justification for following the crowd and valuing money because you've lost touch with your real passions?
Read this sarcastic quotation from a popular banking website/forum for college-age or MBA-age students, Wall Street Oasis:
"I go to a target [school] for most banks and I have a killer GPA. I basically deserve an IB career. So what if I wear my diamond studded platinum rolex to an interview?
3. It's just not a satisfying college experience
There's a difference between being satisfied and being busy; have you ever worked as a cashier or a waiter/waitress? The time might fly by and you might feel some type of pride at working toward a goal, but dealing with irate customers and having to bring new drinks because "this isn't diet" just won't ring out in your memory as being the time of your life. And this is exactly how I feel as a business major.
The credit I'll give to our species is that when we're not spending time in class, we're spending time at one university-affiliated organization or another. For someone like myself who detests group politics and can't stand the social requirements one needs to follow to gain popularity, it's just not an enjoyable experience and I'd almost rather go to class; that's why I attend neither (joke, sort of).
On campus, I help out as an analyst for an investment club, I help lead the business committee for the community service organization Big Red Relief, I'm a teaching assistant for finance and I'm a brother of the business fraternity I always mention (Delta Sigma Pi). And I'm not telling you this to brag; actually, I'm trying to prove the exact opposite. For all these commitments, I consider myself involved in only an average way; meaning I'm virtually forced to maintain this level of extracurricular activity just in order to stay competitive.
Many people picture college before they arrive as a time of making tons of new friends, hanging out in the nice weather and doing homework on the lawn, having free time to do whatever it is ignites a passion, and learning more about something that's inherently stimulating. As a successful business major, though, you'll find yourself rushing from one meeting to the next, spending an hour or more per day sending emails and staying up late to do work for your "voluntary" student groups while cramming for exams only the day before. It's hardly a picture perfect experience.
In the end, it comes down to your values
Looking back, I realize I was pretty harsh on my own kind. But I think it's because having been part of the whole "society" for a few years without really questioning it, I realize that it's way too easy to start taking things for granted about the way college and life should be, when it's really just one point of view that doesn't seem quite right (at least to me).
Like with every other debate, it comes down in the end to what you believe in. If money's your thing and that's what makes you happy, go for it. If money doesn't even really make you happy but you're not willing to become more self-aware or change what you're doing, then like I said; go for it. Or, a more reasonable counterpoint might be if you're the type of person who's really goal and future-oriented, rather than present-oriented. You might not place much emphasis on being happy in the instant and enjoying life moment-to-moment, but maybe you'd rather look back at the end and see what you've accomplished.
For most of my life, I've been an extreme Type A and goal-oriented person, sometimes even preferring to suffer in the moment if it was going to yield better results later. But recently, I've been taking more of a middle-of-the-road approach to life and am starting to realize all the instances where we sacrifice today in hope of a better or more profitable tomorrow. While there's more at play than just this type of thinking here, I'm pretty sure that's why I'm able to take both sides.
So take from this what you will, but no matter what you're studying, ask yourself some questions and confirm that what you're doing is right. Is being economical and practical more important to you, or is having a passion your guiding force? Choose and be aware of the decision you're making, and that's simply the best you can do.
(Continuation of my reposts -- hope you enjoy!)
And you were right. But just because you're whizzing through your four years in undergraduate and spending three nights out per week starting your junior year--a conservative guess, I admit--does NOT mean you're right and everybody else can go to hell. Of course, if you're rich and bored and your parents made you go through the painstaking process of obtaining a higher education just to keep the family in good honor, party away. But I'm guessing that most of us here are reasonable, motivated people looking for the best way to live a happy and accomplished life.
So did you know what you were getting into when you chose to be a business major? Or are you still deciding whether banking or marketing or archaeology is for you? As a business major who's remained happily cynical and proud of it, I'm here to give you the dark side of what goes on within the business school. I'm not hoping to come off as some angry hermit who hates the business world and all that accompanies it, but merely as someone who finds the current "traditions" and the ways we're required to act if we want to be successful to be ridiculous.
If you're already going after that finance or accounting degree and are a really proud or sensitive person, you might find some of my criticisms to be scathing or unfair. If so, just disregard them as being from the point of view of somebody who "just doesn't get it." And that's fine, if that's what you need to do. But having seen girls in Mann library walking by with boots more expensive than the combined cost of all the shirts I own, I think I do get it. In fact, I think I get it more than most people.
So without further ado, here are some reasons you might not find majoring in business to be the most satisfying, enlightening and warm experience of life.
The Cons
1. It's like being in high school again
Regardless of whether you're still in high school or a proud graduate, we can all agree that the experience in all its glory--namely domineering teachers, smothering peer groups and a general lack of freedom and mobility--pales in comparison to the bigger and better things that came, or are coming, later. That is, unless you're a Business Major.
While any number of psychology or humanities classes devote a significant portion of time to dispelling the "myths of stereotyping" and explaining the reasons not to expect certain behavior from an individual based on an ill-informed public perception of the crowd, trust me. With business majors, you'd be foolish not to stereotype, because they're really, really similar. And if you take offense to this, realize that you've been training yourself for all your college years to fit in; to wear the right clothes, to follow the interview and networking ritual the right way. As a result, you've become similar; I'm sorry for for your loss. Why do you think "developing your own personal brand!" is such a hot topic in networking right now? It's because if you're not careful in today's collegiate customs, you start to look oddly like a commodity.
When you walk through the business/agricultural quad or the library here, you'd swear you were in one of those black and white films from the 1950s. Everybody's wearing identical black pea coats, girls are sporting Uggs and both genders cashmere scarves, and there's a blackberry in every hand, which tends to cause a number of near-collisions when more people are walking with their heads tilted toward their palms than not. But when you're sitting down for conversation in Sage Atrium or Mann library lobby, it only gets worse.
If you dreaded the veiled, light jabbering about AP scores and SAT results in high school, you're in for a treat when it comes to interviews. "How'd your interviews go? What are you going for?" usually precedes a response that goes something like: "Oh, you knew I had some? Well, not too bad, just trying to get something I want. You?" Spring after spring, the ceremonial fluff gets tiring and the hushed whispers of "How did HE get IBD at JPM? IMD at GS? But they put me on the wait list and I spoke with my friend who said that if I hit the technicals I'd be able--" makes you want to scream.
2. It's a passionless pursuit
Don't get me wrong; I know your first reaction, especially if you're a business or finance major, is to tell me that I couldn't possibly know what you're passionate about. And you'd be completely right because I'm not a mindreader, end of story. But what I am pretty sure about is that you're not making decisions based on your passions, but on monetary benefits and tangible reward.
For example, a common "problem" that arises for business majors, if they're lucky to have it, involves receiving two offers for completely different types of jobs. The huge dilemma is always that one job typically has reasonable work hours and would be at least moderately enjoyable for the offeree, while the other job either originates at a firm with a better name or features harder and longer hours for more pay. I've heard many such stories from being around my fraternity, and the outcome is always the same. Investment banking--i.e. 100 hour weeks--over a more moderate position that more closely matched the candidate's interests. But many people counter by claiming "investment banking opens so many doors!" True, but is that really why you're doing it? Or is it a justification for following the crowd and valuing money because you've lost touch with your real passions?
Read this sarcastic quotation from a popular banking website/forum for college-age or MBA-age students, Wall Street Oasis:
"I go to a target [school] for most banks and I have a killer GPA. I basically deserve an IB career. So what if I wear my diamond studded platinum rolex to an interview?
Do I even bother to keep up with the market? Of course not. I'm in college and I shouldn't be bothered with silly things like reading the Wallstreet Journal. Why does my story suck? Because its boring as shit. I'm from CT, went to a prep school and then an ivy. Why finance? Well I didn't want to be a surgeon or a lawyer, so I guess Wallstreet is the only option left."
This is the story of your typical business major, maybe minus the wealthy references (though sometimes not). Other than for a few people wiser than their years, banking's not the first step of some meticulously planned career, but something that so many of us aspire, sacrifice ourselves to do merely because it's a tough place to get to, and because we know everybody else wants to do it. If I asked you whether you'd sell yourself into slavery for the right price, you'd tell me that no amount of money would be worth it. So why are so many of us aspiring to be bankers when it's something we just don't want to do? I listened to a lecture by a VP at Goldman Sachs recently, and she couldn't stop talking about golden handcuffs. But that's a story for another day.Related Articles
3. It's just not a satisfying college experience
There's a difference between being satisfied and being busy; have you ever worked as a cashier or a waiter/waitress? The time might fly by and you might feel some type of pride at working toward a goal, but dealing with irate customers and having to bring new drinks because "this isn't diet" just won't ring out in your memory as being the time of your life. And this is exactly how I feel as a business major.
The credit I'll give to our species is that when we're not spending time in class, we're spending time at one university-affiliated organization or another. For someone like myself who detests group politics and can't stand the social requirements one needs to follow to gain popularity, it's just not an enjoyable experience and I'd almost rather go to class; that's why I attend neither (joke, sort of).
On campus, I help out as an analyst for an investment club, I help lead the business committee for the community service organization Big Red Relief, I'm a teaching assistant for finance and I'm a brother of the business fraternity I always mention (Delta Sigma Pi). And I'm not telling you this to brag; actually, I'm trying to prove the exact opposite. For all these commitments, I consider myself involved in only an average way; meaning I'm virtually forced to maintain this level of extracurricular activity just in order to stay competitive.
Many people picture college before they arrive as a time of making tons of new friends, hanging out in the nice weather and doing homework on the lawn, having free time to do whatever it is ignites a passion, and learning more about something that's inherently stimulating. As a successful business major, though, you'll find yourself rushing from one meeting to the next, spending an hour or more per day sending emails and staying up late to do work for your "voluntary" student groups while cramming for exams only the day before. It's hardly a picture perfect experience.
In the end, it comes down to your values
Looking back, I realize I was pretty harsh on my own kind. But I think it's because having been part of the whole "society" for a few years without really questioning it, I realize that it's way too easy to start taking things for granted about the way college and life should be, when it's really just one point of view that doesn't seem quite right (at least to me).
Like with every other debate, it comes down in the end to what you believe in. If money's your thing and that's what makes you happy, go for it. If money doesn't even really make you happy but you're not willing to become more self-aware or change what you're doing, then like I said; go for it. Or, a more reasonable counterpoint might be if you're the type of person who's really goal and future-oriented, rather than present-oriented. You might not place much emphasis on being happy in the instant and enjoying life moment-to-moment, but maybe you'd rather look back at the end and see what you've accomplished.
For most of my life, I've been an extreme Type A and goal-oriented person, sometimes even preferring to suffer in the moment if it was going to yield better results later. But recently, I've been taking more of a middle-of-the-road approach to life and am starting to realize all the instances where we sacrifice today in hope of a better or more profitable tomorrow. While there's more at play than just this type of thinking here, I'm pretty sure that's why I'm able to take both sides.
So take from this what you will, but no matter what you're studying, ask yourself some questions and confirm that what you're doing is right. Is being economical and practical more important to you, or is having a passion your guiding force? Choose and be aware of the decision you're making, and that's simply the best you can do.
(Continuation of my reposts -- hope you enjoy!)
