specialized v. abstract majors in college

L

lg88

New member
Joined
Jun 18, 2026
Messages
0
Reaction score
0
Just recently I watched some CEO give a speech on television..one of the statements he made was that if he had the choice between choosing either a business major or a philosophy major for a job he'd go with the philosophy major. He said that all business majors are taught like what to think in general and tend to go in with the same type of ideas and mindset as opposed to philosophy majors who are thought of as those who think outside the box. Just wanted to hear the thoughts of you guys, especially the professionals. Isn't it a fallacy to think that a rather abstract and broad major wouldn't offer the same opportunities as one which is specialized? What does the business world think of those history, poli sci, econ, philosophy majors?
 
Econ majors are good for business.

History, Poli Sci, Philosophy, Music, etc are a joke. Just my opinion.
 
Feel free to ponder the later works of Sartre as you make my Chalupa on your way to Taco Bell Manager.
 
lg - It is very unlikely that the CEO participates in the hiring of entry level workers from college. Probably at this point in his career he needs more of the thinking skills developed in a philosophy class - creating a vision, leading, understanding what motivates people. In the beginning of a career (after college), success depends more on what skills you have and what you can actually produce.

My experience has been that the business majors usually landed great jobs right after college because they had concrete skills to offer. Me and my fellow liberal arts grads struggled a bit more. That CEO might have hired a philosophy major, but his human resources recruiters were way more interested on whether I had taken an accounting or finance course in undergrad.

Thinking outside of the box is grand if you are a CEO, but imagine how difficult it would be managing a team of first year associates who wanted to redefine the wheel every 5 minutes.

I had a wacky major in college, and 5 years out no one really cares. Of course, I went back to get an MBA to have the skills to transition into finance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at Friday, September 8, 2006 at 12:04PM by Onegin.
 
Serious advice though - get a liberal arts degree in something useful (Econ, Math, ect). That way, you'll get the technical skills you need, but you'll also know (hopefully) how to write well, how to have a perspective, and how to think critically. I looked at engineering programs for undergrad, and it was literally 4 years of math classes. You need to broaden yourself a bit, but don't go majoring in Greek literature and think everything will be fine.
 
This is kind of like the "money won't make you happy" comment. True. But being broke can sure make you unhappy.

Once you make CEO it is easy to say "I should have studied Greek-Roman Epic instead of that lousy finance degree." This is much easier to say if you are not the starving guy with a lit degree stocking aisle 6.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top