Considering all business majors start out with the same core courses, things start out as a bit of a routine. You start to recognize who’s in which major as your classes begin to get smaller. It’s a community within the campus and everyone has to stick together to get through the tough courses.
1. You know economics is important, but you just can’t seem to fully grasp micro and macro.
This is a common issue. If you’ve taken economics at all, you know how complex these graphs can be and you know that for some reason no matter how hard you study there’s always at least that one concept that you just can’t seem to grasp.
2. Your dorm closet is at least half-full of business attire.
Khaki pants, button-down shirts, business suits. Anything from business casual to business formal you know that if you’re a business major it’s in your closet no doubt. You never know when a presentation or a job fair will pop up, so you always need to be prepared to dress for success.
3. You make friends in your classes to complain about exams with.
It’s a rough major and we all know it. Sure, everyone in the sciences always says that they want to switch to business because it’s easier, but we can all tell you that business is hard in its own ways. There’s calculus, statistics, economics, accounting, and so many more classes that consist of difficult concepts and make you question your choice of major. It always feels better to have a few people in your class to turn to after the exam and be reassured when they have the same post-exam expression on their face as you do.
4. You dread the phrase “group project.”
Sure, group projects can be fine. But once you get to college, your group will typically consist of three different types of people. The first being the ones that do all the work, the second being the ones that pretend to do work but really just sit on their phone going through Tinder the whole time, and the third being the ones who just never show up to a single group meeting.
Then the day of the presentation will roll around and someone will forget something important during the actual presentation or something else will go wrong, and all you’ll be able to think about is how you wish you could have done it yourself. Or, on the other hand, there are the few group projects that actually do go as planned and you’re glad you didn’t have to do it all on your own.
5. The idea of a cumulative final makes you want to go hide in a corner of the library for a month.
The fact that most business finals are cumulative is practically evil. There’s so much that goes into one business course that it’s almost impossible to study everything for a week and then go to take a 50-60 question exam that doesn’t even cover half of what you studied. It’s so easy to get such similar terms and concepts confused that cumulative finals just shouldn’t be a thing for business majors. But, unfortunately, they are, so you’ll see all the business majors huddled in groups in the library every exam week.
6. It physically pains you when someone says they want to switch their major to business “because it’s easy.”
First of all, you’re wrong. Second of all, you’re seriously wrong. Third of all, just no. Business is at the center of all other majors whether anyone wants to admit that or not. The world functions around the way that business works. Within the economy lies markets in which people sell their goods and services, which is what every other industry makes up. Therefore, business gets to be extremely complex. Whether it’s accounting with professional standards that must be followed, or marketing with certain concepts for production and distribution, business is much more than just sitting at a desk. Business goes beyond just simple memorization, it goes into deep understanding of concepts and formulas as well as certain software that is considered to be an industry norm.
7. You’re seriously competitive.
Whether it’s a class project, a job fair, an exam grade, or a leadership role, you’re after it no doubt. The thing about business is that you always have to find a way to have a leg up over your competitor, so all of the business majors are consistently thinking of how they can advance their careers before they even begin.
8. You tend to be a leader.
Most business majors tend to be natural-born leaders whether they realize it or not. Although it may take a while for a leadership opportunity to appear, when it does, business majors are ready.
If you felt that some or all of these statements applied to you and you haven’t declared a major yet, maybe you should seriously consider a major in the business field. To incoming freshmen, I know this all may sound scary with how difficult the courses can be, but I promise you it is such a rewarding opportunity. To those of us pushing through with our declared business majors, best of luck to all of you. Maybe I’ll see you on Wall Street someday.