marketing major..the "fail" major? (2 Viewers)

[xxJTxx]

hi all,

just asking any one out there who is currently at uni or finished uni what they think of a marketing major?

i'm having some trouble deciding on my commerce major..marketing OR finance. yes..two entirely different fields..but two things i'm pretty keen on. i'm combined with law, and unfortunately, can only do one of the two majors.

i like marketing - it's probably the only unit out of the cores that I did that I actually enjoyed and was able to get great marks in because of enjoyment of the content and not because I had to gruelling memorise notes/practice papers etc. However..even though I enjoy it I fear the ever ringing words of my peers "what a waste of a commerce degree". I don't know how much truth there is to that..and even though I know I want to work in the law side when I graduate..i still would like a decent fall back if I can't find a law internship/grad job. i've heard marketing has a stigma of being the easy major..and is "common sense" anyway..the ease of the units can't be denied, however, I don't quite understand this "common sense" thing. what i'm trying to get at is does marketing present opportunities or can those opportunities be had without the major?

finance - i don't imagine i would actually enjoy the units. i'd do them, and probably get passes and credits (as opposed to the d's and hd's that can be had in marketing). my sister is a finance major and had internship offers popping out of her ass..there were just so many out there that she could apply and interview for...is this the case for marketing? or are they non-existent?

there's the things we like..and then there's the things that will get us a job.

any feedback/comments would be appreciated!

p.s. i've read that pdf about the marketing major..really did not find it all that informative..

 

[Monstar]

Its not really fail perse...

It will be fail if you are just the average student.. i really think you need liek straight d/hds with mad extra curriculars to be competitive. Credit avg wont cut it here.. whereas when you look at accounting a credit average is very acceptable ..

 

[RDX]

Yes, marketing is very simple/common sense. But it really depends, are you a writing type person or mathsy person.

 

[danal353]

hi all,

just asking any one out there who is currently at uni or finished uni what they think of a marketing major?

i'm having some trouble deciding on my commerce major..marketing OR finance. yes..two entirely different fields..but two things i'm pretty keen on. i'm combined with law, and unfortunately, can only do one of the two majors.

i like marketing - it's probably the only unit out of the cores that I did that I actually enjoyed and was able to get great marks in because of enjoyment of the content and not because I had to gruelling memorise notes/practice papers etc. However..even though I enjoy it I fear the ever ringing words of my peers "what a waste of a commerce degree". I don't know how much truth there is to that..and even though I know I want to work in the law side when I graduate..i still would like a decent fall back if I can't find a law internship/grad job. i've heard marketing has a stigma of being the easy major..and is "common sense" anyway..the ease of the units can't be denied, however, I don't quite understand this "common sense" thing. what i'm trying to get at is does marketing present opportunities or can those opportunities be had without the major?

finance - i don't imagine i would actually enjoy the units. i'd do them, and probably get passes and credits (as opposed to the d's and hd's that can be had in marketing). my sister is a finance major and had internship offers popping out of her ass..there were just so many out there that she could apply and interview for...is this the case for marketing? or are they non-existent?

there's the things we like..and then there's the things that will get us a job.

any feedback/comments would be appreciated!

p.s. i've read that pdf about the marketing major..really did not find it all that informative..

omg you're like me. I'm doing economics combined with law and initially picked marketing electives. But then decided against it today and changed to units under finance...

edit: was told that it was hard to find a job with marketing - also there's a lot of group research, which could potentially go bad...

 

[Bananaberry]

As someone who works in marketing and holds a marketing degree, I don't think marketing is a "fail" degree.
Marketing is a very exciting and interesting industry to work in. There is much more to it than just common sense. If you are not creative and strategically analytical then you wont survive. Its hard to find a job because its extremely competitive. There is more emphasis placed on experience rather than actual studies. I did internships through my uni degree (as the uni had an internship program), and I had no problem finding a job when I graduated. I'm now a marketing manager and in my 2nd job after graduating.

There is more to marketing than just coming up with pretty posters and catchy slogans and jingles which what a lot of people generalise marketing to be about. its a lot about looking at the psychology of consumers, analysing demographics and markets and thinking strategically to put marketing programs in place.
Marketing involves economics, psychology, advertising, PR, statistics and HR.

It is not a "fail" degree. Its just very different to things like accounting and finance which are objective, and marketing is subjective.
No business can survive without marketing, so there is plenty of job opportunities.

 

[meilz92]

As someone who works in marketing and holds a marketing degree, I don't think marketing is a "fail" degree.
Marketing is a very exciting and interesting industry to work in. There is much more to it than just common sense. If you are not creative and strategically analytical then you wont survive. Its hard to find a job because its extremely competitive. There is more emphasis placed on experience rather than actual studies. I did internships through my uni degree (as the uni had an internship program), and I had no problem finding a job when I graduated. I'm now a marketing manager and in my 2nd job after graduating.

There is more to marketing than just coming up with pretty posters and catchy slogans and jingles which what a lot of people generalise marketing to be about. its a lot about looking at the psychology of consumers, analysing demographics and markets and thinking strategically to put marketing programs in place.
Marketing involves economics, psychology, advertising, PR, statistics and HR.

It is not a "fail" degree. Its just very different to things like accounting and finance which are objective, and marketing is subjective.
No business can survive without marketing, so there is plenty of job opportunities.

what job positions are available to B commerce (marketing) graduates? and HR graduates, if you happen to know
and is it true that your grades have to be a D average to be able to find good work? :S

 

[Bananaberry]

what job positions are available to B commerce (marketing) graduates? and HR graduates, if you happen to know

Do you mean specific jobs? Just look on seek..there are HEAPS in Sydney.

-Marketing assistant
-marketing coordinators
-marketing manager
-assistant brand managers
-brand managers
-advertising manager
-sales managers/executives
-merchandisers
-PR
-E-marketing
-International marketing
-B2B marketing
-market research
-social media/marketing
-product development/design
-retail design/management
-marketing communications and promotions

And all the different levels under these

Im not entirely sure about HR. All I know as part of my job I do a lot of HR stuff (internal marketing) like designing programs to boost employee morale, writing and placing job ads, some training, writing internal newsletter etc. Thats just my job though, I do a bit of multi-tasking.

Well I graduated with a credit average.

 

[meilz92]

credit average... its attainable (i hope). so you said you're a marketing manager... did you get that job as soon as you graduated or did you have to work your way up?

 

[Bananaberry]

Although the higher your marks the better your chances, but that goes the same with all degrees.
I started off as a marketing assistant, which is the general entry level position most marketing graduates get into (that or a coordinator) I was in that job for a year and a half and I quit and got the job i have now

 

[meilz92]

sounds reasonable lol. i hope its not a brutal, vicious, competitive industry otherwise i will probably sink rather than swim :|

 

[Lou283]

I think the other thing to keep in mind as well is just because you have a marketing degree doesn't mean you will stay in traditional marketing. Once you have your 'assistant' and 'coordinator' roles under your belt you can also move sideways into areas like sponsorship, sales executive, advertising, business development roles and also are more exposed to positions like general manager and executive jobs within companies, ofcourse dependant on the structure of the company.

I am by no means saying the same flexibility isn't there in degrees like finance or HR, my point is I don't see it as a 'fail' major because it has the potential to lead onto so many different things further down the line.

Marketing shows you how to analyse the market and not only find out what consumers want but also how to put an effective plan in place to ensure that you are able to deliver it to them. At the end of the day, your job can have a huge impact on the companies profitability.

 

[meilz92]

thats right. marketing is the revenue generating activities of any business. *snaps fingers*

 

[Studentleader]

Commerce is a fail degree so every major is fail

 

[Omnidragon]

The only fail component of your course is law. God I wasted a year getting that extra degree... thank god I fast tracked.

 

[Lou283]

At the end of the day if Law is where you want to go then just choose which one you enjoy most. Or you can do what I am doing, I want to do marketing BUT I am hoping to do also do economics as a second major. So what I have done is chosen my official major as marketing but have taken all the economics 1st yr required subjects too, that way if I enjoy it I can continue and do two majors.

For you, why don't you take the 1st year required units for both marketing and finance and then just continue in second year with the one you enjoyed the most. The other units you did then just count towards electives. That obviously depends however on the law units you intended to take in 1st year but you get the point.

 

[Lou283]

Commerce is a fail degree so every major is fail

Although I am sure everyone thanks you for your honesty, do you mind explaining why you think commerce is a fail degree? Do you propose the business world be uneducated or all take maths?

 

[Bananaberry]

I'd like to know too, why you think commerce degrees = fail?

 

[Vagabond]

I'd like to know too, why you think commerce degrees = fail?

My impression is that Studentleader is displaying his arrogance (or perhaps frustration?) on the count that he is studying a Bachelor of Computer and Mathematical Sciences (Pure Mathematics).

I'd just point out that so far my 'fail' three-year commerce degree has allowed me to:
* Enjoy flexible working arrangements due to minimal contact hours (3hrs/course)
* Get a career-oriented undergraduate job such that I'm finishing my degree not only with zero debt but with a nice profit and a meaty CV
* Land a competitive graduate job that other candidates generally study 5 years for


On this basis and whilst presumably he feels he is destined to greater things I would simply disregard his opinion alltogether. A plain commerce degree is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

 

[dvse]

I'd like to know too, why you think commerce degrees = fail?

Unless it's from a top 10 MBA program it's pretty unlikely you will learn much that is worthwhile. You get neither technical depth nor holistic understanding of business. There are very few difficult concepts in the course and they are infrequently understood.

 

[Bananaberry]

Unless it's from a top 10 MBA program it's pretty unlikely you will learn much that is worthwhile. You get neither technical depth nor holistic understanding of business. There are very few difficult concepts in the course and they are frequently understood.

I disagree. As I mentioned, I did a Commerce degree and all it did me was good. Not only did a gain a wealth of knowledge in my major, but I also know much about and work in other fields of business. I did practical work as well as theory which allowed me grasp the concepts from both angles.

Please explain