What is the Best Business Degree to Obtain?

What types of jobs can one obtain with a degree in Business Administration (bachelor's or MBA)?

• How does the salary and workload compare to that of an individual with an Accounting degree? I am trying to weigh the benefits of going for a Business Administration degree vs an Accounting degree. I am interested in both, but am curious to see the types of jobs and salary one can expect from a Business degree. Can someone with knowledge specifically in this area comment on this and talk about a Business Admin vs Accounting and the pros/cons to each? Anything will help.

• Answer:

  There are quite a few benefits that those who decide to go into accounting can realize, relative to the broader business administration profession.  Consider the following: Take a look at BusinessWeek's "Best Places to Launch a Career".  In 2009 the top four spots belonged to the big four accounting firms.  (Compensation information can also be found there). When recruiting out of undergrad with limited experience, it helps to be able to explain the value that you can bring very specifically.  Explaining what value you can add with an accounting degree often times a much clearer story for those who are interviewing you versus trying to explain how you plan to add value through your general understanding of business as a whole.  The company knows where they can position you to contribute right away. With a CPA (for which most states require significant accounting education), you give yourself a recognizable designation that will differentiate your skillset, and will put you in a good position to participate in a relatively stable profession. Accounting is considered the “language of business”.  With a solid foundation in accounting, broadening your career to other facets of business can be relatively easy (and can be assisted through an MBA).  Moving in the other direction (from a broad understanding to a deep knowledge in one area) tends to be less common in the business world. However, there are some trade-offs to consider if going the accounting path: Many careers in accounting require long hours.  Studying accounting requires some long hours.  And many of those long hours will be spent with other accountants, discussing accounting.  Accordingly, you should probably love accounting, or at least parts of it, in order to position yourself for success in the profession. Once an accountant, always an accountant.  Accounting has never been considered a particularly sexy profession, so it can take some effort to change notions of recruiters if you are going through a career switch to a dramatically different job. Historically, accounting has been a relatively narrow field to work in.  The diversity of accounting roles from company to company is unlikely to be particularly high.  Marketing and management are often on the other end of this spectrum. In making the decision, I would invite you to consider these trade-offs.  If you find yourself inclined to tackle accounting, then start talking to a few people in the industry to find out more (I would encourage doing this anyway, actually).  If you find yourself leaning away from accounting, investigate a few other professions in the world of business administration until you find one more suited to your taste.