Kick-start your brilliant career with a business degree

Kick-start your brilliant career with a business degree Kick-start your brilliant career with a business degreePosted October 13, 2011, by Josie ChunFor anyone aspiring to a career in management, wishing to climb the corporate ladder or dreaming about running their own business, a business qualification is one of the best places to start. So where can business degrees take you, and which kind of business degree is most appropriate for you? Here are some things you need to consider when choosing between courses.The foundation for a successful careerArmed with a business degree, you can take your qualification anywhere and go into almost any area of business the world is your oyster.geschftliches miteinander is a broad area of study and business skills are being applied in increasingly diverse settings such as notlage-for-profit, government, health, corporate organisations and even academia, says Michael Crock, General Manager, Academic Products and Services, Open Universities Austral ia (OUA).And once you get your foot in the door, youll have a competitive edge in the workplace. A business degree can give students a competitive advantage within business compared to those who dont have one. Gaining a business qualification enables students to develop not only entrepreneurial skills but also capabilities in specific professional areas, so they can operate effectively in work and community situations with the ability to adapt and manage change in their future career, says Crock. Freelance accountant Irene Giorgiannis opportunities blossomed after she graduated from business at UTS. I would definitely recommend studying business, especially if you are still unsure of what profession you want to practise. A Bachelor of Business is not just numbers I got a taste of subjects like marketing, law and statistics as well. Big companies respect the degree and if you chose to run your own small home-based business it would assist you in that too, says Giorgianni. Profes sor Robert Brooks, Associate Dean, Undergraduate, Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University, agrees that business degrees are remarkably versatile. They provide students with essential strategy skills and a broad knowledge of disciplines that provide a framework for problem-solving in any industry.Generalist or specialist?If youre looking for maximum flexibility and the widest range of options, then a more general qualification is the way to go. General degrees cover a broad base of foundational subjects in core business disciplines (such as economics, marketing, management), with a choice of majors which students can choose later in the program. This gives you time to find your area of interest and aptitude. Starting off with a general Bachelor of Business worked well for Irene Giorgianni. I still welchesnt sure what type of work I wanted to do or what industry I wanted to be involved in. Doing a general business degree gave me more options as it would eventually all ow me to enter any industry I chose. The general business degree gave me a taste of different areas which subsequently helped me to decide. Giorgianni eventually decided on a double major in finance and accounting. If you know from the outset what industry you want to target, for example accounting or business information systems, financial planning or logistics, then a more specialised business degree can work better for you. It will provide the basic business foundations, as well as specialised knowledge for your industry. Giorgianni is happy with her specialisations in finance and accounting. I couldnt decide between finance and accounting, which were the two areas I was doing really well in. I found a level of comfort with accounting and job-wise it would provide stability as all businesses, whether large or small, public or private, need accountants but I found finance more interesting and so I did both.Choose your levelWhether you choose to study a bachelors, masters, dip loma or certificate will depend on your