Analyze These Few Crucial Questions Before Choosing a Degree Path in Business Administration

There are college degrees in areas that tout specific and channeled skills and there are degrees that seem to support a huge umbrella of occupations. Business Administration can be viewed as one of those general umbrellas.

For starters, the title “Business Administration” can be broken down into the separate meanings of the two words:

Although “Business” has several different meanings, in the world of academia, Merriam-Webster offers these explanations(1):

• a usually commercial or mercantile activity engaged in as a means of livelihood;
• a commercial or sometimes an industrial enterprise; or
• dealings or transactions especially of an economic nature.

Practically every entity must have an “Administration.” However, Merriam-Webster offers this explanation(1):

• the performance of executive duties;
• the act or process of administering something;
• the execution of public affairs as distinguished from policy-making;
• a body of persons who administer; and/or,
• the term of office of an administrative officer or body.

Ironically, the term “administer” can be used in a paradigm as simple and common as “administering” medications, yet it extends to the highest office in the land: the Presidency of the United States.

Put the two words together, and you have a comprehensive area of study that teaches skills in the planning, analysis, art, and science areas of almost any sort of business.

The Strength and Potential Caveats of the Business Administration Degree

As aforementioned, coursework in Business Administration is intense because there is basically a very broad spectrum of skills being taught to bring together business planning, analysis skills, art and imagination, and science all in one degree.

Furthermore, Bachelor degrees in Business Administration are a common choice for those individuals who are on the path to a graduate degree such as law or medical school. From the definition, it is obvious that we administer “business” in our own households, yet it is as prolific as (leadership positions in government).

Hence, if you answer “Yes” to any of these questions, it is likely that the Business Administration degree may be calling your name:

• Is your ultimate objective a graduate degree such as law school or medical school and need a strong foundation for undergraduate studies?
• Are you slightly unsure of my specific career choice and hope to have a degree that boasts a broad umbrella of occupations?
• Are you determinedly seeking a degree to use in your own entrepreneurship (in other words, you plan to own your own business)?
• Are you targeting a specific business: perhaps banking, insurance, sales, retail management, industrial management, or the like?

The Caveats of the Business Administration Degree to Keep in Mind

As usual, there are two sides to everything. Examine these potential pitfalls:

• For the most part, the Business Administration degree is a highly sought after degree, but therein lies the pitfall of it possibly being seen by potential employers as being too “common” and not specialized enough.
• Ask yourself if the degree is specialized enough for YOU in the line of work you are seeking.
• The coursework itself is comprehensive, intense, and demands high focus in areas of human resources, psychology, economics, accounting and organizational management. If these words make you cringe, perhaps re-think your field of study.

Ultimately

The Business Administration is nevertheless a highly sought after degree and generally produces high employment-after-graduation numbers. Nevertheless, rumination of the pros and cons of this field of study are definitely prudent.