Analytical Essay - What should I major in?

GE 1401 T26 – Analytical Essay   
Wong Oi Man (Student ID: 53568137) 12/10/2013

                                                                                      (650 words)                               What should I major in?          

         ‘What should I major in’ is definitely an overwhelming question that I have long thought about.  Being a student in College of Business, I need to major in either accounting, finance, economics, marketing or management.  Hardly can I be utterly resolute as each major has its own good.  Can I find the right tool that will shape me into a Goddess Venus when I graduate?

Presumably, choosing accounting, finance or economics has its virtues – graduates have the opportunity to become a professional, like an accountant or economist.  Essentially, these majors entail extensive use of advanced Mathematics in the technical theories. For example, students need to study quantitative methods and financial modelling in finance, and derivatives analysis in economics.  Because I am not particularly strong on Mathematics, it seems unlikely that I can be a top gun on those subjects, although I can manage to pass the exams.  Overall, going for a major in accounting, finance or economics doesn’t match my greatest learning potential, which is on grasping practical knowledge and human skills.  It proves that, in class activities, I can promote my ideas and motivate other people effectively – a quality material for marketing indeed.

Apart from that, at the workplace, professional staff is so often tied down with excessive workload and their work is monotonous.  Even worse, jobs on accounting are said to be very tedious, especially during the reporting period.  In review, my learning experiences indicate that I excel in interpersonal skills and communication.  It goes without saying that I am fond of handling tasks and working with different people, which is my strongest aptitude.  Being basically a sociable and outgoing person, I guess I would be easily fed up with the formal duties, such as compiling a long spreadsheet, if being engaged in professional practice.  As pursuing a professional career is not my good interest and I lack the corresponding learning potential, I am not prepared to major in accounting, finance or economics.

To juggle interest and a career, should I go for marketing or management?  Significantly, marketing generates lateral thinking and creativity to deliver value to both customers and firms.  At broader sense, this function increases GDP, creates jobs and improves our quality of life – this grand mission, plus its interesting job duties, make marketing a great job!  In contrast, management is defined as the art of getting things done through the efforts of ‘other people’ – apparently, this rationale goes against my interest, which marketing can satisfy, in handling tasks and in close contact with people directly. Furthermore, management emphasizes leadership, entrepreneurship and strategy, making it more suitable for those who are assertive and resolute, which is, nevertheless, not my strongest aptitude.  In comparison, I therefore prefer marketing to management to be my major.

How far can I go, then, in marketing?  Each year, a great number of our graduates enter the field of marketing, reflecting its abundant job supply.  Indeed, apart from good employability, a career devoted in marketing probably offers excellent prospects in the long run.  One should have noticed that a growing number of CEOs today are people with strong marketing backgrounds.  Legendary CEOs like Mary Ash and Ross Perot are role models.  CEOs like Jeffrey Immelt at General Electric and Mark Hurd at Hewlett-Packard are showing how a marketing career can lead to the pinnacle of the organization.  Perhaps, being a CEO is too challenging for I am not that ambitious!  Thus, I desire to major in marketing, to prepare me for becoming a high-calibre manager in a field of my interest, such as aviation or green business, as my goal. 
To sum up, I am not prepared to major either in accounting, finance or economics, since the study content and job nature do not fit me very well.  I will major in marketing, rather than in management, because marketing allows me to best juggle my interest, learning potential, and a good career.