Business at UNI

[adamaw11]

Sorry to put such a work-related topic in the pub, but this is supposedly a catch-all area for topics that don't fit into another section.

I'm thinking of going back to UNI and studying business in some form. (perhaps leaning towards self-employment / electronic business or something)

So I just want to know if any INTPs here have done any sort of business degree at college or anything and how bearable or unbearable it was.
I used to think anything on this sort of a business-related topic would be a complete turn-off for me, but over the last year or so, I've been thinking I might actually find it a tad interesting to learn about, and there's a few things I like about the idea of being self-employed, or starting up a business.

So any input? does anyone think studying business would be terribly unsatisfying for an INTP?

[athman]

I stumbled across this forum 3 days ago and yr question has prompted me to join in. I did a business degree in 1984 (yes, I am old). I couldn't think of anything else to study at the time, and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
It turned out to be a good choice. I have changed jobs on a regular 2-3 year cycle ever since and generally had fun with it. It has been a good entry ticket and has helped me to flip between the corporate world and self employment.
Some specilsied degrees like, I dunno maybe dentistry, set you down a path that is difficult to modify later on. Business usually has a lot of electives and is one of these areas where with the right entry ticket you can change tack and/or upgrade with further study later on. Other qualifications that spring to mind with the same chracteristics are engineering, psychology or nursing.

[adamaw11]

Cool,
thanks for the info Athman, thats just the sort of thing I needed to hear.

I had initially been persuing an IT career, and got though uni ok, and managed to get a job with a bit of programming and a bit of support work, been doing this for about a year and a half now, but now thinking I'd be getting pretty fed up with IT work (being employed) in the near future.

Changing jobs every 2-3 years sounds like a really good thing to do if you can manage it - and mixing in a bit of self employment must be good too.

So you're saying doing the business degree made this regular job switching easier to do?

And did you find actually doing the degree wasn't too much of a drag? I just can't quite imagine what most of the studying would be, lots of written assignments? orals? bits of accounting? marketing / advertising related stuff? I guess I should just find some course information from a uni website.

[athman]

I found 3/4 of it interesting and 1/4 of it a drag, but it was enough to keep me going over the whole course. Some of the assessment is team based but I found it bearable - your should try to explore which subjects will be structured this way.
I really liked the strategy subjects (business strategy and marketing strategy) INTP's are good at that, and market research & consumer behavior because it’s about how people think and respond to things. Statistics was difficult because I'm not great at maths, and accounting was dull, because accounting is just that - dull. Most larger uni's will have lots of streams and electives. I majored in marketing but there are many combinations like commerce/IT, commerce/law, accounting, etc so you can put together a mix that most interests you. You may be able to get status credits for a commerce/IT degree, that would shorten the journey for you.
Come to think of it, if you have already been through uni you could do postgraduate studies instead of another bachelor's degree. Most of them are structured in tiers e.g. you do four subjects and you qualify for a graduate certificate, another four and you qualify for a graduate diploma and another four and you get a masters degree. That way you can pull out early, if need be, and still walk away with a qualification.
If you can hang in there to complete a degree it gives you the opportunity to get in the door of larger companies, then you can pick their brains for a while and start building a good base to work from.
When I finished I set up a small consultancy with another classmate and dabbled in advertising. We were a bit young but made enough income to survive for a year. Then I got into IBM as a graduate recruit. That led to more training and three different roles in three different cities in six years. After combining the degree with the experience base I went back out on my own into consulting and have never looked back. I have done further studies since then but it just depends how far you want to take it.

[SheepDog]

I have a business degree in Finance. My first job used it (mostly accounting), and within a year I had already drifted toward something else. In my case, that was IT. I've been doing IT since.

The problem, as I see it, is the envionment. My degree and experience have somehow kept me in financial companies, which are Guardian central. I don't mind what I do so much as having to deal with the management in these organizations.