Ma'am, should I take up Marketing or Finance? Which elective has better career prospects? Will I get a job in a bank if I take up finance? Is Marketing all about sales?
Many such questions I get from inquisitive minds every year who are pursuing management studies and are about to embark on the journey of their career. Many are naïve to the extent that they fail to understand that Marketing & Sales are two different fields and so is Finance & Accounting.
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To begin with, Mumbai University offers 3 electives namely Finance, Marketing and Human Resource from the third semester that is from the 2nd year of Bachelors of Management Studies program. But out of these three electives, most of the colleges offer only two electives (due to some constraints) to their students that is Marketing and Finance. Every elective offers a good career path and growth in their respective industry. Hence, it is very wrong to think that any particular specialization is superior to the other or vice versa.
Points One Should Consider Before Selecting An Elective:
Analyze your Strengths & Weaknesses to figure out your Area of Interest: This can be analyzed through self introspection. Spend a good amount of time in understanding your strengths & weaknesses. Some of the basic strengths could be creativity (out of the box thinking), analytical, adaptable, flexible, good communication skills, networking, strategic outlook, go getter attitude etc. Try to map these strengths across your area of interest in terms of work and career.
Understand the type and nature of jobs offered by every specialization: Some of the job categories that one can explore in Marketing domain are Market Research, Digital Marketing, Graphic Designing, Advertising (Copywriting & Content Creation), Public Relations, Corporate Communication, Brand Management, Business Development & Sales, Event Management etc. Please understand the nature of the job by going through their job descriptions on various search engine platforms like Google or YouTube.
Some of the job categories that one can explore in Finance domain are Stock Markets, Equity Research Analyst, Financial Analyst, Investment Banking, Portfolio Management, Wealth Advisors, Corporate Financing, Commercial Banking, Venture Capitalist etc. Please understand the nature of the job by going through their job descriptions on various search engine platforms like Google or YouTube.
Match your Area of Interest to the Jobs in every Specialization: After going through the job descriptions for the above profiles, ask yourself - "in which profile would you enjoy working the most?" You can gauge this by matching it with your area of interest. Let the choice of your specialization be NOT based on the MONETARY factor alone because JOB SATISFACTION is more important than money and money will follow once you give your best in any job. Also, most of the entry level jobs in all of these specialization offer almost similar CTC with certain terms & conditions specific to an organization.
Network with experts in that field to get insights: The best way to get industry insights on the career field of your choice is to talk to your seniors or friends & family members in that industry. Also, LinkedIn is a powerful tool to connect with industry experts from your domain.
Try to map a career path for yourself: After having an exposure to a lot of information from all the above sources, skim the information to devise a career blueprint for yourself. Seek help from your seniors, mentors, professors and industry experts if required.
Keep yourself updated with your field of specialization: Just having a degree is not the end but it is just the beginning! Keep enhancing your knowledge by attending domain specific webinars, events, guest lectures etc. Keep updating yourself with domain specific short term courses or by taking up some internship projects. Internship is the best way to get an early exposure to the field of your interest.
Here's hoping you'll make the right career choice for yourself. 😊
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