Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg. What do all these names have in common? Well, as you probably already know, they all made a ton of money, and none of them have college degrees.
Seeing success stories of people like this has led many aspiring entrepreneurs to question whether or not college is even necessary for them. After all, if you’re going to be working for yourself, then what difference does having a degree make?
But the truth is, for every successful entrepreneur who didn’t graduate from college, you could name one that did. Ultimately, the decision is up to you. But college does have benefits beyond just having something to put on your resume. And it’s always nice to have a backup plan in case you wind up being a wantrepreneur instead of an entrepreneur.
That being said, the following are the best majors for entrepreneurs looking to learn their way to the top.
Related: 5 Must-Have Tools for Your College Startup
Business
Otherwise known as what you major in when you’re not entirely sure what you want to do, Business is a solid choice for those who want the freedom to move from niche to niche. Business management and business administration are also nice major for entrepreneurs because the classes you’re required to take will actually teach you things that you can apply to your own business.
A business degree gives you a pretty good overview of how businesses operate and function. Because in order to be great in business, you need a mix of real-world experience and technical knowledge. College is a good way of get the “book learning” portion done.
Marketing
No matter what type of business you plan on starting, it will fail without marketing. The whole bootstrap marketing and growth hack movement is great, but it’s also important to know how to accurately measure the success of a marketing campaign and understand ROI and customer acquisition cost. That’s where majoring in marketing can be helpful.
Some people believe that it’s not a wise decision to major in just marketing, suggesting a double major with something like economics instead. That’s a nice option, but a marketing degree combined with creativity and experience can get you pretty far if your entrepreneurial dream doesn’t work out.
Communications
As an entrepreneur, a big part of your duties will be communicating a message to other people. Whether it’s pitching your idea to potential investors in the Shark Tank, delegating responsibilities to your employees, or creating ads and marketing material to promote your products, you have to know how to effectively communicate. The duo behind Rolodoc found out the importance of communications when they gave what Mark Cuban referred to as the worst pitch in Shark Tank history.
Communications majors learn how to speak in public, create web-friendly content, draft proposals, and other important documents that will help you get a message across. As an entrepreneur, you’ll have to give tons of presentations, and the only way to become a really great presenter is to practice. And you’ll get plenty of practice in college.
Communications also happens to be one of the top 10 most popular majors, according to The Princeton Review.
Accounting or Finance
You plan on hiring an accountant to handle all your finances, so you don’t need to know anything about accounting or business finance, right? Some of you are laughing at the thought, but unfortunately there are a lot of entrepreneurs out there who have absolutely no money management skills. As a result, they end up going bankrupt — fast.
Not understanding where your money is going is also a big reason why entertainers and athletes go broke after making millions of dollars. I’m sure you don’t want to end up like Mike Tyson or M.C. Hammer.
Managing the finances of a business is different than just checking your personal checking account online every day. As an accounting or finance major, you’ll learn about different financial reports that are important to the health and growth of your business. As an entrepreneur, you absolutely need to know this stuff or you’ll be dealing with the IRS on a regular basis.
Computer Science
Sorry to disappoint you, but the chances of making the next pet rock are slim to none. The world has gone digital, and as a result, many of the companies seeing tremendous success right now are in the tech industry. Majoring in computer science will help give you some of the technical skills required to create the digital products and services that solve the needs of our technology-driven society.
Even if you’re not necessarily going to be creating software, businesses still rely on technology to function. Whether it’s developing your own online store or setting up an intranet for your company in your parents’ garage, a little technical knowledge goes a long way. Combined with a minor in marketing, you can learn ways to properly market your products online.
And if your solo ventures don’t pan out, you can always use your skills to land a six-figure programming gig. This in-demand fallback makes computer science one of the best majors for entrepreneurs who are looking to start the next big thing online.
If All Else Fails
You could always major in something that you’re just generally interested in, or something directly related to the business you plan on starting. For example, if you want to start a gym, then major in something health related, such as nutrition. If you plan on opening your own restaurant, major in culinary arts or hospitality.
Knowing more about your industry will give you an advantage against your competitors, and give you better insight when making business decisions.
While you technically don’t need a college degree to be an entrepreneur, it can help. At the very least, go to community college and get a two-year degree to have something to fall back on in case your dreams of being the next Mark Zuckerberg don’t pan out. There’s nothing wrong with having a back-up plan.
Image: Dell Inc.
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