What concentration within business will be the best for finding the best-paying job?
Asked by Renee
I am currently at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University and am trying to pick a concentration. We have: Organization and Management: Information Systems and Operations Management: Marketing: Finance: Communication: Accounting. I need to pick a concentration that has good job security and will be high-paying. Does anyone know what would be the best option for me? I don't want to do finance or accounting, but I will if I have to! Thank you very, very much!! However, job-security is extremely important! I need to be able to find a job next year :)

Best Answer:
You could be a lecturer. Only kidding, every concentration within business has its merits, it's not just about picking the right one. You have to have a certain mind to be good at each one - and trust me, being good at something is far better than simply having a qualification in it. You seem to rate having money higher than anything else, but would also like job security. You did not mention actually being able to enjoy your job, so I'm going to have to give it to your straight; it's accounting and finance I'm afraid. We're going have to count job security out because of the economic climate, but in terms of POTENTIAL to earn the most, working with investments and money is the better option. I need to stress what I said earlier. You must be able to enjoy what you do and be good at it, otherwise it's pointless. If you are a great operations manager will earn more (most of the time) than a bad accountant. It's not black and white. I suggest you have a good think about what you are actually best at. I was in a similar situation to you and I decided my hatred of finance was going to stop me from ever getting far in that field, so I didn't pursue it further in my degree. I have a scientific mind and I am very logical, so I took more modules in information systems and operations. I am now in a graduate job (project management on civil engineering projects) which was extremely competitive to get into earning more than a lot of graduate accountants. You see, I picked something I was actually good at. I also suggest you reassess what you want out of a job. It's not all about money, but if that is definitely what you want above all else, I would really try to work hard at the finance. Get some economics under your belt and get good at the numbers. If this really isn't your thing then look at marketing - there is good money in this too. However, the labour market in advertising and marketing is oversaturated and you need a lot of experience to get anyway. I hope this helps you.