Junior in High School, What To Major In?

[TTran]

Hey everyone, if you're not familiar with the term, junior means I'm in 11th grade. I discovered IM 2 months ago and have learned so much since then. Although I've only made 1 sale so far with my 3 blogger sites, IM has changed my life.

My whole perspective on life has changed. I grew up knowing I would have to find a way out of the stressful 9-5 jobs my parents are still stuck in. And I believe IM is the answer. It has changed my perspective on schooling and college and its purposes. I've basically realized no matter how smart or how high of a degree to get, you're still getting trained to work for someone else. And I'd much rather be my own boss.

Now for my main point. I have parents, and they are asian parents. For you asians out there you know what I mean. Even if I am successful in creating a decent income by the time I graduate from High School (I believe I can), I'd probably still be interested in going to college for the experience. And even if I wasn't interested, no way my parents would let me NOT go.

Anywho, I'm reaching my final years of high school now and I have to soon decide what I want to major in. However, all I can think about is internet marketing and how I can become a better IMer.

So, what I'm asking is, do you guys know of a major/degree that would complement Internet Marketing but still be useful for job opportunities independently?

Thanks in advance.

[aussietimbo]

I'd go for a Business Marketing Major, if you wanted to complement IM.

But the best thing to study is what you enjoy.

I'm study Logistics and Supply Chain Management, totally different to IM but i enjoy / naturally good at it.

Plus most business degrees have marketing and other aspects of business involved.

Good luck.

[ryansjones]

Yeah, I agree with the last poster, you will probably want to major in business, along with taking classes on web design and web marketing. Some colleges offer business practicum classes too (for example, at the college I went to, people majoring in business had the opportunity to run the coffee shop on campus as part of the entreprenuership practicum class). You will probably want to learn skills on how to build marketable websites, sales techniques, etc.

[FaJeeb]

You sound a little like me when I was in high school, and I'm only 22 now so that wasn't too long ago.

Don't be too fooled by IM, so many people out there do more than just convince others they make awesome incomes so they can sell their products, that they actually convince themselves too. Just something I've come to learn.

Theres always the degree option of majoring in Marketing, which seems to involve your current interests which is always subject to change, and two years in, it probably will change like most college students. I'm considering going Back to school for it because I'm pretty miserable in my health care career. I plan on using my success in IM to give me a slight edge on my resume for when it comes time for me to look for work in marketing, but I've heard a lot of horror stories lately that make me feel comfortable in my health care job. I currently have an associates in business, very broad degree and I didn't really learn much, but wouldn't hurt to learn the basics if you don't already. I just went for this because I was already halfway done with it while I was a senior so I took a couple more classes to finish it up and get the paper.

Also, something else I wanted to mention. 9-5 is Nothing in IM, and I know this and I'm still a newbie. "You will only have to work 2 hours a day, be your own boss!" is a selling pitch, because really, EVERYONE wants to make a lot of money at home without putting in a bunch of hours and without having to answer to someone else. I'd be willing to bet that all the people in IM who are making a decent income are putting in more than a couple hours a day. Heck, I'm a newbie, and I'm probably working a total of 12-14 hours a day, through out the day, and I'm just now starting to see money coming in and it hasn't replaced my offline income yet.

[mikeyman120]

Originally Posted by aussietimbo

I'd go for a Business Marketing Major, if you wanted to complement IM.

That's what I would say! You have the chance to learn IM in your free time and possibly go from school to self employment. Working if you want and when you want. Not too many people can say that! Freedom from work is too good of a thing to resist. Good luck.

Mike

[JohnMcCabe]

I'm going to take a slightly different tack here...

You have an interest in "Internet Marketing" right now, which is really just marketing on the Internet. So, like the others, I'll say add a marketing component to your curriculum.

You want to work for yourself, rather than take a job with someone else. So you had better have at least a little exposure to things like accounting, finance, management if you ever plan on having employees, all the basics of running a "real" business.

You'll want at least a small exposure to statistics, so you can interpret the metrics of your business and know what to do with that information.

And since you'll ultimately be dealing with people, as employees, partners and especially customers, I would include a heavy dose of practical psychology.

This next bit might sound strange, coming from a former engineer. Don't neglect the liberal arts end of your education. This, if properly chosen, will teach you critical thinking. Being well-read, with an exposure to the arts, will let you circulate in a much wider circle of people.

Notice that I didn't mention courses in web design, graphics, etc.?

These are things which can be self-taught, or used to fill elective requirements, or picked up from a community college or adult education center any time.

Summing up, once you know where you are going to school, sit down with the course catalog and design your own major/minor combination.

And don't forget to have some fun!

[Scott Ames]

Originally Posted by TTran

Now for my main point. I have parents, and they are asian parents. For you asians out there you know what I mean. Even if I am successful in creating a decent income by the time I graduate from High School (I believe I can), I'd probably still be interested in going to college for the experience. And even if I wasn't interested, no way my parents would let me NOT go.

Vietnamese?

I think any degree you get will serve you well. I would concentrate on getting your General Ed stuff out of the way then decide if you need time. If you must get a graduate degree to satisfy the family, being an attorney would serve you well all your life in business. Being a doctor is fine, but its a lot of hard work, long hours, and leaves you little time for much else. Just my opinion.

[TTran]

Originally Posted by aussietimbo

I'd go for a Business Marketing Major, if you wanted to complement IM.

But the best thing to study is what you enjoy.

I'm study Logistics and Supply Chain Management, totally different to IM but i enjoy / naturally good at it.

Plus most business degrees have marketing and other aspects of business involved.

Good luck.

I do agree on studying something I enjoy but I'm just not sure what that is

I'll look up stuff about business degrees though, thanks.

[SolomonHuey]

I was in almost exactly the same situation back in the days...

I ended up majoring in business - entrepreneurship. Some suggestions are business, accounting, law, or computer type degrees (like programming or Management Information Systems - MIS).

Solomon Huey

[TTran]

Originally Posted by ryansjones

Yeah, I agree with the last poster, you will probably want to major in business, along with taking classes on web design and web marketing. Some colleges offer business practicum classes too (for example, at the college I went to, people majoring in business had the opportunity to run the coffee shop on campus as part of the entreprenuership practicum class). You will probably want to learn skills on how to build marketable websites, sales techniques, etc.

Yeah I'll be looking into my high school curriculum to see if there are any web design classes available that I could take my senior year. In college however, I guess business would be a logical major since this whole IMing thing is a business.

But I've heard from some of my teachers that a business degree is too general? I don't know, I'll look more into it later but thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely be looking into web design "business practicum?" and elective classes like that if they're available in college

[Sumit Menon]

Yeah.. I was faced with the exact same situation. I opted for Science (to major in programming).

Now, ask me if I had a chance to go back, then I would definitely chose something marketing. Why?

1) Then I would have been doing what I love to do, even in school.
2) It would have probably helped me in IM.
3) And yeah.. I get to be the smart one. I mean, how many other kids would have so much as experience as an actual marketer.

Good Luck,
Sumit.

[Richnana]

You are a young man after my own heart. You have the right attitude after watching Mom & Dad deal with the day-to-day hassel of Corporate America. No one wants to be a "slave" to the corporate marketplace.

The best thing you can do however is go to college. College will refine your taste and open up a whole new world to you. You will be successful because you realize that going in you don't want to become a statistic. You are not looking for that first job. Just having that knowledge will put you heads and shoulders above your fellow students.

Business Communication, Business Finance, Marketing, but only so Computer Technology, Graphics, Software..Creator, Software Engineer The college experience will just smoothes you out and provides you the opportunity to make some of the best contacts for business that you will ever make.

Good for you! Keep Up the Good Work

[Traffic-Bug]

may be you can take up MBA in information systems or marketing with MIS as a subject.

[AJ Ervin]

If I'm correct in reading that you are in the 11th grade, and thus have at least one year more of high school to finish before entering college, then we're "jumping the gun" to begin suggesting possible majors for your collegiate career. If you're in the US then you are at least preparing (if you haven't already) to take the PSAT, let alone the ACT and SAT. And yes, I know that many students begin taking these tests in the 7th and 8th grade as "practice" (oh what a waste that was). The next step should probably be applying for admission to college and SCHOLARSHIPS!

Here are my very humble suggestions:

1. Determine if you would like to pursue a liberal arts degree (traditional B.S. and B.A. degrees often depending on the amount of math and science taken in undergrad), an engineering degree (B.S.E. I believe), or a business degree (B.B.A., often more "respected" than a B.S. in Business (no offense intended)). This will help as you narrow down you choices in universities. If you're positive that business is your calling then you will want to focus on programs like Wharton, the Ross School of Business (UMich), Mendoza (ND), McIntire (UVa), etc.

2. Do well on your standardized tests and apply for admission to the schools of your choice. Apply early (AUG-SEP of your senior year) because that's when I (and other programs) begin accepting interviews for incoming students.

3. Apply for scholarships! The money is there. Trust me when I say that YOU can actually get PAID to get a college degree.

4. Matriculate at the school of your choice. Experience the breadth of what the school has to offer and begin working towards a major/area of study by the first semester of your 2nd year.

5. Declare a major by the end of your second year. Now is the time to begin working on the depth of your degree.

6. If in the 1st semester of your 3rd year you hate your major, change, but attempt to remain on a 4 year schedule.

7. By this time you will start figuring things out and anything that I would suggest would be useless.

If you LOVE IM you will make time for it during college. If you don't, you won't.

Flame away...

[Andrew Maule]

I'm majoring in marketing, taking a year off though to grow the biz'z

[TTran]

Originally Posted by FaJeeb

You sound a little like me when I was in high school, and I'm only 22 now so that wasn't too long ago.

Don't be too fooled by IM, so many people out there do more than just convince others they make awesome incomes so they can sell their products, that they actually convince themselves too. Just something I've come to learn.

Theres always the degree option of majoring in Marketing, which seems to involve your current interests which is always subject to change, and two years in, it probably will change like most college students. I'm considering going Back to school for it because I'm pretty miserable in my health care career. I plan on using my success in IM to give me a slight edge on my resume for when it comes time for me to look for work in marketing, but I've heard a lot of horror stories lately that make me feel comfortable in my health care job. I currently have an associates in business, very broad degree and I didn't really learn much, but wouldn't hurt to learn the basics if you don't already. I just went for this because I was already halfway done with it while I was a senior so I took a couple more classes to finish it up and get the paper.

Also, something else I wanted to mention. 9-5 is Nothing in IM, and I know this and I'm still a newbie. "You will only have to work 2 hours a day, be your own boss!" is a selling pitch, because really, EVERYONE wants to make a lot of money at home without putting in a bunch of hours and without having to answer to someone else. I'd be willing to bet that all the people in IM who are making a decent income are putting in more than a couple hours a day. Heck, I'm a newbie, and I'm probably working a total of 12-14 hours a day, through out the day, and I'm just now starting to see money coming in and it hasn't replaced my offline income yet.

Haha yeah I get what you mean. When I was saying 9-5, I didn't mean the actual times. I just meant the whole working for someone else with no control over your income and whatnot. I sometimes do spend a lot of time researching and implementing IM and I enjoy it.

[TTran]

Originally Posted by mikeyman120

That's what I would say! You have the chance to learn IM in your free time and possibly go from school to self employment. Working if you want and when you want. Not too many people can say that! Freedom from work is too good of a thing to resist. Good luck.

Mike

Thank you for the encouragement =) I will see how it is when I'm in college and will ultimately decide if I will go straight to self employment or into corporate America

[TTran]

Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe

I'm going to take a slightly different tack here...

You have an interest in "Internet Marketing" right now, which is really just marketing on the Internet. So, like the others, I'll say add a marketing component to your curriculum.

You want to work for yourself, rather than take a job with someone else. So you had better have at least a little exposure to things like accounting, finance, management if you ever plan on having employees, all the basics of running a "real" business.

You'll want at least a small exposure to statistics, so you can interpret the metrics of your business and know what to do with that information.

And since you'll ultimately be dealing with people, as employees, partners and especially customers, I would include a heavy dose of practical psychology.

This next bit might sound strange, coming from a former engineer. Don't neglect the liberal arts end of your education. This, if properly chosen, will teach you critical thinking. Being well-read, with an exposure to the arts, will let you circulate in a much wider circle of people.

Notice that I didn't mention courses in web design, graphics, etc.?

These are things which can be self-taught, or used to fill elective requirements, or picked up from a community college or adult education center any time.

Summing up, once you know where you are going to school, sit down with the course catalog and design your own major/minor combination.

And don't forget to have some fun!

Thank you John for your unique point of view. It's not often I'm encouraged to pursue a liberal arts degree.

I agree with your point that these courses can be taken as electives or as extra classes. I will definitely have to take a look at my future school's course catalogue and decide which electives would benefit me most.

And there's no way I'll forget to have fun

[TTran]

Originally Posted by Scott Ames

Vietnamese?

I think any degree you get will serve you well. I would concentrate on getting your General Ed stuff out of the way then decide if you need time. If you must get a graduate degree to satisfy the family, being an attorney would serve you well all your life in business. Being a doctor is fine, but its a lot of hard work, long hours, and leaves you little time for much else. Just my opinion.

You are good Scott Ames, I am Vietnamese. Last name gave it away?

Anyways, I don't have much interest in pursuing the attorney or doctor career although I used to want become a lawyer. And now that I rephrase it better, I really think it would be beneficial for me to go to college, not just to satisfy my family. I was just saying that they wouldn't be very happy at all if I DIDN'T attend college.

All in all, I wouldn't want to get a certain degree just to satisfy my family. I'd rather get one that would improve my life. And I think you're right about the general ed stuff, I think the first 2 years of college are supposedly general ed courses?

[Bossman34]

I spent 6 years in college (4 on Bachelor's Degree and 2 on Master's Degree) and here's my take on college:

College is great for building certain life skills such as networking, decision making, and responsibility.

College is great if you need certain knowledge and skills to be something like an engineer, lawyer, doctor, or accountant.

What college DOES NOT do is teach you how to make money...if the professors really new how to make money most of them wouldn't be teaching. Most professors know THEORY, but don't know a darn thing about actually doing it (this is a generalization...there are certainly some who do).

I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything (those were the days...), but I learned more in my first year out of college in the "real world" than I did in 4 years in undergrad. My college education is not what is going to help me reach my goals...it's the things I have learned on my own while trying to make real money (and failing over and over again).

Go to college and have a blast! You have the rest of your life to be an adult so take advantage of your youth. Don't worry too much about what you major in as long as you enjoy the classes...it will make it so much easier to study and go to class.

Majoring in something along the lines of marketing/entrepreneur can't hurt, but I have my BS in Marketing and I can't say it has helped me much. You will probably learn more about marketing with your IM ventures than you ever will in a class room (I have).

The main thing to keep in mind is that unless you want to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer it doesn't really matter what your degree says as long as you have one.

Whatever you do have fun and best of luck!

[Dave777]

Being Asian, I'm sure you're a mathematical/physics genius of some sorts...

Something in the line of computer sciences, programming etc. etc. with a mix of the above! Besides endless opportunities in the future world, you'll be able to count and manage your 7 plus figure monthly income you'll be producing!

No pressure of course, although the way the world is going economically, Huge incomes are going to be a necessity of life...

Dave

[Branlan17]

How awesome to see another teenager here, I'm a senior in high school and started IM over the summer. Just remember, even small goals are very rewarding and they leave you with lots to grow on!

[James Clark]

This may come as a surprise to you, but if you are interested in Internet Marketing then study Theology.

[OhTanner]

dont worry about it im a senior and i have no idea what college i want to go to, or what i want to major in. im not worried about it.

[TTran]

Originally Posted by Sumit Menon

Yeah.. I was faced with the exact same situation. I opted for Science (to major in programming).

Now, ask me if I had a chance to go back, then I would definitely chose something marketing. Why?

1) Then I would have been doing what I love to do, even in school.
2) It would have probably helped me in IM.
3) And yeah.. I get to be the smart one. I mean, how many other kids would have so much as experience as an actual marketer.

Good Luck,
Sumit.

We're very similar actually. Until recently I've had my mind set on computer science/programming because I know my way around computers pretty well and my dad is in a similar field. However, I'm now leaning more towards a business/marketing degree because it interests me more.

[TTran]

Originally Posted by Richnana

You are a young man after my own heart. You have the right attitude after watching Mom & Dad deal with the day-to-day hassel of Corporate America. No one wants to be a "slave" to the corporate marketplace.

The best thing you can do however is go to college. College will refine your taste and open up a whole new world to you. You will be successful because you realize that going in you don't want to become a statistic. You are not looking for that first job. Just having that knowledge will put you heads and shoulders above your fellow students.

Business Communication, Business Finance, Marketing, but only so Computer Technology, Graphics, Software..Creator, Software Engineer The college experience will just smoothes you out and provides you the opportunity to make some of the best contacts for business that you will ever make.

Good for you! Keep Up the Good Work

I'm happy you understood what I meant. My parents are so stressed and although they're making decent money in the corporate world, they're still not in control like most of us here would wish to be.

I'm actually starting to take a look into the business major including finance and marketing. Seems like intriguing stuff.

[TTran]

Originally Posted by AJ Ervin

If I'm correct in reading that you are in the 11th grade, and thus have at least one year more of high school to finish before entering college, then we're "jumping the gun" to begin suggesting possible majors for your collegiate career. If you're in the US then you are at least preparing (if you haven't already) to take the PSAT, let alone the ACT and SAT. And yes, I know that many students begin taking these tests in the 7th and 8th grade as "practice" (oh what a waste that was). The next step should probably be applying for admission to college and SCHOLARSHIPS!

Here are my very humble suggestions:

1. Determine if you would like to pursue a liberal arts degree (traditional B.S. and B.A. degrees often depending on the amount of math and science taken in undergrad), an engineering degree (B.S.E. I believe), or a business degree (B.B.A., often more "respected" than a B.S. in Business (no offense intended)). This will help as you narrow down you choices in universities. If you're positive that business is your calling then you will want to focus on programs like Wharton, the Ross School of Business (UMich), Mendoza (ND), McIntire (UVa), etc.

2. Do well on your standardized tests and apply for admission to the schools of your choice. Apply early (AUG-SEP of your senior year) because that's when I (and other programs) begin accepting interviews for incoming students.

3. Apply for scholarships! The money is there. Trust me when I say that YOU can actually get PAID to get a college degree.

4. Matriculate at the school of your choice. Experience the breadth of what the school has to offer and begin working towards a major/area of study by the first semester of your 2nd year.

5. Declare a major by the end of your second year. Now is the time to begin working on the depth of your degree.

6. If in the 1st semester of your 3rd year you hate your major, change, but attempt to remain on a 4 year schedule.

7. By this time you will start figuring things out and anything that I would suggest would be useless.

If you LOVE IM you will make time for it during college. If you don't, you won't.

Flame away...

Thank you very much for some step-by-step suggestions to help me advance academically.

I've actually recently taken both PSAT and SAT and will be looking into some scholarship programs soon. Do you have any tips for finding scholarship programs available to juniors? I'll have to do some googling.

I'm in the southern california area and I'm not sure of the business schools available around here but I'll check that out as well.

[Christian Sawyer]

DO something that you enjoy, whether that is marketing/business or not.

DO NOT do something that you will not enjoy...you can always just major in something else and have IM support your college.

If it all works out, you will have a degree and maybe a full time business online.

-Christian

[Shannon Tani]

You don't have to just think about things like "business", "engineering" and so on. There's a whole wild world out there to study.

For example, my good friend is getting a PhD in media, culture, and communication and is doing a dissertation on status in the Web 2.0 community.

Make the most out of the college requirements. At my college, I forget the exact specifics, but everyone had to take some science/math classes, language classes, art and social studies type classes. But it wasn't just "Sociology 101". For example, I took a class on visions of the afterlife. I also took Cinema of Transgression and several that focused on representations of race, class, and gender in the media. There was another course that talked about drug culture...in a positive way!

All this just to say really make the most out of your experience. There's a lot of fun stuff out there.

Love,
Shannon

[Magic Mel]

Some schools, offer a course or degree in entrepreneur studies, this could be an excellent fit for you. Like others have said... getting your degree in business or accounting can't hurt at all.

Cheers,
Magic

[Rhett]

Personal Caveat: I've been involved in IM, and I'm wrapping up my bacherlor's.

I strongly have to echo what another poster said earlier--college will absolutely NOT teach you how to make money. Even very little technical skills, unless you are in a particular program.

No offense to anyone, but I couldn't help but groan at all the suggestions to major in business marketing. For one, a solid 95% of the material you will learn is LEFTOVERS from required psychology gen. ed. courses. I kid you not man, it is redundant and frustrating--ergo I switched from a business marketing major long ago. Additionally, it's a horrible fallback plan for the corporate sector--job placement for people with just B.A.s in Marketing is shameful. Most people are walking around with an M.A.s. Don't believe me? Check around major metropolitan areas in the US.

You want a Juggernaut-esque plan for IM domination, but a solid fall back? Double major in English and Business Psychology, with a minor/A.A. in Computer Science. Obviously, pursuing that educational path will sharpen your writing skills, give you great understanding into any customer's mindset, and the A.A. in computer science will make you highly self sufficient for anything remotely technical in regards to your online ventures.

The English and Business psychology combo will aid you in the corporate sector with international companies especially. Hell, if Computer Science doesn't float your boat, grab an a Modern Anthropology degree--it will give you greater cross cultural understanding into potential customers.

But if you decide to go for the corporate sector, I strongly suggest ponying up and getting a Masters. Nowadays, every one and their mom has a damn B.A.

Anyways, sorry to sound off like a Negative Nancy. But I wanted to give you the info I've discovered through thousands of dollars of student loans and real life experience.

[TTran]

Originally Posted by SolomonHuey

I was in almost exactly the same situation back in the days...

I ended up majoring in business - entrepreneurship. Some suggestions are business, accounting, law, or computer type degrees (like programming or Management Information Systems - MIS).

Solomon Huey

Thanks for the suggestion Solomon, I'm just wondering. How did this business major workout for you? Were you able to apply your knowledge to your IM?

Originally Posted by Sumit Menon

Yeah.. I was faced with the exact same situation. I opted for Science (to major in programming).

Now, ask me if I had a chance to go back, then I would definitely chose something marketing. Why?

1) Then I would have been doing what I love to do, even in school.
2) It would have probably helped me in IM.
3) And yeah.. I get to be the smart one. I mean, how many other kids would have so much as experience as an actual marketer.

Good Luck,
Sumit.

I'm in a very similar situation with you actually. There's a class I can take next year in high school called AP Computer Science and I'm not sure if I want to get into that or business/ business marketing etc.

Originally Posted by Richnana

You are a young man after my own heart. You have the right attitude after watching Mom & Dad deal with the day-to-day hassel of Corporate America. No one wants to be a "slave" to the corporate marketplace.

The best thing you can do however is go to college. College will refine your taste and open up a whole new world to you. You will be successful because you realize that going in you don't want to become a statistic. You are not looking for that first job. Just having that knowledge will put you heads and shoulders above your fellow students.

Business Communication, Business Finance, Marketing, but only so Computer Technology, Graphics, Software..Creator, Software Engineer The college experience will just smoothes you out and provides you the opportunity to make some of the best contacts for business that you will ever make.

Good for you! Keep Up the Good Work

Yeah, watching my parents stressing out everyday really saddens me about the traditional meaning of success. It's just not worth it working for someone else for 40+ years.

And don't worry, I DO plan on going to college, just don't know what to major in

Originally Posted by Christian Sawyer

DO something that you enjoy, whether that is marketing/business or not.

DO NOT do something that you will not enjoy...you can always just major in something else and have IM support your college.

If it all works out, you will have a degree and maybe a full time business online.

-Christian

A degree and a full time business is what I'm aiming for. Thing is, I do enjoy marketing/business. But I'll still be browsing all of the other possibilities. I have time.

Originally Posted by Magic Mel

Some schools, offer a course or degree in entrepreneur studies, this could be an excellent fit for you. Like others have said... getting your degree in business or accounting can't hurt at all.

Cheers,
Magic

Can't hurt, but how much will it help?

Originally Posted by Rhett

Personal Caveat: I've been involved in IM, and I'm wrapping up my bacherlor's.

I strongly have to echo what another poster said earlier--college will absolutely NOT teach you how to make money. Even very little technical skills, unless you are in a particular program.

No offense to anyone, but I couldn't help but groan at all the suggestions to major in business marketing. For one, a solid 95% of the material you will learn is LEFTOVERS from required psychology gen. ed. courses. I kid you not man, it is redundant and frustrating--ergo I switched from a business marketing major long ago. Additionally, it's a horrible fallback plan for the corporate sector--job placement for people with just B.A.s in Marketing is shameful. Most people are walking around with an M.A.s. Don't believe me? Check around major metropolitan areas in the US.

You want a Juggernaut-esque plan for IM domination, but a solid fall back? Double major in English and Business Psychology, with a minor/A.A. in Computer Science. Obviously, pursuing that educational path will sharpen your writing skills, give you great understanding into any customer's mindset, and the A.A. in computer science will make you highly self sufficient for anything remotely technical in regards to your online ventures.

The English and Business psychology combo will aid you in the corporate sector with international companies especially. Hell, if Computer Science doesn't float your boat, grab an a Modern Anthropology degree--it will give you greater cross cultural understanding into potential customers.

But if you decide to go for the corporate sector, I strongly suggest ponying up and getting a Masters. Nowadays, every one and their mom has a damn B.A.

Anyways, sorry to sound off like a Negative Nancy. But I wanted to give you the info I've discovered through thousands of dollars of student loans and real life experience.

That sounds like some hardcore juggernaut-esque plan for IM domination.

And if you think about it, pretty much all things we are taught are "rehashed"/"leftovers".

But yeah I hear ya, it does seem like a B.A in business is a common degree nowadays.

I'm so torn between majors and decisions it's hard to think about it.

We'll see how it goes I guess.

[BIG Mike]

I can't be much help as I majored in Partying...

[Andy Hussong]

CONGRATS!

I want you to know that I admire you for being wise enough at such a young age to realize there is more in life than going to college, getting a job, and living happily (or unhappily) ever after... although if that's what makes you or anyone else happy, more power to ya.

I have 2 teenage boys (and 2 toddlers), so I've given a lot of thought to how I'd guide them if they ever have an interest in online marketing (they have recently shown interest... yippee!!), and I'll share what I recommend for them in a minute, but for now, I'll answer your question about what to study in college by telling you what I believe helped ME the most...

I've always been a real PEOPLE person. I love meeting people, helping them with their problems, guiding them in the right direction, and learning what makes people tick... so it was only natural that I studied PSYCHOLOGY in college (I had plans to be a child psychologist).

Regardless of how interested you are in other people, the truth is that a large part of direct marketing - on or off the Internet - is all about the psychology behind what makes people tick, and how to resonate with people so they TRUST you, and ultimately buy the products/services you decide to offer.

Therefore, I'd say that you should at least take courses in psychology while in college, regardless of whether your major in it, or not.

Of course, I feel the best education for being an Internet marketer is to DO IT, and to continue to learn the finer points of what really works by some of the best marketing trainers you can find, while pinpointing only ONE or TWO proven marketers to study, implement what you learn, test & track your results, drop what doesn't work, continue using what does work, and THEN learn more stuff from more people, and repeat.

But as far as college goes, I'd recommend studying...

Psychology
Entrepreneurial classes (many offer these now)
Marketing/Business/Economics (be VERY careful not to let them brainwash you into a corporate mindset, though)
Website/Ecommerce classes
Sociology
Programming

Now, you may not be interested in all of that stuff, and by all means... the ultimate goal as an online businessperson should be to OUTSOURCE as much technical stuff as possible, but if you decide to spend time in college, anyway, you might as well focus on stuff that's applicable to what will be needed in your business, so you can get some background in vital aspects that you'll later want to outsource... so you know at least a LITTLE of what you're talking about.

Also, invest in yourself by studying personal development info from people like Brian Tracy, Anthony Robbins, Bob Procter, etc... to help keep you on a "success track".

As for what I'd teach my boys...

1) Everything mentioned above, and in last paragraph, below.
2) Teach them how to sell something on eBay, or show them how to make an affiliate sale, and then figure up how much $/hr. they made by doing that... just to show them what's possible.
3) Learn everything they can about "direct marketing", and what it's about.
4) Have them help me with my business doing little things to get their feet wet.
5) Figure out their strengths and give them specific tasks to do on a daily basis that will help them to enjoy the process more and more.
6) Help them start their OWN business, giving them one specific system to follow, while telling them to ignore all the rest.

Finally, I'll just say to always believe in yourself, never talk about what you're going to do with the average person (they will bring you down), only discuss business/success goals with like-minded people, set exciting goals, take at least ONE meaningful step towards your goals on a daily basis, and never give up!

[JohnMcCabe]

Originally Posted by David Halek

At least, that's what I'm looking at for what I'll study when I go back to school. It's a shame I've wasted all those programming, algorithms, physics, and calculus classes, though.

Speaking as a former engineer myself, I'd bet those courses weren't entirely wasted. If your experience is anything like mine, little bits of what you learned pop up at odd times to help you through a task.

Even if you don't use the exact processes every day, you did have to learn the common thread between them all.

And that is the practice of identifying a problem, analyzing it logically, coming up with a solution, testing that solution and going on from there.

It's the same process whether you need to source beams for a bridge, find the limit of a derivative or sell things to flesh and blood people...

[TMG Enterprises]

I would recommend business management and at least some accounting classes, whether you make it your major or not. Too many people jump into IM without a clue on how to operate a real business. There are an awful lot of those who end up failing and quitting because while they knew how to make money, they didn't know how to manage that money.

Tina

[ramone_johnny]

What to major in?

Question is - what for? What is your overall goal? What is the big picture?

Is it career? Is it money? Is it lifestyle?

Answer those questions first, then your decision should be easier. Start at the end and work backwards.

As a final suggestion, if you havent already read Cashflow Quadrant or Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Good luck with whatever choices you decide to make.

[Gail Sober]

Can't go wrong with readin, ritin and rithmetic. I use all three every day!

Seriously though, congrats for having your head on straight and being able to step back and look at the big picture.

My freshman son wants to be a video game developer and has for as long as I can remember while my sophmore daughter can't think past what's she's going to wear tomorrow.

You have plenty of time to choose a major, meanwhile take a good look at the aspects of internet marketing that you enjoy and I'm sure you'll find classes to compliment that path.

[TTran]

Thanks for all of the help guys, I will reply to each of your helpful comments soon.

However, I was looking at some stuff on collegeboard and I saw this major: Ecommerce

Ecommerce. Seems like an interesting degree that has everything to do with IM. But I'm afraid it might be teaching things with a corporate mindset. I'm wondering if a different business related major would be more beneficial.

Thanks for all the help everyone. I greatly appreciate it.

[sanjid112]

'Entrepreneur and other business-related' major would be great to complement IM.

This is something I can say about e-commerce degree. A standard e-commerce degree has two areas of study. The business side can include management, organization behavior, critical thinking, research and evaluation, financial analysis, and marketing. Technology courses should include business system development, project planning, operating systems, programming, databases, networks and telecommunications, the Internet and Web, and e-business.

But, e-commerce itself usually divide into 4 categories:

1. Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Business to Consumer commerce, applies to any business or organization that sells its products or services to consumers over the Internet for their own use?. In other words, it provides a direct sale between the supplier and in the individual consumer.

2. Business-to-Business (B2B)
Business-to-Business involves online transactions between businesses (Thanasankit, 2003, p.152). Examples of B2B include online companies that specialise in marketing strategies, advertising, email companies, internet consultants, website development etc.

3. Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) or Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
Consumer-to-Consumer or Peer-to-Peer is defined as exchanges between/among consumers (McGrawHill, 2002, p.xiv). These exchanges can involve a third-party involvement, which can facilitate and provide the infrastructure, place and governance for the transactions/exchanges. Perhaps the most well known example of this is the online market place, eBay.com. Here consumers can bid for and sell items of any description, for any price.

4. Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
Consumer-to-Business is when consumers present themselves as a buyer group. Example of this are CTB and SpeakOut. These sites provide consumers with market strategies and businesses also use them to gain insight into consumer wants. These groups may be economically motivated, as with demand aggregators, or socially orientated (McGrawHill, 2002, pxvi).

That probably what you get when you choose that major, e-commerce. good luck.

[Anonymous Affiliate]

Originally Posted by Bossman34

I spent 6 years in college (4 on Bachelor's Degree and 2 on Master's Degree) and here's my take on college:

College is great for building certain life skills such as networking, decision making, and responsibility.

College is great if you need certain knowledge and skills to be something like an engineer, lawyer, doctor, or accountant.

What college DOES NOT do is teach you how to make money...if the professors really new how to make money most of them wouldn't be teaching. Most professors know THEORY, but don't know a darn thing about actually doing it (this is a generalization...there are certainly some who do).

I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything (those were the days...), but I learned more in my first year out of college in the "real world" than I did in 4 years in undergrad. My college education is not what is going to help me reach my goals...it's the things I have learned on my own while trying to make real money (and failing over and over again).

Go to college and have a blast! You have the rest of your life to be an adult so take advantage of your youth. Don't worry too much about what you major in as long as you enjoy the classes...it will make it so much easier to study and go to class.

Majoring in something along the lines of marketing/entrepreneur can't hurt, but I have my BS in Marketing and I can't say it has helped me much. You will probably learn more about marketing with your IM ventures than you ever will in a class room (I have).

The main thing to keep in mind is that unless you want to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer it doesn't really matter what your degree says as long as you have one.

Whatever you do have fun and best of luck!

This is the best post in this thread in my opinion, and I can totally relate to it. 100%.

College is good to build life-lasting friendships, to party hard, to get knowledge on technical fields (engineers, doctors, etc) and all in all to have the time of your life... but it WON'T teach you how to make money or how to become successful in your professional life. In fact, most of what you'll learn will have VERY little to do with the real world out there.