Is This a Good Decision? (College)

[rexbobcat]

So I've procrastinated to the max, and this is the last night to register for classes, so I decided to register for a Fundamentals of Marketing class. I don't necessarily plan on becoming a self-employed photographer per se. It would be nice, but I'm not going to say that it's something that's absolutely going to happen. I might work in multimedia or production in some other aspect (at least that's part of my contingency plan lol) so....

So would this be a good class to have? I don't want to get a minor in business because screw that - that's why, but I'm not sure if this would be just a good overall class to have as someone who hopes to make a good chunk of income from photography but also likes to keep his options open.

Basically I want a class that will give me some knowledge that I can use to my advantage.

This will also be counted as an elective. My major is University Studies, which is basically a degree with three areas of concentration, which have the same hour requirements as three minors....It's kind of complicated to explain (my university kind of sucks in the Liberal Arts area). In this degree I need several electives. So do y'all think this would be a good general move for my degree and career hopes? I'm just tired of taking classes that are just bull****, and in some cases taking duplicate classes because the university tells me too.

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[Raian-san]

If it's an elective..and it's something that might help you in the future then why not. Everybody should learn a thing or two about business, everything revolves around business.

[tirediron]

If you are even remotely thinking about ANY sort of business venture, especially self-employed, than yes; ANY business, marketing or entrepreneurship education will be useful.

[Kerbouchard]

You should request a new counselor or a new college. Honestly, these aren't questions you should need to ask.

But since you are forced to ask an online forum their opinion, then, IMO, you should take as many business and marketing classes as you can.

To be perfectly honest, though, I think you could have a superior education for a few dollars in late fees at the local library, but then again, we all learn differently.

[rexbobcat]

lol Okay. I just need some reassurance. It's different from any of the other classes I've taken so I was a big nervous about taking it. I don't want to waste one of my electives on something I won't need. Even if I don't make any business ventures would marketing (or at least a fundamental understanding of the basics lol) be a skill that would be useful in general?

[rexbobcat]

You should request a new counselor or a new college. Honestly, these aren't questions you should need to ask.

But since you are forced to ask an online forum their opinion, then, IMO, you should take as many business and marketing classes as you can.

To be perfectly honest, though, I think you could have a superior education for a few dollars in late fees at the local library, but then again, we all learn differently.

The counselors work around the university unfortunately. And the university is more science/engineering focused than liberal arts. But really, I'd much rather have to deal with that fact than give up the $10,000 scholarship that the university threw at me.

Who said I was being forced.
I'm just making an inquiry to get your opinion.

And late fees don't get me the paper that I have been handed $20,000 overall in scholarships to acquire. And considering that I'm going to graduate before I even turn 21, I'm pretty sure that there's not much that I could be spending my time on that could be more important. I've never heard anyone regret getting a degree at a young age, regardless of whether they learned anything.

...Except maybe Steve Jobs...but he's an outlier so I don't count him

[Jaemie]

My major is University Studies...

University Studies? God, that sounds even more useless for finding work than my derpy Psychology degree.

[charlie76]

I don't have any input on the business aspect of collegiate studies...because money is and extreme turn-off to me when it comes to art and education...but it sounds like you know what you want, which already puts you head-and-shoulders above most people in college.

But I can say for sure...that to improve your art and self...you should choose a major that will enrich your understanding and appreciation of the world around you. The University Studies degree sounds pretty useless to be honest...as said in the above post. Don't make the common mistake of choosing a useless degree and wasting a lot of time and $$$ bro. I spent a lot of time in a few colleges...I speak from experience.

When I was thinking of making photography my career years ago, a professional photojournalist advised me not to major in photography/art...but to major in anthropology or geography or something like that.

Just my $0.02...good luck to whatever you do.

[Raian-san]

The OP seems pretty cocky with all the free scholarship he's getting...But if you're going to graduate by 21 with University Studies degree...and no job after you're finished...you're going to fall behind eventually. I've known tons of people who graduated with a degree, and they found a good job with good pay, and hate what they're doing.

[rexbobcat]

The OP seems pretty cocky with all the free scholarship he's getting...But if you're going to graduate by 21 with University Studies degree...and no job after you're finished...you're going to fall behind eventually. I've known tons of people who graduated with a degree, and they found a good job with good pay, and hate what they're doing.

I was only cocky in response to the snarky response. lol College is just as much about about networking as it is about getting a degree. I'm trying to avoid becoming part of the entitlement crowd, but...if someone's going to give me free money to go to college...I'm not going to turn that down, even if I have to jump through hoops to get my degree, so simply suggesting that I look for another university is just ignoring my original question.

I should have known that this thread would devolve...

[amolitor]

A university education is a fine thing, no matter what. University isn't trade school, and honestly, nobody's likely to give a crap about your degree unless it's a Bachelor's Degree in Whatever The Job Is. If they care about the details at all, they're going to want to know what courses you took. Breadth is good, so a marketing course fills that bill nicely. People with general degrees and degrees in the fine arts often wind up associated with marketing, whether they launch their own business or go to work for Exxon.

A university degree is no longer a ticket to a free job, that's true. People are applying terrible reasoning skills to turn that in to "A college degree is useless" -- but if you think getting a job with a degree is hard, try getting one WITHOUT a degree.

You're in college to learn a variety of interesting things, to learn HOW to learn, and to hang around with other people in the same situation. It changes you, not by teaching you how to do a job, but by teaching you how to be more flexible about learning a new job, how to solve a wide range of problems (physical problems, people problems, process problems, time problems, all kinds of problems). You're don't come out equipped to do anything much directly, but you're supposed to be equipped to figure a wide range of stuff out.

Take the marketing course, it sounds like it's at worst a fair fit to the kinds of things you want to do, and at best a perfect fit.

[rlemert]

A serious question: Why are you in college?

The impression I get is that you're there for two reasons; 1) it's expected, and 2) you have a big scholarship. If that's it, then again I ask - "why are you there?"

College is not for everyone, and there are a lot of good careers that don't require a four-year degree. Most of them do require some substantial training after high school, but often a two-year program will be sufficient. I suspect photography would be one of them.

Knowing why you're in school will give you the framework you need to answer your question - about this and any other courses you might be considering in the future. And you don't have to be there because you're trying to prepare for a specific career. Maybe you just want to learn about a few interesting topics while you're young and don't have a lot of responsibilities. That's find. At least you recognize up front that what you're studying may never have any practical value so you won't be surprised when you get out of school.

Having said that, though, I would encourage you to include several "practical" courses in your curriculum. Even "starving artists" have to eat now and then, and you're going to need money to support your art. You might as well take advantage of the opportunity you have to pick up some of those practical skills you'll need just to survive.

[jwbryson1]

Marketing is considered to be one of the "easiest" business classes and degrees that a business major can take. Having said that, the people I know who majored in marketing are making more $$ than a lot of the other business majors I knew with degrees in accounting, finance and economics.

Any class where you learn something is valuable IMHO.

[rexbobcat]

Marketing is considered to be one of the "easiest" business classes and degrees that a business major can take. Having said that, the people I know who majored in marketing are making more $$ than a lot of the other business majors I knew with degrees in accounting, finance and economics.

Any class where you learn something is valuable IMHO.

Thank you. Damn, y'all, this is all I was curious about. I don't care about your philosophies on university as a whole. I said in my first post too, that I'm in college because I want to go into multimedia/journalism/photography. The money is not the reason I'm going to college. It's the reason I'm going to a specific university.

It still don't understand...I might not HAVE to go to college for what I want to do, but am I losing anything from going to college? The justification doesn't really follow the belief.

[The_Traveler]

There is a third reason for going to college and that is to actually expand your intellectual scope.
I didn't encourage my children to see college as an expensive trade school and so they chose to major in various 'knowledge' areas (and are very successful in their various careers) but what they have in common is diverse knowledge and interests outside their professions which was initiated by electives they took in colleges.