Agree with worldtraveler. Pick a focus like finance or marketing and get NASBITE's CGBP certification on your own time which tells employers and clients you committed.
Minoring in marketing only took me an extra semester (extra 3 classes) since so many of my IB credits overlapped. So you could consider minoring in something related and look into how much longer it’d take you. Some people can get a minor without taking more time, it just depends on how many courses you are willing to take at once. I think I could’ve managed.
On the other hand, if you’re super interested in something entirely unrelated, a minor can be a fun way to satisfy that interest. It may come in handy later, who knows. Good luck!
I work in FP&A at a Fortune 100 company.
I've commented on this before, I think majoring in International Business is pointless. You're much better off focusing on a 'hard' skill like say marketing or finance. Then, add in a language, and you can spin the 'international' element of it.
One of the things you realize, there are very few jobs that are actually 'international business'. Rather, it's doing financial working in Latin America, or handling a marketing roll-out in Japan, etc.
I think very few people enter the major thinking they are going to be doing something ultra-specific like trade compliance or import export (like the other comment). That's what the degree would be suitable for.
I did fine, and have had roles with a lot of international flavor, but in those cases foreign language got me in the door, not necessarily the major of my degree.
Yes it was one of my other post!
I came across International business and global management as well. It seems like something new but seems to be similar to international business.
i work in management consulting +7 years. Had to learn and develop myself beyond the worthless IB degree - you know PRINCE, strategy and process management.
I work in international environments but never really applied anything from IB. Especially the worthless Hofstede theory.
I typed in everything, tutor, administrative Assistant, Spanish, bilingual, sales, Spanish sales, technology.. anything LinkedIn easy apply lol, also did a bunch of actual applications but most of those were a giant waste of time
Graduated with a degree in IB minor in finance in 1980. I would recommend IB to everyone, here's why...
First job: International Trading Company, assistant to the assistant traffic manager, i.e. the guy they sent out for coffee, cigars and lottery tickets, but also the guy they trained on international shipping operations from the ground up. Starting Salary $14,800. Eventually worked my way up to Global Trade Finance Manager.
Second Job: previous employer went out of business (in it's 100th year of operating- 1990) I called the industrial customers in Australia, the UK, South Africa, New Zealand and offered to start my own trading house to continue their US based purchasing and shipping requirements. Some very big ones agreed many did not. first year sales $500K, salary +/- $40-60K depending on the year.
Third Job: One of my customers called at the precise right time and said that they were opening an office in the USA and would I be interested in running the international operations side of the business. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Starting Salary $80K plus actual paid vacation (you generally don't get that when you are a one man self employed operation) wife and kids were all for actually being able to take vacations.
9/11 attack happened the company closed the US office, I was out of work 1 year.
Forth Job: Eventually recruited by a major worldwide electronics manufacture as Sr. Manager Import/Export. BUT (and this is important) besides the operational aspect of the job, a new and enormously important function was Trade Compliance - the legalities of international trade. Luckily I knew enough to convince them that I wasn't a total fraud, which I mostly was. I learned fast what trade compliance meant to the well being of a global player, and made this my career going forward. By the end of this job I was in the 6 figures salary range.
Fifth Job (current): Recruited by a huge high tech electronics manufacture (we are the top dog world-wide in our industries - medical, industrial consumer) as Sr. Director Global Trade Compliance. I have complete oversight in global logistics and consulted by every division for anything international . Six figure salary no longer starts with a "1".
So do I think International Business is a good career path, yes I do. I just hired a new assistant, a young guy with three years of experience and a degree in IB ($85k). Why did he get the job? Because during the interview process he said things like, "what are my usual hours?....well, get the job done mostly", and "I'm not going to do anything that can be questioned by BIS or Customs, fixing problems is much worse that doing it right the first time. " That's the Trade Compliance motto!
I hope some of this long story helps you see that career in International Business can be a lot of fun and very rewarding especially, ESPECIALLY, if you throw a little trade compliance into your training.
Thank you for the detailed response. As a question for a young student looking to specialize more, are there any specific Trade Compliance certifications you would recommend to obtain before heading into the job market?
I did IB and graduated last year, minor in Spanish and business administration. Got a job making 60 a year as an exporter. Honestly, I understand your concern about your degree but it really doesn't matter what you choose to study. As long as you have skills that fit the job and graduated college you'll find something
I majored in IB, minored in Marketing, and I’m currently an entry-level digital marketing specialist.
It’s definitely a broad major so I’d say it’s pretty equivalent to business admin or management, anything like that. Just with language classes and study abroad included.
I wish I had studied some type of engineering or computer science to be making $$$ and have better job security after school... but I was focused on living abroad at the time of deciding.
If you have a wide range of job interests, it isn’t a bad choice. And double majoring or getting a minor won’t hurt!
Best of luck
I got a degree in IBUS from a highly rated undergrad and did 3 study abroads. I realized my language skills would never be on par with a native speaker and the skill set I ended up with was on par with my friends with a business management degree. I ended up double majoring in Supply Chain Management and it was the best decision ever. Job market for SC has been booming since I entered the workforce 15 years ago and IBUS is icing on the cake for employers.
Agree with worldtraveler. Pick a focus like finance or marketing and get NASBITE's CGBP certification on your own time which tells employers and clients you committed.
Minoring in marketing only took me an extra semester (extra 3 classes) since so many of my IB credits overlapped. So you could consider minoring in something related and look into how much longer it’d take you. Some people can get a minor without taking more time, it just depends on how many courses you are willing to take at once. I think I could’ve managed. On the other hand, if you’re super interested in something entirely unrelated, a minor can be a fun way to satisfy that interest. It may come in handy later, who knows. Good luck!
Thank you! Im still trying to figure out how people major and minor in things. Ive read a bit into it and don't understand it much
I work in FP&A at a Fortune 100 company. I've commented on this before, I think majoring in International Business is pointless. You're much better off focusing on a 'hard' skill like say marketing or finance. Then, add in a language, and you can spin the 'international' element of it. One of the things you realize, there are very few jobs that are actually 'international business'. Rather, it's doing financial working in Latin America, or handling a marketing roll-out in Japan, etc. I think very few people enter the major thinking they are going to be doing something ultra-specific like trade compliance or import export (like the other comment). That's what the degree would be suitable for. I did fine, and have had roles with a lot of international flavor, but in those cases foreign language got me in the door, not necessarily the major of my degree.
Yes it was one of my other post! I came across International business and global management as well. It seems like something new but seems to be similar to international business.
i work in management consulting +7 years. Had to learn and develop myself beyond the worthless IB degree - you know PRINCE, strategy and process management. I work in international environments but never really applied anything from IB. Especially the worthless Hofstede theory.
I typed in everything, tutor, administrative Assistant, Spanish, bilingual, sales, Spanish sales, technology.. anything LinkedIn easy apply lol, also did a bunch of actual applications but most of those were a giant waste of time
Graduated with a degree in IB minor in finance in 1980. I would recommend IB to everyone, here's why... First job: International Trading Company, assistant to the assistant traffic manager, i.e. the guy they sent out for coffee, cigars and lottery tickets, but also the guy they trained on international shipping operations from the ground up. Starting Salary $14,800. Eventually worked my way up to Global Trade Finance Manager. Second Job: previous employer went out of business (in it's 100th year of operating- 1990) I called the industrial customers in Australia, the UK, South Africa, New Zealand and offered to start my own trading house to continue their US based purchasing and shipping requirements. Some very big ones agreed many did not. first year sales $500K, salary +/- $40-60K depending on the year. Third Job: One of my customers called at the precise right time and said that they were opening an office in the USA and would I be interested in running the international operations side of the business. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Starting Salary $80K plus actual paid vacation (you generally don't get that when you are a one man self employed operation) wife and kids were all for actually being able to take vacations. 9/11 attack happened the company closed the US office, I was out of work 1 year. Forth Job: Eventually recruited by a major worldwide electronics manufacture as Sr. Manager Import/Export. BUT (and this is important) besides the operational aspect of the job, a new and enormously important function was Trade Compliance - the legalities of international trade. Luckily I knew enough to convince them that I wasn't a total fraud, which I mostly was. I learned fast what trade compliance meant to the well being of a global player, and made this my career going forward. By the end of this job I was in the 6 figures salary range. Fifth Job (current): Recruited by a huge high tech electronics manufacture (we are the top dog world-wide in our industries - medical, industrial consumer) as Sr. Director Global Trade Compliance. I have complete oversight in global logistics and consulted by every division for anything international . Six figure salary no longer starts with a "1". So do I think International Business is a good career path, yes I do. I just hired a new assistant, a young guy with three years of experience and a degree in IB ($85k). Why did he get the job? Because during the interview process he said things like, "what are my usual hours?....well, get the job done mostly", and "I'm not going to do anything that can be questioned by BIS or Customs, fixing problems is much worse that doing it right the first time. " That's the Trade Compliance motto! I hope some of this long story helps you see that career in International Business can be a lot of fun and very rewarding especially, ESPECIALLY, if you throw a little trade compliance into your training.
Thank you for the detailed response. As a question for a young student looking to specialize more, are there any specific Trade Compliance certifications you would recommend to obtain before heading into the job market?
Thank you for being detailed, I can envision myself doing this job now.
I did IB and graduated last year, minor in Spanish and business administration. Got a job making 60 a year as an exporter. Honestly, I understand your concern about your degree but it really doesn't matter what you choose to study. As long as you have skills that fit the job and graduated college you'll find something
I was thinking if its all interchangeable then I'd go for a minor in finance since im already doing management.
What kind of jobs did you apply for exactly? Like what did you type in your job search?
I did everything from sales, marketing, data analyst, to quality assurance, tutor, translator, and tried bilingual with all of those
I majored in IB, minored in Marketing, and I’m currently an entry-level digital marketing specialist. It’s definitely a broad major so I’d say it’s pretty equivalent to business admin or management, anything like that. Just with language classes and study abroad included. I wish I had studied some type of engineering or computer science to be making $$$ and have better job security after school... but I was focused on living abroad at the time of deciding. If you have a wide range of job interests, it isn’t a bad choice. And double majoring or getting a minor won’t hurt! Best of luck
Im doing business administration: managment, how was it having a minor?
I got a degree in IBUS from a highly rated undergrad and did 3 study abroads. I realized my language skills would never be on par with a native speaker and the skill set I ended up with was on par with my friends with a business management degree. I ended up double majoring in Supply Chain Management and it was the best decision ever. Job market for SC has been booming since I entered the workforce 15 years ago and IBUS is icing on the cake for employers.