5 Reasons to Major in International Business

Reasons to Major in International Business

A Competitive Edge in the Job Market
The Chance to Travel the World
More Career Options
A Big-Picture View of the Business World
Specific and General Business Skills

If you’re still exploring business school options, you might wonder if studying global business will give you an advantage over pursuing a general business degree. Here are five benefits of an international business education.

1. A Competitive Edge in the Job Market

It’s a small world, and with ever-evolving technology, it’s only getting smaller. Today, the economy is truly global. As businesses handle more international transactions and acquisitions than ever, employers are increasingly looking for workers with the skills to oversee these deals. Whether you pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree, whether you major in international business or pursue a global management concentration within a general business program, you’ll be glad to have international business on your degree – and your résumé.

2. The Chance to Travel the World (For Free)

Have you always dreamed of traveling the world? In the field of international business, you’ll have this opportunity frequently – and you won’t even have to come up with the money for airfare and lodgings yourself. Exploring new lands, soaking up new cultures, meeting new people and tasting new cuisine will all be part of your job.

Sound good? Well, earning your degree in international business is the perfect place to start.

3. More Career Options

Where do international business majors find work? You might be surprised. Opportunities for business professionals with an international educational background are plentiful in private, non-profit and public sectors, according to the International Business Center at Michigan State University.

You might find work as a cultural adviser with a business or organization. You might even find work with a government agency as a community developer or diplomatic associate. Most students of international business do work in the business world, handling responsibilities that involve global development and operations or international trade. However, some use their international business education as a foundation for a law school degree, according to Saint Louis University.

4. A Big-Picture View of the Business World

International business is business on a large – literally, a global – scale. Studying international business will do more than help you understand different cultures, markets and geographies. It will allow you to see the big picture when it comes to business issues and their solutions.

Even if you don’t wind up working for a major corporation where international transactions are routine, you can use your unique, global perspective to help employers large and small see the big picture and make important decisions for their businesses.

5. Specific and General Business Skills

To succeed in international business, you’ll need all of the skills found in general business programs: marketing, finance, accounting, management, economics and more. You won’t be missing out on any important business foundation studies by choosing to focus on international business. You will, however, get the opportunity to study these subjects from different perspectives when you take courses such as international marketing, economics of global behavior and cross-cultural organizational behavior.

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