The document discusses the benefits of obtaining a business degree, including career development opportunities in both technical and management fields as well as personal growth. It outlines various career paths such as engineering, science, business, and professional careers and compares the pros and cons of each. The document advises readers to consider their interests, goals, and lifestyle when deciding on a career path.

1. Why Do You Need A
Business Degree?

2.  Sooner or later in your life, you need to have a
business degree (BBA or MBA).
 If you will not have one, you will need to work
hard on the training your way, getting a degree
will be more beneficial.

3. A Business Degree will help you in:
 Career Development
 Personal Growth
 Looking at the world with an open eye

4. Career Decision
You have many choices:
 Engineer
 Scientist/Researcher/Professor (Bio, etc.)
 Business Person
 Professionals (Doctors, Lawyers, Accountant

5. Career Development Insights
In Corporate America, you can have two career
paths:
 Technical Field
 Management Field
In Corporate America, if you are ambitious, you
need to get a promotion when you are young
(within 7-8 years after you get your first degree).

6. Technical Field
 You should know more in technical area than others
 You need to get in to somewhat research field
 You need to have a Ph. D degree and may need to have technical
publications (in Journals, Conferences, etc.)
 Usually suitable for Asian Americans, who are good at math and
science, and who enjoy doing hard work in fields otherwise being
thought as abstruse / abstract / boring
 You also need to have good communication skills (presentation,
technical writing, etc.) otherwise you may not be able to take
credit for the work you put in efforts in

7. Technical Field
 You will be awarded for promotion to be a Technical
Leader/ Technical Expert or high rank technical
position in the company. If you have that rank, you
may be able to change to management position
(depending on chance and company), many people did
make the change.
 But it's not guaranteed to get promotion. And research
field usually is narrow, this may bring to problem in job
security if the field is not in high demand.
 High Tech field is the driving force for America to take
lead in productivity and innovation in the world, which
has more secure jobs.

8. Management Field
 You would like to be a recognized leader in your group
 You want to get respect and hope others will take serious what you say
 You may find managing your own projects is more rewarding than
asked to do things you don't want to do
 You may find it interesting to know all aspects of the projects instead
of just do things
 You would like your being recognized fairly and your boss will not
always take credit of your hard work
 You hope you can get the hefty bonus and the salary your boss has
 You don't want to be in the bottom of the organization chart forever
 You don't want to be bossed around when your boss don't know shit
 Attitude and proactive is more important than technical knowledge

9. Facts
 When GM was in bankruptcy, the 50 top management positions still
got > $1 million bonus, while many engineers were laid off, and had
several plants closed, salary and UAW employee benefits were cut;
 The first year Alan Muraly took Ford's CEO position, he was awarded
$16 million bonus, while all engineers had merit increase freeze (no
salary increase)
 When average bonus for engineers is around $6,000, average middle
level managers in Ford got >$50,000
 Ford CEO Jack Nasser was fired on a negotiated multi-million dollar
deal, while over 10,000 engineers were laid off between 2004-2009 with
only less than a few month's salary
 When GM, Ford and Chrysler CEO went to Washington to seek
government financial support to avoid bankruptcy, each of them flew a
corporate jet to there.

10. What Do They Do?
Pros & Cons in Career Development

11. Engineer
 An Engineer is someone who really likes to work on parts
(mechanical, electrical, etc.)
 A really good engineer is someone who is very genius and
passionate about invention (Thomas Edison, Steve Wozniac, etc.)
 There are high school genius who developed iPhone Apps and are
making tens of thousands dollars a year
 There are high school science nerds who invented new robotics and
have new ideas on new car designs
 You don't have to be a genius to be a good scientist: over 90%
engineers are not genius.
 If you want to cultivate your ideas and make it to your commercial
benefit, you need to know something in business

12. Engineer - Pros/Cons
 Ideal for people who really enjoy working on the
parts, caring less on promotion
 Usually provide stable and sound income
 Less ideal for risk takers
 Hard to get promotion
 Mechanical Engineering has no future, electrical
engineering will be more promising.

13. Scientist/Researcher
 Willing to do more analytical work
 Have strong math/science background and like
the field
 Get a Ph. D degree
 Work in research field
 Have option to become a professor

14. Business
Business is a very general field, include:
 Finance
 Corporate Finance
 Wall Street/ Investment Firms
 Marketing
 Consulting
 Management
 Accounting

15. Business
 The world is a business world, the education in
business makes you know the world better
 You are trained to be a leader
 Better chance in career development /
promotion than in technical fields
 Help you to equip with the necessary tools for
your life
 Help to establish/ grow your own business
 Meet same high quality business people

16. Business (Cont.)
 Business training is needed no matter what job you
do, even in technical fields
 Good Money Maker in some fields, but hard work
 Not all jobs are stressful, such as in Corporate
Finance, Corporate Marketing, etc.
 You can choose to be in technical field in business
field
 You can choose to be a researcher in business field
(economist, professor, etc.)

17. Pros/Cons on getting both technical
(BS) and business degree (MBA)
Pros:
 You get both technical and business education,
if use appropriately, could have advantages
 Will have options going either path for career
development, if you don't like the other one

18. Business
Cons:
 Will need to have career change, which would be
difficult sometimes
 Need commitment and many people settle with in vein
 May need financial commitment too
 Take longer time to fulfill the change, time is valuable
 If you already decide to do business, why would you
waste time doing something else?

19. Professional
 Doctors, Lawyers and Accounts are those
special trained, highly skilled whose skills are
hard to find
 They choose not to work for Corporate America
but have their own business, for both job
security and maximization of financial income
 The skills require them to have more years in
education
 The job may need more time commitment

20. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?
 What do you like?
 What's your goal: what do you want to be in 10
years, 20 years?
 Financial Independence (asset accumulation, job
security, personal business)
 Work Style, Social Life, Family, Hobby?