Fed up with my course, want to branch into economics/business, how?!!

Basil_Fawlty

I'm currently studying biochemistry which is nice but very taxing. I have hardly any free time at all and as for a career I don't want to stay in this field. It's hard work for little reward. Don't get me wrong, I'm not solely thinking about money but money is obviously very important.

For a while now I've been interested in businesses and the way they function. I would really like to get some work experience or maybe do a course in business/economics but as I've done a degree, I'm not sure what the options are... can someone help?!

seaweasel

How far into your degree are you?

Basil_Fawlty

seaweasel wrote: »

How far into your degree are you?

I'm in my final year now

jago25_98

I would say maximise your investment... and then look at finding the most fun way to study business.

Perhaps a long term goal could be manage a biochemical company?

seaweasel

You could also do a post grad course such as a certificate or MSc in management or business. Have a look at some courses, including the OU.

Basil_Fawlty

seaweasel wrote: »

You could also do a post grad course such as a certificate or MSc in management or business. Have a look at some courses, including the OU.

I looked into Masters courses but the costs seemed quite high

[Deleted User]

When i did my MSc back in 2002, it cost 3,000... has it changed much? My friend did a business masters at the same time and it cost about 3,500

Basil_Fawlty

ringo_24601 wrote: »

When i did my MSc back in 2002, it cost 3,000... has it changed much? My friend did a business masters at the same time and it cost about 3,500

I looked at Business Management in Imperial College London and it was something like £11,000 which put me off the idea

£3k sounds more reasonable, though there's also the issue of whether a Masters is a step-up from a Bachelors so in effect I'd need to do a lot of extra reading to keep up.

seaweasel

MBAs are always expensive, and usually undertaken later on in your career (i.e. when you have an upper management salary). An MSc is indeed a step up from a BA/BSc/whatever and usually a one year course. If you've got a degree though then it's a step that you should be able to take, especially if you're interested in the subject. You could also do a post-grad part time, maybe working towards an MSc or similar qualification in chunks (often you can do it part-time over 3 years, starting off with a post-graduate certificate, then diploma etc.)

Basil_Fawlty

seaweasel wrote: »

MBAs are always expensive, and usually undertaken later on in your career (i.e. when you have an upper management salary). An MSc is indeed a step up from a BA/BSc/whatever and usually a one year course. If you've got a degree though then it's a step that you should be able to take, especially if you're interested in the subject. You could also do a post-grad part time, maybe working towards an MSc or similar qualification in chunks (often you can do it part-time over 3 years, starting off with a post-graduate certificate, then diploma etc.)

OK I guess I'd work alongside as it wouldn't entail the long lab-hours on my current course. Hopefully be able to pay my way through without becoming involved in overdrafts etc. does the student loans company not help with a Masters?

Something else I thought about was company sponsorship but the snag there is that you need to actually join their graduate trainee scheme. They often look for a 2:1 degree, that's something I'm not likely to hit this year. It doesn't seem fair to think I could've done genetics and chosen whatever modules I wanted and got higher scores by doing the easy ones. Do employers take account of this or to them are all BSc. degrees 'the same'?

kevinbarry

Hi,

http://www.zen40585.zen.co.uk/

will take you to a free set of GCE A-Level notes in economics. Check it out - if you find it boring and not your style, then you'd probably be better off rethinking your intentions. If you like the topics covered and understand the subject matter easily - then it could well be for you.

I used to teach at London Uni in the School of Oriental and African Studies and taught a one-year cram course that covered the essentials of a normal economics degree in one third the time. This was years ago, and my guess is that this course, designed for people exactly like you with a degree in one discipline but wishing to move into economics/business, has been dropped. These days unis have to charge fees and raise income, thanks to stingy governments.

Hope it works out - good luck!