Studying Business Studies

[kanwal3017]

My daughter actually prefers Business Studies to Computing. She feels that she may have a better future doing a business degree than Computing as she says that what she will learn oin a Computing degree over three years will be deemed useless by the time she comes out of uni as things in Computing move on.Is this true

[douglas9401]

Yes.

And no.

[murraymints]

technology is ever changing and developing to be competative in that fiels requires constant updating so she is probably correct in so much as knowledge of systems is concerned but a degree shows ability to learn... Business sounds a better option there will be an element of IT also

[ToraToraTora]

no

[Zacs-Master]

It's patently not true, as IT companies wouldn't recruite any graduates if it were. Having said that, Business Studies would probably present her with more employment opportunities.

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

When recruiting new staff, Business Studies would generally be preferable over computing- the reason being that the principles of business don't change over time, knowledge about understanding how the economy works is always useful to a business, and computing skills are often learnt "along the way" in any case. If a company thinks that its' staff need further training it is much easier and more effective for them to send them on a bespoke computer training course rather than have them begin to learn all about how business in general works. She would be making a great choice by going for business studies. Computing would be a useful add-on subject if she could do both, but 3 years to learn computing alone would not be time well spent, in my opinion. If she is able to work during her education, I would strongly encourage it- the best place to learn about business is in the workplace.

[Buenchico]

>>> My daughter actually prefers Business Studies to Computing

That's all you need to know. The answer to the question "What should I study at university" should nearly always be "Do what you'll enjoy most!"

OK, there are obviously a few situations where a definite career choice forces someone into a particular area of study, such as medicine or law, but for the vast majority of students the best advice is simply to "Study what you really enjoy" (even if that's something like Art or Philosophy, which has no clearly defined career options associated with it).

As I pointed out in my post in your other thread, Business & Management Studies is likely to open more doors (in terms of career options) than Computer Studies anyway.

[Guilbert53]

>>what she will learn on a Computing degree over three years will be deemed useless....

This is not really true.

For example the internet runs on technology that was developed in the 1950s and 1960s (it has changed and developed but is still the same basic technology)

Windows has been around since the mid 1980s. OK is has changed a lot over that time but a person using one version of Windows can usually switch to another quite easily.

The Microsoft Excel spreadsheet has also been available since the mid 1980s. Again it has changed and grown but is still the same basic product.

The Personal Computer (PC) still uses the same basic technology that was developed by IBM in the very first IBM PC back in the 1980s. Again it has changed and developed but a person who knew their way around an IBM PC in 1985 could still use that skill on a brand new Windows 10 PC.

So things do change in computing all the time, but often new things are built ON TOP of old technology, rarely is the "old" technology thrown away but it is just updated and improved.

Having said all that, Business Studies would probably give more chance of a "business" career than computing, though there is some overlap.

But bear in mind, for many people computers are a "dark art" and they have no idea how they work so having computing skills can prove very useful in a work environment.

With computer skills you can be seen as the person to go to for help such as "Go and see Mary, she will sort out your computer problems".

But really if she wants to do Business Studies then let her.

[ToraToraTora]

TBH programming hasn't moved on much since the Jacquard loom. The greatest advance was back in the 50s with the advent of high level language compilers (thanks Grace). learning what ever programming language is flavour of the month now is merely a syntactical endeavour. Programming is independent of languages. From the grads we get here they don't teach programming anyway. Anyway if she prefers Business studies then do that.