Which business major would be more logical to major in?

[Midnightjubilee]

Hi there!

I’m a junior in high school who has an interest in horses but I realize that not many horse related jobs pay well. So, I’m considering pursuing a degree in something business-related, and was curious as to which business major (accounting, management, economics, business administration, etc) you all think is best suited for someone who plans on owning horses and ideally finding a horse-related job. Also, a college I’m looking at offers an equine science and business administration double major, do you think that would be a good idea?

Thanks!

[SnicklefritzG]

OP, the horse industry is not an easy one to make a living in. Running or managing a barn, if that’s what you are looking to do, is fraught with difficulty especially if you do not own the facility. Some BO’s look to have working students or assistant trainers do a lot of that work, not someone with a business degree.

If you are absolutely set on this, your best bet at a management type job may be getting involved with a major stud farm either in KY or sport horse breeding somewhere.

I personally think you would be better off pursuing a degree that you can make a living in outside horses.

[Midnightjubilee]

Oh yes, I’m aware. Honestly, I want to be able to own a farm (or at least a place suitable for horses) someday, even if it’s not making money. I figured a degree in business would be helpful towards attempting to run a farm business, but it is also something I could fall back onto it if anything horse-related doesn’t work out. Which I guess another question of mine is, what degree would provide a well-paying job unrelated to horses but could also contribute to horse-related jobs or my knowledge of horses?

[DancingArabian]

Accounting. If you’re in the US, tax season is Jan - April, which is also the time of year when horse stuff often slows down. You’d be able to work very very very hard for 4 months out of the year, and the rest of the year you can focus a little more on horses and just do lighter loads of bookkeeping or payroll during the remainder of the year. It applies to all industries, you can do it from home (or not!) and it’s stable.

[Foxtail]

Have you considered an Ag Business degree from your state’s land grant school? Or a business-related degree with an ag minor? That might be the right combination that you’re looking for, and you local land grant won’t cost an arm and a leg to go to. That said you might be more versatile in the job market if you went with the latter route.

Now, for sheer job security you ought to choose a degree that isn’t just “business.” IIRC plain old business degrees are the most common in the country. So instead of just doing business, you may want to look into something more specialized such as accounting, supply chain management (if you like math; logistics pairs best with applied mathematics), or IT.

[Palm_Beach]

OP, there are plenty of websites where you can research job markets and salaries. Your guidance counselor can assist you. The more you “specialize” your degree, the smaller the job market will be for that degree. You can take most business degrees and apply them to most businesses, horse related or not.

[IronwoodFarm]

Accounting is great if you like accounting. Both my son and my niece thought they wanted to major in accounting. My son switched to marketing; my niece is slogging through her major but without much joy. I’m not sure how she will use the degree. My son is much happier with marketing.

My advice would be to do something that you like. Often it’s just having the degree that matters for that first job. Most employers expect to train entry level people. A degree tells them that you can stick with a training program. And really do something that makes your heart sing in college. It is a special time in your life and you learn so many things that are not on the curriculum but are so important as both job and life skills.

[SuckerForHorses]

Business Administration or Business Management

General enough to get you in the door most places.

Don’t funnel yourself into a degree like Equine Studies that will be useless if you are not in an equine field of work.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Midnightjubilee;9022187]
Also, a college I’m looking at offers an equine science and business administration double major, do you think that would be a good idea?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

University of Louisville’s College of Business- Equine program… gives you both a business degree and specialty in equine management

The Equine Industry Program students take all of the core courses in the business administration discipline, as well as 30 hours of specialized courses focused on the development and management of equine enterprises, events, and activities.

http://business.louisville.edu/equine/

The is a plus as Churchill Downs is just a few blocks away.

[Scribbler]

You need to do something that fits your talents and skills. if you are detail oriented and good at numbers, a self-starter, and don’t mind working alone, accounting would be a good fit. If you are more of a people person, and have good interpersonal skills, and are bored by too much time staring at the computer screen, then you would probably be a better fit on the management side of things. If you have an analytical, academic brain, plus are very good at math and statistics, you might be a good fit for economics, which is much more academic and research based than accounting or management. To a large extent, you may not really know until you get into college and try out different courses.

I would say: go to the highest-rated college you can get into, and can afford. That will increase your employability afterwards. And get good grades, get summer jobs in your field if you can, do everything to make yourself as employable as possible right out of school.

As far as working with horses, the thing to keep in mind is that let’s say you start a successful small business doing the books for several big barns in your area. You still aren’t riding! You are just adding up other people’s money. Let’s say you go to work for the race track or a big breeding barn. You still aren’t anywhere near the horses. And horses, being part of the agricultural sector, tend to pay less than other fields, and being a very simple business, tend to have far fewer opportunities for advancement.

So you might be best off going for the best field you can find in terms of pay and advancement, and then using your salary to buy and board a nice horse.

Also think about where you want to end up living. Some businesses are clustered in certain parts of the country, some clustered in big cities. Few are in truly remote rural areas. Where do you want to live, for horses but also to be close to family (or far away from them, whichever suits you)? For instance, the oil and gas industry could take you to Texas, which has horses. Working for the stock market, on the other hand, would put you in downtown Manhattan, a long commute away from horses. You might be able to get into middle management at some retail chain that would let you move out to smaller cities.

[ACountingRider]

I went through in Accounting. During college I took summer WS positions with BNT’s and taught lessons on the side first in a program then on my own.

While I do adore my major, I would suggest it for the job market as well as there are so many positions I am qualified for even outside of accounting. Plus, I know how to keep my books and file my returns if I were to operate my own business which I did after graduating college initially.
I think the major over other business majors better sets you up for how to run any business, especially on the bookkeeping side.

I ended up taking a staff accounting position which pays for me to have my horses, lesson, and compete competitively.

I will say that during my WS positions and then riding job, those that had an equine-management degrees were turned down. I’m not sure if it had to do with their major or lack of real-like experience in the industry. But, every time. Versus the riders who came in with several summers working at barn or training under someone who could give them a recommendation. This was at least the case for the positions which involved more riding and teaching.

[ponyjumper525]

Finance

[Guilherme]

The highest salary earning potential in the Business world is probably becoming a CPA. Another is becoming a actuary. That latter item requires very strong math and analytical skills.

In reality on pure economic terms you want to get the strongest career position you can and ride for fun. If you don’t already know owning an equine business means riding is generally done if, as, and when you can. Which often isn’t often.

Get the best grades you can now, start looking for scholarships you can qualify for now, and be ready to start the application process for both as soon as possible.

Best of luck going forward!

G.

[findeight]

Have some college friends who majored in Ag business management. One went to work as a meat buyer for a major supermarket chain and quickly went up the ranks, another for a major feed company in the head office and the third for a livestock agency that syndicated bulls, she sold frozen straws and made ALOT of money. As in a lot a lot.

Each these jobs had a roof, climate control, a clock and regular hours, each looked for applicants with large domestic animal experience including horses. And each enabled them to enjoy fabulous horses with the time to enjoy them and money for top notch care and horse shows. They also didn’t require relocating to expensive cities with brutal commutes.

I would seriously look into that kind of major instead of limiting it to Equines only. They found their jobs interesting and enjoyed the work.

[SMF11]

I would have thought the highest business related salary would be investment banking.

[ParadoxFarm]

I second checking out the University of Louisville College of Business.

[Guilherme]

[QUOTE=SMF11;9023172]
I would have thought the highest business related salary would be investment banking.[/QUOTE]

At the top, probably so. Same would go for hedge fund managers and anybody else with stock options or performance guarantees.

But if you were an investment banker with Bear, Sterns or Lehman Bros., maybe not so much.

The CPA gig is pretty much a guarantee of a good, steady wage over a long period of time.

Besides, if you get really good, you’ll be advising investment bankers.

G.

[SMF11]

Good point, Guilherme. Certainly little job security, and horrific hours. But even fairly low ranked bankers make a fair amount of money (hundreds of thousands).

[Midnightjubilee]

All of your replies have been very helpful! I’m definitely looking into all of the suggestions and advice you all have given. I’m seeing into maybe pursuing something in relation to agriculture and certainly checking out University of Louisville College of Business. My brother is majoring in accounting, so I may decide to do the same as him, though I might be someone who suits better with marketing or managing, but then again I’ll just have to get out there and see for myself through the classes and whatnot. But anyway, thanks so much everyone.

[SnicklefritzG]

Alluding to comments made just recently,

OP, don’t work for Goldman Sachs - you’ll make sachs of gold but have no time to spend it. That was the word on the street from friends of mine in NYC.