Employers expect skills, such as communicating, critical thinking, problem solving and how to work in teams, to be gained from a collegiate experience. Therefore, the first two years of an undergraduate program in business administration, or any other degree, focuses on general studies designed to give students a broad frame of reference. The amount of hours spent in all required areas varies from school to school, but in general, students choose classes from: foreign studies and/or language where they can continue foreign language studies from high school, or classes that focus on foreign countries history and current events effecting their politics, economy and culture; humanities classes, which typically are considered art, English, literature, music, philosophy, and religious studies; natural science, which includes anthropology, biology, geography, and physics; social sciences such as economics, math, psychology, sociology and women studies.
Accredited schools offer several choices for a major, such as accounting, business information technology, economics, finance, human resource management, logistics, management, marketing, public administration/operations and statistics. Most universities incorporate advising into their curriculum and at a designated time you will apply for your management major. Upon acceptance you will begin courses that specifically relate to the major.
A management major can lead to work in any industry. The skills and education attained teach you how to coordinate, organize and motivate individuals and groups to achieve a company's goals. Management studies also contain classes regarding data mining, operations, quantitative modeling and staffing optimization.
Although there is an analytical aspect to a management major, the continuing challenge a career in this field offers comes from within you. As a manager your goal is to make all of those you supervise productive. Productivity equals profit and good managers can quantify their impact on an organization. Understanding different personality types, communicating effectively and garnering authority and respect without demeaning others are some of the hallmarks of good managers.
If you are considering a degree in business administration with a management major visit all the colleges you are interested in attending to gather more information about their program. Make an appointment with a university adviser to discuss the major. Ask the adviser about the placement program for graduates with a management major. Take an inexpensive management seminar---you will gain real-world insight into typical problems supervisors face. Talk to anyone you know that manages people and ask them about challenges, likes and dislikes.