With a wide array of MBA majors to choose from, it can be quite overwhelming for any business student. And why wouldn’t it be? It is a decision that will impact the future of your professional career. Getting into the business school of your choice will lead you towards tons of new opportunities, progress, and possibilities to make it big in the corporate world.
Let us consider two very promising majors, Finance and Marketing. Both are excellent choices to pursue and make the most of their offerings. Though both Finance and Marketing incorporate the same basic concepts as business administration fields, yet carry several differences in their respective curriculums and career possibilities. In this article, we will discuss and compare both the majors and enlighten you, making it easier for you to chose which is best for you.
MBA: Finance vs Marketing
Those who aren’t very well aware of the two majors may think of them as closely related. You can find newly introduced MBA programs online with a primary focus on finance or marketing courses. While exploring the official websites of universities, you will come across many cores and electives. Choosing from them will only be wise if you have gained market demand and subject outcome insights. It is necessary to understand both majors to differentiate between them. To do so, let’s have a detailed look at both majors and see what sets the two apart.
Fundamental Concepts
MBA Marketing is similar to any other marketing major. It involves promoting, communicating, and presenting several different products, services, and brands to various clients and audiences to win their interest and grab a place in the markets. The main focus would be to do activities that would lead to an increase in sales for a company or organization. These include advertising, establishing public relations, executing corporate branding, and performing market research.
A major in Finance involves technical skills that’ll allow you to perform computation and budgeting tasks and handle organizations’ investments and assets. In this field you will learn financing skills such as managing debt and analyzing financial trends in the market.
Skills and Competency
Both majors, Finance and Marketing, have unique requirements for the skills applicable in the field. These skills may be technical and non-technical alike. Suppose you are a person with a competitive mind, with good problem-solving capabilities, a good grasp of number crunching, and analytical skills. In that case, the field of Finance will complement your profile.
On the other hand, a person who has good communication skills, creativity to create and present new ideas, and has influential speaking power to persuade others should go for an MBA in marketing.
Success Prospects
Each of these majors comes with their own rewards that can land you an excellent job. As a finance person, you can choose to work in the banking sector, stock market insurance department, or mutual funds. You can even be a financial consultant or investment banker.
A major in marketing will grant you many options to choose from in areas such as advertising, brand promotions, hospitality, e-commerce, and retail. Moreover, it is sure to prove to be a lucrative choice with the ever-growing Digital Marketing industry. Besides all that, one can choose to work as a marketing researcher as well.
Insights of the Curriculum
Though starting at the same roots, both majors are distinctly different from one another. Each carries a remarkable difference from the other in terms of their curriculum.
A student who aims to earn a finance degree can expect to learn about:
- Portfolio management
- Risk management
- Hedge funds
- Evaluation of financial markets
In comparison, marketing students will study topics that cover:
- Marketing research
- Digital marketing
- Brand management
- Management of customer relationship
Income Package
It’s difficult to determine the salary of someone with a master’s degree in business. The pay rate is bound to differ from one company to the next, and will be based on a person’s skills and experience. However, students can rest assured that both majors offer a return on investment.
An MBA Finance graduate can earn about $4,300 annually with less than a year of experience. It is slightly higher than the $4,172 that MBA marketing graduates can make with the same experience. However, with ten to twenty years of experience, this gap grows significantly. MBA Finance graduates can earn $20,116 annually with that experience. Meanwhile, MBA Marketing experts can earn $18,791 per year.
Job Profile
Both the degrees offer diverse job options as well. MBA marketing requires you to have creativity, a modern viewpoint, and knowledge of todays market. Being positive, having an enthusiastic personality, mastering the at of customer interaction, and having the confidence to present the products and ideas to clients are all things you’ll need to be successful in marketing.
Contrary to that, finance requires you to be witty and fast with calculations. You’ll be dealing with and playing with numbers and forecasting new/analyzing existing market trends as you focus on optimizing resource utilization.
Career Options
Both Finance and Marketing offer an extensive array of career options. With a finance degree, career options can include being a Chief Financial Officer, a Financial Analyst, a Financial Controller, a Budget Analyst, a Financial Manager, an Investment Banker, an Estate Planner, a Stock Broker, and an Auditor. These are amongst those presented to a MBA Finance graduate. On the other hand, as a Masters graduate with a degree in Marketing, you will have a wide range of career options ranging from Marketing Manager, Brand Manager, and Sales Manager to Market Research Analyst, Digital Marketing Specialist, and Business Development Director.
Conclusion
After discussing MBA Finance and MBA Marketing degrees, we can conclude that both majors have a strong business administration standing. Both are profitable majors that will provide good earnings and a decent career path. When it comes down to picking one or the other, the individual must decide based on research and analysis of both subjects and their understanding of the traits required by bother subjects.
Business is rapidly growing, thereby creating a massive pool of passionate individuals looking for degrees that will lead to interesting and dynamic careers.
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