The roads towards a successful career as an entrepreneur are countless and don’t always rely on a degree. In fact, many successful businesses have come from a genius idea that caught on. However, to make ideas come to life, someone would need a good educational background. But what are the best degrees for entrepreneurs? Read on to learn more about the seven best majors for entrepreneurs.
What Degree Do You Need to Be an Entrepreneur?
If you’re starting a business or wish to start on in the future, you might want to consider pursuing a degree to help you with your goals. Most entrepreneurs start with a business bachelor’s degree or a more specific bachelor’s in entrepreneurship and then hone their skills and knowledge in a master’s in business administration.
1. Business Degree
A business degree might sound like the obvious road to success and the best degree for starting your own business, and rightfully so. Having a business degree can help with many aspects of being an entrepreneur that otherwise someone would have to learn on their own.
A business degree program will touch on important subjects, such as psychology, finance, and other relevant fields. Students will learn all about short and long-term business plans, funding options, private companies, the effect of the stock market on businesses, etc.
Benefits of a business degree for entrepreneurs
There are many advantages a business degree offers to entrepreneurs. Some of them are:
- It’s applicable to a wide array of industries.
- Gives the confidence to become a self-starting individual.
- Helps gain necessary knowledge for business operations to run smoothly.
- Develops problem-solving skills.
- Develops critical thinking skills.
- Helps with innovation and insightful solutions to business dilemmas.
2. Accounting
When it comes to entrepreneurship and start-ups, money plays a significant role in what becomes of them. Given that accountants specialize in money matters, a degree in accounting can be beneficial to someone looking to become an entrepreneur.
The good thing about studying accounting is that it can be applied to practically any start-up in the industry. Accounting majors learn how to track cash flow, perform in-depth financial analysis, write financial statements, read balance sheets, invest, lend, use financial ratios, etc.
Benefits of an accounting degree for entrepreneurs
Knowledge of financial matters can prove helpful in many situations for an entrepreneur. Some of the more evident benefits are:
- Learn how to keep a company financially healthy.
- Dealing with cash flow problems
- Understanding of risks.
- Know how to mitigate risks.
3. Computer Science
Given that most industries have at least one process that can easily be automated, having a computer science degree (or an IT degree) can be very time-saving for entrepreneurs. Even without that, merely knowing their way around apps can make a portion of the job easier and move up the competitive ladder.
Apart from programming languages, computer science and IT majors also get to learn some business basics, which can prove helpful to an entrepreneur. Starting a tech start-up is an achievable dream for many computer science students, but they can also succeed in other industries.
Benefits of a computer science degree for entrepreneurs
Having a computer science degree or an IT degree takes care of many aspects of entrepreneurship. Some of the benefits of these degrees for entrepreneurs are:
- Creates a foundation for understanding new emerging trends in any industry.
- Gives a competitive edge.
- Gives an understanding of cybersecurity.
- You can launch a tech start-up.
- Learning about online safety.
4. Marketing
Knowing the mechanics of marketing is an integral part of keeping a business alive, and as such, a crucial part of being an entrepreneur. Without innovative marketing and strategic methods, it’s impossible to build a reputation that is essential to a start-up.
Marketing is one of the best degrees for entrepreneurs because students get to learn more than just strategic marketing methods. They learn how to research target audiences, what platforms they can use to reach them, tailor marketing strategies for specific target audiences, etc.
Benefits of a marketing degree for entrepreneurs
Some benefits of a marketing degree regarding entrepreneurship include:
- Knowing how to build brand awareness.
- Creating a unique brand image.
- Learning consistency.
- Learning feedback loops to strengthen the company.
- Knowing how to use ad campaigns and promotions.
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5. Economics
Many would say that an economics degree is the best option for entrepreneurs, and that statement isn’t far off. Many successful people in business studied economics in college—such as Diane von Furstenberg, Elon Musk, Esther Dyson, Fred Smith, etc. In such a degree program, students learn how both the economy and markets work.
Economics students get to learn what’s valuable to a consumer. Knowing the wants and needs of consumers helps with making smart business decisions and collecting feedback that will eventually improve marketing strategies.
Benefits of an economics degree for entrepreneurs
An economics background is useful for entrepreneurs for several reasons. Some of them are:
- Understanding how markets work.
- Identifying hidden costs easily.
- Knowing how to make quality reports and collect in-depth information.
- Making long-term plans.
- Dealing with an imbalance of information properly.
6. Environmental Science
Getting an environmental science degree can be beneficial to anyone looking to become an entrepreneur and bring green improvements to the industry. Today many entrepreneurs improve industry services or goods in a way that is beneficial to the environment and saves customers’ money—they’re called eco-entrepreneurs or ecopreneurs.
Ecopreneurs are valuable to the market since unsustainable consumption is prevalent, and anyone who can contribute to a safer and better future is important. Students of environmental science become problem solvers who learn how ecosystems work across a variety of applications.
Benefits of an environmental science degree for entrepreneurs
Some of the many benefits for an entrepreneur with an environmental science degree are:
- Having a clear idea of the green economy.
- Ability to identify problems with existing services, products, and systems.
- Making effective solutions for people and the environment.
- Focus on small-scale businesses.
7. Psychology
Many of the best entrepreneurs bear a deep and insightful understanding of people. Students of psychology often possess the ability to understand the relationship between a particular problem and behavior, how to talk to different types of people based on their personality, etc.
Psychology majors learn all about human development through different stages of life—from birth to death. Understanding the human psyche helps them know how to inspire the team to work harder, push teamwork, and be innovative in their choices.
Benefits of a psychology degree for entrepreneurs
A psychology program has many benefits for students who want to become entrepreneurs. Some of them are:
- Understanding people and why they do what they do.
- Know how to plan marketing strategies for a specific group of people.
- Maintaining a cohesive company culture.
- Knowing their strengths and weaknesses.
- Communication skills.
- Research skills.
- Interviewing and choosing ideal employees.
8. Communications Degree
Some of the most important activities in business are developing and maintaining good relations with internal and external stakeholders. A communications degree can help you develop the skills to achieve that. Those who earn a degree in communications often work in the fields of law, public relations, broadcasting, management, and human resources.
Benefits of a communications degree for entrepreneurs
- Improves communication skills that help entrepreneurs build and maintain business relations.
- Effective communication is vital for making deals with vendors, suppliers, etc.
- Useful when working with foreign suppliers or customers.
9. Engineering
The field of engineering is becoming more and more multidisciplinary. A degree in engineering will help a future entrepreneur in each aspect of planning a business, launching a startup, and keeping a company running smoothly. If you decide to study engineering, there are some options you can choose from, such as civil engineering, chemical engineering, or whatever path you’re interested in.
Benefits of an engineering degree for entrepreneurs
- Improves your critical and problem-solving skills.
- You learn a wide variety of skills such as accounting, leadership, international relations, communications, research, quality management, and much more.
10. Finance degree
Studying finance means getting a solid foundation of knowledge in economics, accounting, business, and of course, management. Finance is a great choice for future entrepreneurs who want to get a good background in finance, accounting, corporate finance, risk management, and other similar fields.
Benefits of a finance degree for entrepreneurs
- Offers a solid base of knowledge that will be useful in keeping a business running smoothly.
- Prepares entrepreneurs to interpret and make use of financial planning data accurately.
- Improves interpersonal skills.
- Allows future entrepreneurs to assess investment projects quantitatively and not depend solely on intuition.
- Teaches money management skills valuable to business owners.
What degree do you need to be an entrepreneur? There are many routes you can take and numerous majors you can choose from depending on the industry. Whether you choose to open a tech start-up or build a small farmhouse somewhere in nature, we hope this list helped you understand which degree is better for your business idea!