Business/Man/Fin/Acc/ITBM/marketing degrees

[ChachiArcola]

DD just finished yr 12, was looking at Geog at undergrad. Having visited a few uni's and looked more closely at content, has now gone off this and more interested in something 'business'.
The range of degrees is huge and I bit lost tbh (not my background). She is going to do research this summer but any pros/cons would be really appreciated, I feel time is running out.
So as not to drip feed, DD has sen and she only has grade 6 gcse maths, ruling out a lot of courses.
Looked at Man, Leeds, Notts so far. Predicted grades AAB/AAA.
Does anyone have experience of career prospects when not on the 'first tier' courses that require a grade 7 maths?
The graduate market is so competitive and my worry is job prospects after a degree in business, rather than more specific eg Accounting?
She has mentioned re-taking maths GCSE.

If she has good A level results could she look at degree apprenticeships in that area instead? Otherwise degrees with a year in industry.

The key with ‘business’ in general is getting work experience during the degree so someone with a placement year from a lower uni will most likely have an easier time afterwards than someone with a “better” degree.

Equally time isn’t running out, she doesn’t have to go to uni next year. Getting a job and then working out what she actually wants to do is an option.

Thank you, yes she def going to look at apprenticeship but these are v competitive also and without a v high maths i worry she will be sifted out early anyway. Will give it a go though.
I agree, placement/experience is the way to go if you can get it, wonder it it's more likely at certain uni's?

She's met the minimum requirement for maths as a functional skills OP (it's 5) so I wouldn't worry. Plenty of roles that don't require high grades, good lord where would the world be otherwise?
Also, if she has SEN big companies will be happy to provide adjustments to the interview process.

Not all degrees offer a placement year. And within that group, the onus is on the student to apply for and secure a placement. The support provided by the university career service makes a difference here.

Some have an internal jobs board, regular events with employer representatives as well as several career fairs throughout the year. They also provide personalised support to students with CV reviews, mock interviews and assessment centres, etc.
The quality of employers connecting with the uni also vary some are just local/regional employers others are prestigious , national graduate employers.

The graduate market is so competitive and my worry is job prospects after a degree in business, rather than more specific eg Accounting?

Even if she wanted to become an accountant, accounting would be a pointless degree. You don't need a degree to become an accountant and even with a degree you still have to do professional exams and have 3 years of practical experience to qualify.

At most an accounting degree would get you a few exam exemptions - but you still won't qualify any faster. It's not a worthwhile amount of debt just to skip a few exams.

What does she want to do afterwards?

Thanks v much. Will dig more on the placement aspects as I do think she will benefit from that, more so than being on a course requiring a grade 7.
I getting bit too hung up on the grade 7 courses I think.
Need to give my head a wobble.

Unless she has her heart set on a career that requires a specific degree, I think the most important things are that she chooses a programme she will enjoy (and therefore be motivated to continue with assessments or challenges), somewhere she will be happy to live, and that will give her opportunities to develop skills, experience and connections to make her an attractive candidate to future employers.

A good placement year is invaluable.

The benefit of a business degree, at some unis, is that you can access more tailored and bespoke placement support (though securing a placement is still down to you). Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) would be an example of that.

In addition, some of the 'newer' universities like Lancaster, Loughborough, Strathclyde and Aston have long established management schools (and so deeper connections than might be assumed by those not familiar with them). So, do not restrict research to the 'traditional' unis and/or to the Russell Group.

Degree-level apprenticeships are competitive but, for example, accountancy and management programmes typically require no more than a 5 in GCSE Maths and English Lang. So long as you pass that filter, performance is dependent on the various tests and assessments as employers are looking at the candidate in the round.

I would not retake Maths GCSE. A 6 is a B in old money and a solid result. Focus effort on researching courses and unis. Ultimately success is driven by the student, not the institution. Finding a location and course where your DD feels they can thrive is what matters.

Finally, very specific business degrees (eg marketing, HR, accountancy) do not necessarily deliver greater employability than more general business degrees, which allow the opportunity to gain exposure to different elements.

This is the problem, no clear idea career wise, other than well paid. We attended some talks at uni's and accounting came up - actually looked a good way to get the exam credits before you graduate, then only need few more exams to qualify as chartered? So, more likely to get employment post grad? That is how it was sold.
Like I say, bit blindsided by all the options vs reality of the job market.
Thanks for your insight, appreciate it as I have no clue, especially accounting.

Thank you very much, I hadn't really thought of it that way, broader range of modules by doing a general business degree may keep more doors open for her, and a chance to see what she prefers rather than too specific too soon.

Someone she knows has re-taken maths gcse in year 12, specifically to boost his grade to a 7, so I think that has influenced her somewhat.
We have visited Loughborough and I was really impressed with the business school, the speakers were fantastic, really engaging but at one of the stands afterwards I did not have the same feeling unfortunately - though I realise (a) I m not the student and (b) everyone has an off day!
Will check out Lancaster.

She's a teenager OP it's normal to not have everything figured out.
There are two ways to go about this.
Many careers don't require a specific degree. So people study what they enjoy and think about a job later.
In your daughter's case she doesn't seem to like anything in particular which means a generic business/management degree would suit.

She'll discover her interests, passion etc at university as long as she engages with employers visiting the uni, speaks to seniors, keeps her eyes and ears open.

Personally I had my heart set on accounting because it was all I knew and I also just wanted to make money. In university I realised it wasn't for me and went for a completely different career, I didn't even know existed.

In 2024 the world of work is very fluid, higher education and your first job is only the start. Of course the financial commitment of university can make it daunting, but one never really knows

Lancaster and Loughborough as PP mentioned are good.

Also OP another important component of employability is work experience. This isn't just paid work, volunteering, running uni societies also count. Interview questions will be competency based, like these:
https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/interviews-and-assessment-centres/how-answer-competency-based-interview-questions

Even if she wanted to become an accountant, accounting would be a pointless degree.

Totally agree. DSis is a rather successful accountant and did Geography at Uni.

DD wants to be an Accountant and has gone straight for an apprenticeship, skipping the Uni but altogether.

My dd and her housemate both did business/marketing degrees at man met, and both have great jobs (her friend did a foundation degree as her A level results weren't up to scratch) so I wouldn't worry too much.

@folkjournals I'd also add the module content needs to be looked at closely.
Often business, accounting, marketing and other related degrees share modules. The only difference is a handful of compulsory modules geared towards the specialism.

You can also get a lot of hybrid degrees with business shoved in, for example. Business and computer science, business and MFL, etc. I see Lancaster has a business with business analytics, the latter of which is a growing field.

Loughborough offers language modules as an additional option for their business school.

You can also ask the universities for a list of exhibitors at their career events. Employers pay to attend so will be discerning.

Whilst some Finance degrees have grade 7 GCSE Maths requirements (or even A level Maths reqs), most general business and management degrees do not. Warwick expects grade 7 Maths GCSE for its Management degree (AstarAA entry) but even U of Bath, which has quite a quantitative Management degree (AAA entry), accepts grade 6 Maths GCSE (though does look for at least one 'quantitative' A level like Maths, Econ or Psych).

So that suggests your DD should focus on maximising performance in the chosen A levels, rather than getting distracted by a GCSE Maths retake in Y13. Also remember that you have to declare all examination results on your UCAS form, both earlier and retakes, so evidence of second-time efforts to boost Maths GCSE will be obvious and not necessarily as advantageous as might be supposed. Encourage your DD to 'own' that 6 in Maths GCSE, which is a good result, and look at courses that are not overly quant heavy and so are more likely to be enjoyable.

Finally, make sure your DD is taking Geography off the table because the content does not float her boat, rather than because peers (or even uni business schools!) have sold her the idea that a degree in business automatically lands a good job in business. A geog grad who makes the most of their opportunities at uni is also in a strong position to secure a good role.

Thank you again and for the link.
It's given me a lot to think over and how I can best support her through the decisions. It's reassuring to hear that it's not always a straight path - though it always seems some kids have it all figured out from the get go.

Thank you everyone, so good to get some perspective on this. It's quite overwhelming at the moment and I can see her starting to worry about making the 'wrong' decision and a lot of her peers seem to have a plan. Our heads have been spinning after the uni visits and the change of direction, thank goodness have the summer for her mull it all over.

then only need few more exams to qualify as chartered? So, more likely to get employment post grad?

I think this is where you have to remember that universities are making a sales pitch.

You still can't qualify as chartered in under 3 years because of the practical experience requirements (you need a certain number of hours of relevant practical experience and a portfolio signed off that demonstrates you have achieved certain professional competencies).

On top of that, lots of employers don't let their trainees claim all (sometimes any) of their exam exemptions because if they don't have experience of sitting the lower level professional exams and just jump straight into the higher papers they tend to struggle and are more likely to fail. It's different exam technique to academic exams.

So whilst it's technically accurate that certain degrees mean she could apply for exam exemptions, it still takes 3 years to qualify and to learn the practical skills - the actual work is very different to the exams. They'll still start out as a junior having to learn the same practical skills, they won't climb the ladder any faster.

I don't think we've ever prioritised candidates purely because they have accounting degrees when we do graduate recruitment. It makes barely any difference to their training experience. I've had trainees with accounting degrees and it still took them much the same length of time to develop their workplace competencies as the non-accounting graduates.

We take trainees with all manner of degrees (and without degrees). A good geography degree wouldn't hold her back if she wanted to become an accountant later.