Is Majoring in Entrepreneurship a Good Idea?

Fact checked by Pete RathburnReviewed by Katie Miller

Majoring in entrepreneurship may be a good idea, but you can become a good business owner or manager without it. Many people succeed in business without any degree, let alone one in entrepreneurship. The real question is whether you need the extra focus on entrepreneurship, or if a degree in business or a related field may be more appropriate. The answer depends on your goals as a business person and as an individual, the experiences you already have, and your understanding of business and management.

Key Takeaways

• An entrepreneur is an individual who starts and runs a business with limited resources and planning and is responsible for all the risks and rewards of the venture.
• Entrepreneurial ventures target very high returns to growth with an equally high level of uncertainty.
• Business schools and specialized academic programs educate and train students in successful entrepreneurship.
• These degrees may come at a significant expense, and some argue that successful entrepreneurship is something that can’t be learned in school.

Entrepreneurship as a Major

First, understand that entrepreneurship is different from business as a field of study. Entrepreneurship as a major helps you develop effectual reasoning. You learn how to identify goals as they grow naturally and learn strategies for facilitating the evolution of those objectives. You learn about concepts such as bootstrapping and different marketing techniques, as well as how to start a business from the ground up. These skills have their place, but they are very different from what you learn as a business major.

Note

The word entrepreneur comes from the Old French word entreprendre: ‘to undertake.’

Choosing a Business Program

In a business program, whether it is for an MBA or a business degree, your focus is on causal reasoning and relationships. You learn about business plans, but you also learn how to calculate the return on the investments a company makes and how different business models work. Within a business major, there may be different specialties, but the core curriculum focuses on developing that causal, linear focus.

Many business degree programs have entrepreneurship components or options to specialize in entrepreneurship. This way, you have the chance to learn more about effectual business matters while still developing knowledge about business theory and how companies operate. However, business degrees tend to be more corporate-focused.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an Entrepreneurship Degree

Advantages

Entrepreneurship degrees have their benefits. While obtaining a degree in the field does not guarantee your success, it certainly doesn’t hurt. Having a degree in entrepreneurship can serve as a validation of your business skills. When you go to get funding for a business concept or develop a partnership, a degree in entrepreneurship can add to your credibility.

In your studies as an entrepreneurship major, you will develop your business instincts. If you have not managed a business before, developing your business reasoning in this way is valuable. Likewise, if you have run a business but not had much freedom in how you approached your management style, an entrepreneurship program helps you learn to identify opportunities and think critically about how to take advantage of them. You also take classes with other people who are interested in starting their own businesses. These people could become lifelong business connections with whom you might possibly develop partnerships.

Disadvantages

Getting a degree in entrepreneurship is a significant expense. In addition to absorbing the cost of your studies, you also must calculate the wages you will lose while you are in a program and unable to work full-time. Moreover, better entrepreneurship programs tend to be costlier and require more of a time investment, which means the costs are even higher. You are taking on these costs for a degree in something that people succeed in every day without any formal training. You are also spending time in class that you could be spending on your business concept. Depending on your idea, this could mean you will miss out on the window of opportunity to get your business started. Also, if your business idea is unsuccessful, a degree in entrepreneurship may not be as desirable as a more general business degree when looking for outside work.

Is Entrepreneurship a Four-Year Degree?

Many entrepreneurship degrees require that you complete a four-year program that includes undergraduate courses like math and science. But there are also institutions of higher learning that offer a six-month or longer degree extension course for entrepreneurship. These may include topics such as business management, marketing, finance, management, and leadership.

What Other Jobs Can You Do With an Entrepreneurship Degree?

Before starting your own business, you may want to gain skills while working for someone else. Working as a marketer creating content to promote a specific product or brand, for instance, allows you to learn about the advertising side of a business. Similarly, working in sales development can help you hone your sales skills, which could be useful when you start your own business. Other jobs that can help you get experience for the future include being a financial analyst, financial adviser, business consultant, or management consultant.

What Much Does It Cost to Start a New Business?

The average cost to start a microbusiness is about $3,000, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Of course, the amount of capital you’ll need to get underway depends on the type of business you are starting. Startups in online retail, accounting, and landscaping, for example, typically cost $5,000 to get off the ground. You can calculate your startup costs and break-even point using an SBA spreadsheet and calculator.

The Bottom Line

A degree in entrepreneurship can give you the skills and insights you will need to start your own business, but it is by no means a requirement—and it can be expensive. Many entrepreneurs launch their businesses without any degree at all. And a general degree in business may provide you with a wider range of useful skills to fall back on should your business fail, especially given that more than two-thirds don’t succeed.

Read the original article on Investopedia.