Are you a leader who finds it difficult to take orders from other people? Do you have an innovative idea you’re passionate about that you think you could form a business around? If you said “yes” to both of these questions, you might want to consider declaring a major in entrepreneurial studies.
Lemonade stand: the starting entrepreneur
Education
According to the College Board, a degree in entrepreneurial studies can be earned at either the associate’s (2-year) or bachelor’s (4-year) level. Typical courses that students take as a part of this major include entrepreneurial finance, investor relations and funding, new product design and development, new ventures and the business plan and managing a growing business. Classes on developing your business plan are often at the core of any entrepreneurial studies degree which has students develop their business goals and how they plan on achieving them. Colleges want students to learn this because, down the line, investors and bankers will want to see this plan and will take it into account when analyzing the value of your business.
What to know before you apply
Students who wish to pursue entrepreneurial studies should have an idea in mind of what they want to pursue after they graduate in order to find a school that will prepare them properly for the field they will be getting into. With that being said, students should look into the different entrepreneurial studies departments of schools they hope to apply to and see what areas of entrepreneurship they offer to students. In addition, students should be prepared to do plenty of hands-on and interactive activities for their major including working and brainstorming ideas with a team, developing a business plan, creating an actual business and working with customers.
Salary
The average yearly salary that students can expect with a career as an entrepreneur varies greatly based on field of study, the number of years in business and the success that the business has. As a top executive of a company or CEO, the average yearly salary according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics was $176,550 in 2011 with general and operations managers earning and average of $114,490 per year.
Interesting article. I wonder what the value is of a masters in entrepreneurship.