Thoughts on My Studying for Marketing Degree

Thong5000 on 04/04/2019 - 20:45
Last edited 05/04/2019 - 09:29 by 1 other user

Hello bargainers,

First off, I'm a first year Marketing student at RMIT and have just started my course fresh out of high school. So far it has been pretty manageable but the work is so damn boring and the teachers are even less interesting. I have the bare amount of motivation right now for this course but I reckon I can push through it as I want a career in the financial sector down the line as a big corporate guy or a businessman.
Now you guys know my tragic life story, I have some questions:

Will marketing be somewhat employable in the near future?
How transferable or useful are the skills in my course if I wanted to start my own business?
What advice, must do things to help me advance in my career?
Networking tips?
Out of school activities?
Clubs I should join?

And ultimately, should I drop out now?
..and do engineering although it will be a massive struggle since I have ADHD XD

Thanks so much guys and please lead me in the right direction before I give HECs another 5k since census has sadly just ended.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 04/04/2019 - 21:01

  +2

  First rule is get good marks even if you hate it and plan to leave.

• 

  Halo375 on 04/04/2019 - 21:13

  +2

  Second rule is not to have Ozbargain make major life decisions for you. Grow up and choose your own path. If you don’t like it now you probably won’t like it later.

• 

  crentist on 04/04/2019 - 21:22

  is it boring because its easy or because you arent interested in learning it?
  if its easy, good, it means you get it and you should be acing everything, and you might be stepping into something you are well suited for so you can get the challenging jobs that pay more and are more interesting
  if you arent interested, try putting in more effort to really get it, and then you might find it interesting, so that it starts to become easy and you can ace it

  or if you still dont like it just do some other shit

• 

  poboy on 04/04/2019 - 21:41

  Marketing has a low moat barrier, pretty much anyone can be a marketer without a degree. Plus as marketing is a visible aspect of a company, everyone has an opinion on what should be done, especially finance who usually have no clue.

  Marketing is a great skill for an entrepreneur, as execution and strategy is more important than the idea.

  Marketing is a tough category to secure a role in. There are now heaps of marketing graduates and fewer large companies. Add the low moat problem and prospects are drying up.

  I would couple marketing with data science. Good luck.

  • 

    Halo375 on 04/04/2019 - 22:09

    +1

    Agreed, the bulk of marketing roles are more digital in nature and data driven.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 04/04/2019 - 22:09

  You're not selling me on this whole marketing idea.

  ..and do engineering although it will be a massive struggle since I have ADHD

  …and you've already given yourself an excuse for failure before you have even started.

  I'm no life guru but general observation - those who start with excuses to fail always fall back on those excuses.

  • 

    Changskies on 05/04/2019 - 08:36

    Second this. So many people do this.

• 

  dcep on 04/04/2019 - 22:37

  go join the army

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 04/04/2019 - 22:38

    +1

    Yvan eth nioj

• 

  Cave Fire on 04/04/2019 - 22:42

  +1

  Okay… I'm a Marketing graduate and I have worked in Sales or Customer service. I also took on some Market Research roles as well. I do have my own business plans. The theory is applicable to an extent. You still need a good idea and some luck at the end of the day in business. Best thing to do would be to look at Marketing Assistant or Coordinator vacancies. They usually list things like "Photoshop", Graphic design or Copywriting. These aren't usually in Marketing degrees! You get taught broad topics. Someone that has those skills could be a better hire than you. The main bulk of my course work was Marketing plans.

  Doing a double degree such as International Finance might be a good idea. But again, you have to like the subject. I'm also sure there are people with ADHD that succeed, it is a matter of getting help and communicating. Any club that interests you is okay, if there is a business focus even better. Anything that allows you to network and socialise will help you. Unless it's those wierd drinking clubs…

• 

  try2bhelpful on 04/04/2019 - 22:43

  Most Universities will have councillors you can talk to. I suggest you have a chat to them before you go forward. There are alternative courses to a full engineering degree as well. I did a digital technology degree where I did marketing as my inter faculty subject.

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 04/04/2019 - 22:46

    Usually it's councils that have councillors. :p

    • 

      try2bhelpful on 04/04/2019 - 22:54

      Oops, sodding auto correct. counsellors. .

• 

  dust on 05/04/2019 - 08:51

  Will marketing be somewhat employable in the near future?

  Depends if you like serving coffee or not.

• 

  ms_caz on 05/04/2019 - 15:51

  RMIT have a fantastic creative marketing program. I have had close contact with them through some of their feeder school programs. Their presenters, both staff and current students, were inspiring. In other words, they did a great job of marketing their programs to us!

  Ask yourself why you chose marketing, especially if you are straight out of high school AND if you have not had any previous contact with the programs I mentioned. Remember that tertiary study is very different to high school and this is something that many high school students encounter, when their course does not match up with what they think tertiary study will be like. If you are finding it dull and boring, there is obviously a mis-match between you and the course. I would recommend that you do as one of the previous posters recommend and work hard to take action for yourself. Really try to engage with the work, and especially the staff. RMIT are very strongly invested in ensuring that their students are supported in all aspects of their student life, so reach out for support too, in terms of study skills and other student services.

  RMIT have a number of new courses coming on board in the next year in the fields of enterprise and business. Enterprise and employability skills are gained through all tertiary study but especially these new courses are what make students employable, not necessarily the degree itself ( talking generalist degrees here).

  having said all that about RMIT, Swinburne also have an excellent digital marketing course which as far as I can see has a different approach to the RMIT one as it seems to focus more on the data side of things. I’m sure that both courses have both aspects of marketing but you may find the Swinburne one more obviously suited to your interests.

  Both institutions have a strong focus on the development of workplace skills, through internships, and on global links through their semesters abroad.

  I’d certainly recommend speaking to course advisers from both institutions- both also have highly regarded engineering programs as well.

  Source: I am a high school careers advisor. You know you can also go back to your old high school careers advisor and talk to them , too. They will help you work out how to investigate options as well as to reflect on your current approach and efforts.