college 101
a diverse degree
Not Business
as Usual
By Breanna Pianfetti
College is an investment for your future career.
Often, the choice of a degree further defines your
career trajectory. If you earn a degree in
journalism, it stands to reason that you will likely
become a journalist, much like someone with a
degree in theater may be expected to become a
performer.
A business degree is a bit different.
While a degree in finance sets the stage for a career in banking
and an accounting degree is pretty much mandatory to be a cer-
tified public accountant, someone with a degree in one of those
areas is not limited to those kinds of careers.
In fact, a business degree is very much about teaching a set of
skills that can translate to a wide number of career paths. The
process of earning a business degree is the process of learning
how to be an entrepreneur, how to craft a business plan, how
to find investors, and how to conduct effective marketing. Few
people with a business degree describe themselves as a “business
person”—they are chief marketing officers, data analysts, social
media specialists, controllers, venture capitalists, supply chain
experts, and so on. They can also be farmers, lawyers, musicians,
and journalists.
Through an array of traditional business degrees like economics,
finance, and accounting and degree concentrations in high-tech
or unique areas like business analytics and value investing, The
University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business is pre-
paring students for just about whatever career path they choose
to go down.
What started as an idea for a family project to raise a unique
breed of sheep to teach McCrary’s children to appreciate the
land and animals, turned into an enterprise that is perhaps not
the typical image one thinks when imagining a typical business
career. However, running the farm and growing her online
operations is one that requires all the tools gained from earning a
degree in business.
McCrary said, “My time at the Culverhouse College of Business
provided me with both the knowledge and skills needed to
become a successful entrepreneur. The wide variety of required
classes introduced me to the many facets of business. Even if you
are a marketing major, you must have an in-depth understanding
of finance, economics, and management to launch a successful
business.”
McCrary’s story is emblematic of the kinds of success a business
degree, such as those offered by UA’s Culverhouse College of
Business, can provide. For more information about all the degree
options available at Culverhouse, visit culverhouse.ua.edu.
One of the more interesting career paths—or perhaps country
lane—is that taken by Culverhouse grad Natasha McCrary,
owner and founder of 1818 Farms, located outside Huntsville,
Alabama. Her business, which sells personal care products and
is a full working farm, was recently named Amazon’s “Wom-
an-Owned Small Business of the Year.”
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| Spring 2020
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