Let's Get Down to Business: What It Really Means to Study Business

When we think of business, you’d be forgiven for imagining a blur of pantsuits, briefcases, cubicles and power stances.

This post is presented in partnership with Monash Business School.

But, perhaps to your surprise, the field of business is much more diverse and varied than that.

Thanks to shows like The Office, we’ve gotten the stereotype of the boring workplace filled with row upon row of grey cubicles, only brought to life by the quirky characters who inhabit them.

While there is some truth to that idea in certain office spaces, most business graduates do not end up there.

So, to help to you understand what it means to actually study business, we're laying down some unexpected things you might encounter in a business degree with the help of Monash Business School's Associate Professor Colin Jevons.

A business degree can show you the world.

No, we mean this literally. While we tend not to associate business degrees with travelling around the world, many universities in Australia offer opportunities for you to take study trips.

Monash Business School, for example, offers a bunch of short study trips overseas in Europe and Asia during the summer and winter breaks. A/Professor Jevons stresses that they're "not holidays, but visits to boardrooms in cities all over the world" but, sneakily, suggests you can tack on a holiday afterwards to truly wind down before another semester. 

Semesters abroad are another common choice for those who want a more in-depth cultural adventure. Monash in particular offers even more options with partner universities overseas, including North and South America, and Africa too.

So, if you're feeling like a change of scenery while you study, and even boosting your CV with those 'soft skills' everyone's talking about, a business degree's not going to stop you from living your best life. 

What do artists and politicians have in common? A business degree.

While many believe studying a business degree will only land you a job in a business or corporate role, A/Professor Jevons says this couldn't be further from the truth.

He thinks this is because business degrees teach "skills that are needed in the 21st century: the skills of creativity, the skills of being able to communicate across any medium," not to mention the skills of problem solving and teamwork.

Combining a business degree with another degree can also help you think creatively and critically; two things that are particularly useful in the worlds of art and politics. 

Basically, if you're considering a business degree but your heart's leaning more towards an arts or law degree, ¿por qué no los dos?

Internships will be more than just coffee runs.

While we might've seen some terror internships on the screen or heard about them through older family members, internships through universities (with the added bonus of credit towards your degree) are quality controlled, so there's little chance you'll just be on coffee-run duty.

Internships are a great way to understand what it's actually like working in the field, and you'll get to meet industry professionals who can offer advice and potential opportunities down the track. 

These internships can even be done overseas, so you can knock out two birds with one stone and be well-travelled and full of experience come graduation day.

Business students are ideas and solutions generators.

A/Professor Jevons admits there's a perception business degrees aren't important because some business leaders never needed them when they started out. He argues, however, they're now needed more than ever to innovate the way we work and to overturn some of those crusty old ideas.

"The way in which we educate people now has a big, big focus on ethical and long-term perspectives," he says. 

With automation and A.I. taking over many unskilled jobs, A/Professor Jevons explains that business degrees are teaching creative skills that robots can't replicate.

"Human beings are best at inter-personal communication and being that little bit creative," he says.

"Machines are never going to be as creative as people are."

Business doesn't just mean business.

When it comes to actually studying business, it's not just about getting to a job where you have to cram yourself onto public transport every peak hour and crunch numbers for nine hours a day. A/Professor Jevons reveals these outdated ideas are not even true of the traditionally snore-inducing degree of accounting.

"It's more than just calculating profit and loss and doing the incredibly boring stuff that I believe they still teach in school," he explains, worrying that this old way "must put thousands of bright, intelligent creative people off accounting."

He explains that "creative accounting" (not the commonly-used euphemism for 'embezzling') is starting to take off, with accountants trying to see if they can calculate unusual topics like love and water usage. 

"It's about getting people to think differently about a profession that has one of the most boring reputations," A/Professor Jevons jokes, reminding us that "any stuff that is boring, by definition, is going to be replaced by a machine".

So, if you were one of those people thinking that business degrees lead to dull lives spent in grey cubicles, we hope you've seen the light.

Interested in finding out more about university life and maybe curious about business courses? Then come along to Monash University's Open Day! 

Held on 4 and 5 August across three Victorian locations, it's a great place to get first-hand information from Monash Business School staff and lecturers, hear stories from students, and learn all about the activities you could get involved in during your degree. Plus, visit their Business Open House on 12 August at 271 Collins Street.

Photo: NBC & iStock.com/eclipse_images