I'm a second year undergraduate student pursuing business studies; I have an interest in the energy sector/oil and gas and would like to broaden my perspective. I'm interested in project management, commercial operations, analysis- in the upstream division.
My major will most likely be Finance, would pursuing a minor in Geology be difficult without a science background? In terms of the hiring process, would this minor make me appear more competitive, or would it be better to graduate with a high GPA instead, and only pursue the major?
Does a minor even have much significance? For example, I had an interview with Suncor, and they have separate hiring processes for business grads, earth sciences grads, and engineering grads.
Thanks for your help!
My major will most likely be Finance, would pursuing a minor in Geology be difficult without a science background? In terms of the hiring process, would this minor make me appear more competitive, or would it be better to graduate with a high GPA instead, and only pursue the major?
Does a minor even have much significance? For example, I had an interview with Suncor, and they have separate hiring processes for business grads, earth sciences grads, and engineering grads.
Thanks for your help!
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You probably should not.
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When I attended my school's geology-department-sponsored job fair, I mistakenly assumed that all of the companies present were looking for geology majors, but sometimes they're only interested in the business-side of things, so as soon as I announce that I'm a geology major, they completely lose interest in talking to me. It doesn't matter if I know anything about rocks; that's not what they're looking for. They're looking for someone more like you, not me.
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Also you will learn little about the oil & gas industry from most lower division undergraduate geology courses. The topics covered in most geology courses (such as Earth history and how to identify types of rocks & minerals) will have little use to you as someone pursing business studies.
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And regarding whether geology would be difficult without a science background... yes, it probably would be. For example, you'll need to have an understanding of chemistry in order to learn about chemical compositions of minerals.
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When I attended my school's geology-department-sponsored job fair, I mistakenly assumed that all of the companies present were looking for geology majors, but sometimes they're only interested in the business-side of things, so as soon as I announce that I'm a geology major, they completely lose interest in talking to me. It doesn't matter if I know anything about rocks; that's not what they're looking for. They're looking for someone more like you, not me.
...
Also you will learn little about the oil & gas industry from most lower division undergraduate geology courses. The topics covered in most geology courses (such as Earth history and how to identify types of rocks & minerals) will have little use to you as someone pursing business studies.
...
And regarding whether geology would be difficult without a science background... yes, it probably would be. For example, you'll need to have an understanding of chemistry in order to learn about chemical compositions of minerals.
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Your minor must have a connection to your major. For example, if you major in music, then it makes sense to minor in something related to music. There is no connection or relationship between finance and geology...the study of rocks. It makes sense to minor in something related to finance like statistics, math or computers. See my point? Yes, a minor is significant in terms of strengthening your major requirements. A minor will not decide what your future employment will be. To be very honest, if you want to reduce competition for jobs after graduation, aim high. In other words, go beyond the four-year degree. A four-year degree today, regardless of major, is what a high school diploma once was about 30 years ago.