Hi, I’m Elena, a final year Business Management (Marketing) student. I recently finished all of my university assignments and it still feels surreal! I can’t believe how quick these four years (I decided to do a placement) have gone by.
If you are reading this post, you might be considering studying Business Management. I hope writing about my experience helps you make a decision.
At Surrey, you can choose many different Business Management pathways. This means you can specialise in an area of Business Management through your modules during your degree. For example, I chose Marketing, which meant I had core marketing modules in second and third year. In first year, all Business Management students study the same modules.
Personally, I think this is a good way to get a good understanding of all areas of business, which will prove useful regardless of whether you have a special interest in a certain area. It’s also a good way to meet lots of people and make connections – something especially important when it comes to having a career in business. This also gives students a chance to experience different modules and if someone has chosen a pathway they now think they will dislike, they can still change it.
The Business School organises events throughout the year for students to meet, or to aid with student wellbeing. In first year, I went to an icebreaker bingo night where we were encouraged to mingle and learn about each other. There was free pizza and drinks, which is always a good thing! It’s good to go to these types of events, especially in first year, as it’s always nice to see friendly faces around campus and in lectures. In second year, I went to a career fair, which is useful to find companies offering placements and other jobs. The Business School also organises free breakfasts from time to time. It’s always nice to see these initiatives take place as it shows they care.
Even though you might be taking the same module as someone else, you might end up with a different lecturer in your seminars. You’re always going to like some lecturers more than others, but I’ve been quite lucky with the ones I’ve had. They have always been available for support and to answer queries when needed. Two of my lecturers this year even set up group study sessions where we could go to a room to work on our assignment and they would be there to answer any questions. And they even brought snacks! I really appreciated it as it created an engaging and creative learning environment.
A BSc Business Management degree is a minimum of 3 years long. Some people do a foundation year beforehand, and some people also choose to do a year in industry (also called placement or sandwich year).
I really recommend doing a placement year. It gives you experience before you go out into the real (non-student life) world, and most of the time, you can get paid for it. I did mine at the Students’ Union and I had the best time. It was an amazing experience and gave me real responsibilities and things to talk about in job interviews.
I hope you have enjoyed this post! Click here for more information on Business Management courses at Surrey, or watch this video to find out more:
