Majoring in business does not improve one’s prospects of landing a job in business — but internships do, according to a study led by John M. Nunley at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. The researchers sent about 9,400 fictitious resumes to online job openings in business-related fields, such as finance, management, and marketing. Resumes were randomly assigned one of nine different majors (e.g., accounting, biology, economics, English, finance), and four resumes were submitted to each ad. Resumes with business degrees were not significantly more likely to lead to an interview, but resumes listing internship experience were 14% (2.2 percentage points) more likely to receive an interview request than those without. Internship experience may signal traits valued by employers, such as innate ability or advanced skills, the researchers suggest.
Source: College major, internship experience, and employment opportunities: Estimates from a résumé audit
