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Should I pursue a career in management/executive management?

I have majored in science and love science, but I just don't know if I like the job itself. I feel like if I go into management I won't live up to my full potential as far as intelligence and smarts go but I feel like I would enjoy it more. I see myself someday as a CEO or something like that.. but there's always that nagging feeling that I'm not making a difference (as a scientist). Perhaps in the future I"ll have the power to blend them both?

Public Comments

1. only if that's what is in your heart...or if they want to pay you a gazillion dollars
2. I'll assume you're an undergrad. There is more to being a good leader than being smart (although it's a good start). I know many brillant people who couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag. In management, you need hard skills, like analyzing problems, and soft skills, like communicating w/ people. I would go into engineering as an undergrad. It does not matter which type (electrical, mechanical, computer, etc.). The problem solving skills you'll learn are very valuable. The soft skills you'll learn by interacting w/ people. Perhaps you can get a part time job or volunteer. Engineering should challenge you on a mental level. The fact of the matter is most executives were engineering majors in college. Jack Welch was a chemical engineering major. You can always minor in business. You'll learn basic economics and accounting. I would take stats as well. Trust me; it's very valuable knowledge. After graduating and working a few yrs, you can go get your MBA from a good school. Plus, many big firms, like GE, have their own internal management training programs where they groom future executives. It's a very hard program. They recruit you in straight from school. As an engineering major, they'll let you do technical work while you are being prepped for a management role. In a worst case you scenerio, you later find you don't want to go into management. You'll always have an engineering degree and be able to find a decent paying job doing something that works your mind. This path gives you the best of both worlds. As for science classes, you'll get plenty of them (like chemistry, physics, biology) as an engineering major. You won't take advanced organic chemistry as a mechanical engineering maor. In the later yrs, the science classes are focused on your specific branch of engineering. You might take class in thermal dynamics as a mechanical. As for the doing good part, you can write a fat check as a rich executive to your favorite charity. Or, you can be like my friend and run a bio-tech firm researching the latest drugs to try to find cancer treatments. Hope this helps.