Individuals who opt to pursue a career in hospitality should note that doing so can be a very prudent decision. This is the case for several reasons, including the fact that pay can be competitive. If you choose to pursue a career in hospitality by first obtaining a hospitality degree, you should know that selecting a good minor can play an integral role in facilitating your professional success. By learning more about this and other issues that pertain to the field of hospitality, you can determine whether pursuing this vocational path is right for you.
Hospitality-The Basics
Although broadly defined, hospitality is a field that incorporates the study and implementation of principles that facilitate a positive relationship between a guest and the host. Degrees in hospitality may also be referred to in terms of hospitality management, hotel management, hotel administration, or hotel and tourism management. The degrees one can obtain within the field include Bachelor of Business Administration, BA, BS, MS, MBA, and PhD. Hospitality management covers the fields of hotels, cruise ships, restaurants, destination marketing organizations, amusement parks, country clubs, and convention centers. In listing some of the careers that an individual operating within the field of hospitality can obtain, Karen Schweitzer cites hotel or motel manager, tourism or travel agent, casino manager, event planner, and facilities manager.
Obtaining A Hospitality Degree
If you opt to obtain a degree in hospitality, there are a variety of ways you can accomplish your goal. In addition to attending school in the traditional classroom setting, you can opt to earn your degree online. Doing so can be advantageous for many reasons, including the fact that you do not have to be in a physical classroom in order to complete your coursework. This can be beneficial for students who have full-time jobs or responsibilities to spouse and children.
Selecting A Minor To Compliment Your Hospitality Degree
Once you have made the decision to pursue a degree in hospitality, it’s a good idea to think about which minors would compliment the degree. Determining which minor would be best is contingent upon your awareness of which direction you want to take your hospitality degree in. If you are interested in hospitality management, obtaining a minor in business could be a very practical and advantageous decision for many reasons. First, business courses tend to place primacy upon the analysis and acquisition of management skills such as planning, organizing, and the effective allocation of resources such as time, people, and money. Each of these skills could help an individual excel within the field of hospitality management.
In addition to minoring in business to help advance your hospitality career, you might consider the value of selecting a minor such as communication. Although broadly defined, the field of communication is basically about the processes of human communication. The field involves examining how ideas are conveyed and interpreted through political, economic, cultural, hermeneutic, and semiotic spaces. Selecting a minor in communication can be advantageous for many reasons, including the fact that your ability to offer hospitable service to guests is largely contingent upon the acquisition and use of communication skills.
Conclusion
While the suggested minors above provide you with a basic understanding of which minors can compliment a hospitality degree, it is certainly not an exhaustive list. Additionally, you could consider obtaining a degree in Human Resources or a foreign language. Irrespective of the minor that you select, earning a degree in hospitality can be the gateway to a very personally and professionally rewarding career.