A zombie apocalypse might just destroy civilization before the year 2020. Hey, plenty of crazy things happen every day. If the zombie virus goes viral, only the best and brightest are going to have a chance at survival. Just in case, we’ve compiled a list of classes that you should take now to ensure you’re place in post-zombie apocalyptic society in 2020.
1. Social Media Marketing, San Francisco State University
So knowing how to use social media in a way that benefits the company you work for may not be exactly breaking news to anyone. Almost every person currently looking for a job or working towards a degree of realizes the importance of social networking and promotion. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious class. With social media, more is more, and increasingly employers are expecting a higher level of knowledge when it comes to it.
2. iPhone Application Development, Stanford
More and more these days, companies are being faced with the challenge of catering to a growing population of smartphone-owning consumers. These consumers require faster, easier, and more personalized ways to connect with any given business at any given time. Smartphone apps are the biggest trend right now that allow businesses 24/7 contact with consumers around the world, and like social media, it is beginning to fall to every employee to know how these apps work and how to make them better.
3. Study Abroad
Technically, studying abroad is not a single course one can take to learn skills future employers might find noteworthy. However, seeing the world teaches students how to respect cultures other than their own, how to work with people who don’t come from the same background, and how to work in a foreign environment. All of these skills are increasingly necessary in a globalized world, where one day you could be talking to someone in Idaho and the next, someone in Switzerland.
4. Organizational Behavior, Georgia Tech
This course provides an introduction to how the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations affects organizational effectiveness. AKA it teaches students how to better conduct themselves in a business environment so that they are as productive as possible, while also teaching future managers how to make their company more lucrative.
5. Gender, Leadership, and Management, Harvard
This class is focused on leadership and management from a gender-based perspective. Issues covered include leadership styles and their impact, understanding power, ethical decision making, workplace stereotypes, differences in communication, and approaches to teamwork. All of these skills are and will continue to be vitally important in the modern workplace.
6. Foreign Language
Again, not one specific course, but still important to employers of expanding businesses. Just the fact that you know a language, even if it is not one the company currently needs to use, can be a positive sign to an employer that you can put in the work necessary to learn a foreign language down the road.
7. Business Writing, University of Notre Dame
This course is designed to help people in the business world improve upon their writing skills. A common problem in the workplace is that employees cannot even draft polite emails, much less professional presentations. “For whatever reason, we are finding the business writing skill-set to be missing,” saidPaula Hill-Strasser, an adjunct business professor at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. When preparing for a future career, students should take some time to hone their writing skills in the workplace that can not only just help them get a job, but also ensure that they keep it.
8. Corporate Communication, Dartmouth
This mini-course explores the changing needs for communication in the business environment. It covers the ever growing environment for business, media relations, financial communications, reputation management and crisis communication.
9. Peer Advising Program, University of Pennsylvania
This program, recently set up at Pennsylvania, is run by older undergraduate students for younger freshmen and sophomores. “While it’s great to see professional advisors and faculty, there are certain things that only a student can articulate,” Director of Academic Affairs and Advising for Wharton Scott Romeika said. Early responses have led to more informed students, who in turn make better course decisions.
10. How to Develop “Breakthrough” Products and Services, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This course teaches students how to systematically create ‘breakthrough’ products and services for a company—a huge trend for businesses everywhere trying to find the next big thing. Shouldn’t that next big thing be you?
