Ocean came to Melbourne because he wanted a global career in business. The Bachelor of Commerce has led to consulting work for non-profits and enabled him to actively shape the experience.
Moving from Macau, Ocean had heard from family friends and students at his high school about the courses and opportunities available at the University of Melbourne.
After studying business in high school, Ocean wanted to study a Bachelor of Commerce at Melbourne with a double major in Marketing and Management. He was curious about the world of consulting, so combining subjects across these disciplines helped him understand customer needs and behaviour, and how to set goals and develop a plan to achieve them. This ability to identify problems, devise solutions and think creatively about a business, case study or project inspired Ocean to develop his skills across different industries and take on development opportunities abroad.
“I took a global management consulting subject in Malaysia where I got to work with the WWF Malaysian branch. This non-profit organisation works a bit differently compared to a business that would want to maximise profits and it was fascinating to see how we must work differently based on the resources available and to come up with creative ideas and solutions.”
Gaining work experience across industries while studying can be a great way to identify what subjects might be relevant to your future career and help you build your professional network. Taking your experiences from the classroom and learning how to apply them in different situations is a major part of internships, project-based learning and showcases, giving you support and practical experience throughout your degree.
“I got to apply my management and marketing skills to help develop a framework that guides project selection and prioritisation. Being able to set goals and put plans in place to achieve these goals requires the combination of so many different skills . , so being able to work with the WWF, my team, colleagues and bring together the different parts of a project – you can see how everything is connected."
The ability to create these connections between disciplines and to build on your experience is part of making sure your skills are adaptable for jobs of the future. As we rely more in technology and innovate, you’ll be able to navigate the changes in an ever-shifting job market.
"We’ve talked in our lectures about how skills in communication, teamwork and this sort of problem-solving can’t just be replaced by A.I. and it’s this cross-cultural, interpersonal part of business that is going to make such a difference over time. It’s like building a community in business."
In addition to his studies, Ocean wanted to ensure that he was making the most of student life at Melbourne. He joined the Melbourne Student Forum so he could actively shape the experience of future students and he’s found that the more involved he gets in student life, the better he finds uni life overall.
"I wanted to gain more skills and experience so I applied to become a student delegate for the Melbourne Student Forum. This is a leadership program where we collaborate with the university and get to voice our opinions on university-wide issues. It gives me this sense of belonging to the university so we can talk about teaching quality and embed student voices in what the university does.”
Being a part of this student community has further helped Ocean navigate what it might be like in the workplace and working internationally. “Working in groups, we have a blend of international and domestic students, so we're able to work together with a blend of these different experiences. English is not my first language, so the domestic students help me with my grammar and to express my opinion, and the international students bring different experiences, and it helps make sure we are communicating clearly and concisely so everybody is on the same page. These cross-cultural teamwork skills are just like what we would have in a workplace.”
Many Bachelor of Commerce students are looking for a study experience that equips them with practical expertise, challenges their creativity and gives them a competitive edge in the workforce. By expanding on how a unique combination of skills can help make a career that’s individual to him, Ocean also decided to incorporate studying French through his breadth subjects.
“Studying French, I was fortunate enough to have a very passionate and engaging tutor. Learning the language is fun but learning about the cultural part of languages is even more exciting and I think I can learn a lot from how the French approach their lives.”
This combination of subjects means a degree at Melbourne can be tailored to your individual interests. Knowing he wanted to head towards a career in consulting, studying French gave Ocean a view into how language can shift our interactions and how different cultures communicate. In the commerce and consulting world, this can help with global interactions and finding new ways to approach a problem.
“I feel like marketing and management are just so applicable in real-life careers, no matter what kind of place you’re in. In high school I’d studied business so I knew I wanted to do a Management major, but the option to include a double major with Marketing meant I could have more flexibility and combine areas that I think go well together. I like how these areas equip me with the most knowledge in a way that I’m ready to apply them in the real world.”