Helpful Resources Available At The Paul Merage School of Business
Contributed by UC Irvine student writer Tim Kim.
Coming to the business school as a new student was exciting but also nerve-wracking. As a first-generation, Korean student from Hawai’i, I couldn’t imagine my life as a Business Administration major at UCI. Furthermore, my first year of college was completely online due to COVID-19. Therefore, I knew it would be a long and stressful journey for me. I started to look for resources that could help me get through my first year of college in an online setting. Luckily, I managed to find valuable resources from the business school, and now I am proud to say that I have grown dramatically from my first year. Whenever you need help with specific areas (such as academics, careers, and personal developments), I recommend you try using these resources to start your journey.
Academics
Academic Advisors
I know this may sound too generic, but academic advisors are beneficial when it comes to achieving academic success. If you are too afraid to ask professional academic advisors for help, the business school also has peer academic advisors. The peer academic advisors are current undergraduate students dedicated in assisting you with your academic journey.
If you have any issues with your academic record, class enrollment, GPA, or other academic processes, the academic advisors are always available. For example, I saw an error regarding the University requirements on my DegreeWorks, where you can keep track of your academic progress. I immediately sent a DegreeWorks Update form, and they quickly fixed the issue.
Tentative Schedule & Electives by Emphasis
Like other schools at UCI, the business school updates a tentative academic schedule every year. I received the 2021-2022 tentative schedule around February through an email, so I could only use it for the spring quarter. However, this tentative schedule tends to stay similar every year. You might not have the same classes for the upcoming years, but you will have a general idea of what classes you can take each quarter.
Also, this list is organized in terms of emphasis. Business Administration students need to have at least one emphasis before they graduate. The thing is that these emphasis classes are not offered every quarter. Thus, when you are planning your three or four-year plan, make sure you check whether you can take the emphasis classes you want for a specific quarter.
If you want to get more information about the tentative schedule, you can contact the academic advisors!
Professors & Teaching Assistants (TAs)
The concept of office hours might sound unfamiliar to new incoming students. Professors and TAs open their offices for students to ask questions and communicate with them if they have issues with the class. These are helpful to improve your GPA.
You can also use these office hours to have a little conversation with your professors and make new connections. I’ve heard many cases where students actively used office hours to build relationships with their professors and got job opportunities through them.
I want to give you one piece of advice: don’t be afraid to ask! Growing up in Korean culture, I was also afraid of coming out of my comfort zone and asking questions because I used to think it was wrong to ask for help. However, once I got to college, I realized that it is so much better to ask questions and solve problems instead of sitting down and avoiding my issues.
Careers
The BRIDGE
Before I give more details about the BRIDGE, I want to ask you one question: did you know that the Paul Merage School of Business has its own career center?
I believe what differentiates the business school from other schools at UCI is that we have our own career center to help the Merage students. Among all the business school's career resources, the BRIDGE is one of them.
The BRIDGE is a website that UCI Business Administration majors can access to make appointments with career advisors, register for workshops, and find job opportunities. Some of the job opportunities here are exclusively offered to Business Administration students. If you want to look for professional experiences, this website will help you a lot. You can access it through the MyMerage.
Big Interview
Big Interview is a website where you can practice for interviews. There are a lot of sample questions on this website, and these questions are organized by different industries, various situations, and even specific competencies that companies look for. In addition, you can even record yourself and make self-assessments.
VMock
VMock is an online platform that you can use to improve your résumé. This website provides you with great feedback on your resume in terms of impact, presentation, and competencies. Each student has ten chances to review their résumé. If you want to review your résumé more than ten times, contact the UCI Division of Career Pathways.
Resources & Tips
On the MyMerage page, there are a lot of PDF files about career tips for Merage students. I had personally used tips for cover letters, elevator pitches, LinkedIn, and résumés because I did not know about these when I was a first-year student. If you are someone who never learned about how to build your professional brand, check these tips to start your career journey!
Career Fairs/Workshops
The business school offers various workshops and great career fairs. During these events, you can develop professionalism and meet actual recruiters from many companies. These workshops and career fairs are designed to help the Business Administration majors make the most of their time at UCI.
Community
Business clubs/organizations
As of the 2021-2022 school year, there are 23 business clubs and three business fraternities. I cannot speak on behalf of all these organizations because I’m not in all of them. However, these organizations are beneficial when it comes to getting professional experiences. When I was in the Entertainment Careers in Entertainment Club, I actually got my first internship here! By joining these clubs, you will be able to build a professional network. And beyond the professional network, you might even find a valuable community.
Networking events
The Merage Undergraduate Student Association (MUSA) hosts various events and workshops for Merage undergraduate students throughout the school year. Some of these events have networking opportunities. Use these opportunities to meet people outside of your classes. You might be able to find a valuable connection through these networking events.
