Overview
Overview
If they're happy, you're happy.
Description
Hospitality management (which actually has nothing to do with hospitals, btw) is a great field to go into if you like making people happy. It's a noble pursuit, looking after the well-being of others, and we here at Shmoop are all about that. Customer service is the largest part of hospitality, so if you're relentlessly sassy to difficult customers, you might want to consider something else. (We get it, though. People can be so cruel.)
Working in customer service at a restaurant or big hotel company means interacting with people from all over the globe. You might be getting drinks for a Prague couple one day and booking a hotel for an Austrian family the next. This means you'll have to be flexible, and not the Shawn Johnson type, although you might see some crazy requests if you work long enough. You'll also learn about the customs of other people's cultures—for example, Germans prefer a handshake, while Spaniards tend to be huggers.
Going to grad school isn't a common path for hospitality management majors. A lot of jobs involving hospitality require relevant work experience and social acumen instead of book smarts. Experience is imporant because let's face it, nobody is going to entrust their multi-million dollar hotel to a fresh-faced twenty-two-year-old over a twenty-two-year hotel veteran.
After all, it isn't easy dealing with an abrasive casino patron who managed to lose his kid's college fund in Blackjack, but you could potentially find yourself in the middle of a scenario like that. So yes, this does mean doing the lower-level jobs once you're out of school. Hey, it builds character.
Percentage of US students who major in Hospitality Management:
0.33%
Stats obtained from this source.