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Economics Majors!

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dave44
Posts: 11052 - Karma: 113
I'm considering applying for Econ, so just a few quick q's.

Where are you studying, what did you expect, was it what you expected? And any other comments/tips?
May 31 2010 11:39AM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
what do you plan on doing with an econ degree?
May 31 2010 11:53AM
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Oreos
Posts: 1207 - Karma: 38
don't do it, i don't need any more competition in the jobs market!!
May 31 2010 2:16PM
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Bob_Loblaw
Posts: 8384 - Karma: 38
It was a lot more math than I thought. Lot of calculus and trig. I switched out.
May 31 2010 2:19PM
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Alex_G
Posts: 11902 - Karma: 1,018
lol have fun
May 31 2010 2:24PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
You might consider something that is going to get you a job when you graduate.
May 31 2010 3:01PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
kinda where i was going with my question. everyone i know that majored in econ had a hell of a time finding a job and generally don't do anything really related to their major. i'd consider accounting or finance if i were you. i've got a few accounting degrees and still took plenty of econ classes, so you'll still get some exposure to it.
May 31 2010 3:08PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
I don't mean to continue to be a negative Nancy, but my father has a finance degree among other undergrad and masters degrees and my mother is an accountant.  Neither of them recommend those majors from what they are seeing right now simply because the job market is flooded with people with those degrees.
May 31 2010 3:10PM
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bailer
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 14
Well ya - people don't graduate with a BA in Economics and have a set career path. It's what you make of it, there are plenty of entry level good paying jobs that simply require a degree to apply. Econ is not near the work of doing sciences/engineering.

Of course the job market is different everywhere... but generally my friends who are unemployed with a degree never really had any good work experience to start. An Econ degree won't get you a job, you still have to get it yourself.
May 31 2010 3:50PM
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hoodSlayer
Posts: 900 - Karma: 7

False. It depends on what type of economics degree you're going for. There's economic theory which is fairly difficult but not too work intensive (a lot of people at my college pair this with a business or some other degree) and then there is the economics-math which is really difficult and fairly work intensive (reqiures a ton more high level math obviously). You can do a lot more with the second one especially if you continue with a masters.

May 31 2010 4:26PM
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prontocuts.com
Posts: 5244 - Karma: 42
Engr major here and I love love love econ, one of my favorite subjects and if it wasn't for the courseload with engr, I would def minor in it. It is very work intensive and I love it
May 31 2010 5:16PM
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bailer
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 14
wow you must be in some gnarly econ courses if you really think they are comparable to science/eng stuff
May 31 2010 5:31PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
That's odd. I've got a bachelor's & master's degree in accounting, and am also an accountant, and I would say the exact opposite. Accounting degrees were the #1 rated degree to get in 2009 based on demand. Considering the upcoming onslaught of new financial regulation, & the ever changing tax code, I can't imagine that there will be any shortage in demand for years to come. I don't know anyone who has had difficulty getting a job with an acct. degree.
May 31 2010 6:36PM
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0ptions
Posts: 2198 - Karma: 60
Having taken both types of courses, there are some economics courses that are unreal intensive. And yes they are comparable. Get off you "I'm an engineer student, I'm better than everyone"-horse. Engineering students are the only type worse than business students.

May 31 2010 6:44PM
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yewwwwwww
Posts: 182 - Karma: 46

i'd say advanced econometrics is right up there with science/eng.

But it depends what your looking for in a career. I've found economics to open up more doors to different types of jobs than people with a straight finance/business. But these jobs are not easy to get as a graduate accountant, but really fuck that. The amount of people that come out with finance business is ridiculous. And I belive business is a really really soft degree. Seriously you'd learn more by starting your own business, and you'd end up making more money. Oh an here in Australia economics graduates have the highest starting wage comapred to all the other business degrees.

May 31 2010 8:09PM
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bryant
Posts: 273 - Karma: 31
business economics seems like a much safer selection. thats what im going to do at least.
May 31 2010 9:38PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,682
As as an engineering major with a math minor, I have helped lots of Econ guys with their 'math' it's not hard stuff. I am not saying that there is no complex math in economics, far from it. It's just the math that most Econ undergrads deal with is laughable. I have seen some Econ grad work that just spun my head in circles though.
May 31 2010 9:48PM
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Barefootin_Fiend
Posts: 7618 - Karma: 4,727
yeah, that's no joke. i took a managerial economics class in grad school that was the hardest course i've ever taken. class started with 40 people and ended with 6. fucker wouldn't even let us use basic calculators. you're right though. for the most part, econ math isn't really that hard.
May 31 2010 9:56PM
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bailer
Posts: 2178 - Karma: 14
haha I'm an Economics graduate... all im saying is generally economics is easier then science/engineering. no need to argue. yes i took econometrics... it was gnar.
Jun 1 2010 1:19AM
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0ptions
Posts: 2198 - Karma: 60
What school?
Jun 1 2010 1:24AM
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icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
Pursuing an economics major is fine, but your going to need to go graduate school to have it be any of use. Keep in mind that this degree (graduate school at least) has a lot of math involved, almost to the extent as an engineering major. So make sure you keep that in the back of your mind.

Jun 1 2010 1:33AM
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0ptions
Posts: 2198 - Karma: 60
Pretty much a necessity nowadays.
Jun 1 2010 1:36AM
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icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
Econ undergrad math most likely doesn't go past calc 2, which is a joke if your an engineering student. However, the math required in graduate school for economics is quite advance, just watch the movie A Beautiful Mind to give you an idea of wtf they have to do.
Jun 1 2010 1:40AM
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soulskier
Posts: 17806 - Karma: 3,841
wait till econ 203, it changed my mind
Jun 1 2010 3:43AM
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molsongolden
Posts: 1649 - Karma: 162
Click for larger image

Had to bring this back from the recent dead.

I have an economics and business management undergrad degrees and the economics classes were more intense but also more interesting. Economics is applicable to many different fields and if you do well in it then you will open more doors than a narrow specific degree will.

With all the accounting talk above I guess it's worth noting that I'm currently taking additional accounting classes to sit for the CPA.
Jul 11 2010 1:30PM
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molsongolden
Posts: 1649 - Karma: 162
i have economics and business management undergrad degrees*

sorry for the typo I changed the sentence and forgot to delete "an"
Jul 11 2010 1:31PM
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NotoriousT.S.E
Posts: 1014 - Karma: 439
Bumping this for what op had to say
Sep 25 2012 2:46PM
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Bumblesteeze
Posts: 3092 - Karma: 748
I'm a 2nd year economics major and so far I'm enjoying it.
Other than being interesting, I think economics is a worthwhile degree to get as it proves that you're an analytical person, which is a skill that can be applied to many different jobs.
Sure an economics degree isn't as employable as an an engineering degree, but if you have the ability to sell yourself at whatever place you want to work at than you shouldn't have problems.

Those are the two main reasons that I decided to major in economics.

Sep 25 2012 3:04PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
Major in a "marketable" degree (i.e. specialized like engineering or accounting), while simultaneously taking Econ courses for educational purposes. Win/win.
Sep 25 2012 3:25PM
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NotoriousT.S.E
Posts: 1014 - Karma: 439
^ Going to do something along those lines, thinking of majoring in econ and minoring in Building and Construction Technology. I would do engineering but thats to much to handle, and the business side of the building and construction industries interest me.
Sep 25 2012 4:03PM
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PON3
Posts: 3817 - Karma: 783
Finance. There are jobs out there for it.
Sep 25 2012 4:23PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,122
at my school, we have two economics programs.

One gets you a BA and you basically have to take one math course (that is made easier than regular first year math. This is the one that most people do and the workload is not even close to comparable to science/eng. I don't know what they do. I don't know how you can learn economics with one math class. I do know that they can get through school with little work, kind of comparable to your typical business student.

The other one gets has a lot more math and you get a BSc (no idea why). They have to take 5 math courses, in order to take at least 3 econometric courses which are very math intensive. The rest of what they take are fairly easy though. From the people I know in this program, I would say the workload is close to that of a "softer" science degree like zoology, ecology, biology, etc. It's certainly not as much work as engineering, biochem, physics, microbio, etc...

However the most important point is you will always take out of a degree what you put in. If your goal is to put the bare minimum in, you will have an easy time doing that in economics. You will also graduate with a fairly common degree and not much else. At the same time, if you are interested in economics and put a lot of time into it you will learn a lot.

I don't know much about economics, but I would choose the one with more math If I wanted a job haha.



Sep 25 2012 4:26PM
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KZA
Posts: 3304 - Karma: 301
The toughest part of an undergrad Econ degree is that you can do so much with it but nothing it really directly qualifies you for. My econ degree got me a Transportation Research internship which eventually has lead to me being the Program Coordinator for the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse. Do tons of fun analysis each day and work with a bunch of bicycle advocates.

It is what you make of it and what your able to convince people your good at in an interview.
Sep 25 2012 4:29PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51320 - Karma: 158,288
keynesian economics blows
Sep 25 2012 4:34PM
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Bumblesteeze
Posts: 3092 - Karma: 748
Sounds like a sweet job, I have friend who works in the same field, but he has a M.A in Economics..

Sep 25 2012 4:39PM
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El_Barto.
Posts: 11630 - Karma: 24,464
you should know that not all engineering degrees are equal. And lol at classifying micro as a tough course but biology as a whole as "soft".

Micro is what makes bio soft. O-chem, biochem, neurophysiology...these are what makes biology tough.
Sep 25 2012 4:48PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
yeah people have to know that as a bio major, you have to do basically an equal amount of chem. chem majors do a lot physics, and physics majors do math. I have a biochem minor too now and i've had equal numbers of bio and chem classes, and some of my bio classes are basically just chemistry in disguise.

do chem engineering, that is undoubtedly the hardest major and it's not like theres many of those.
Sep 25 2012 5:02PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
nope sociology-
Sep 25 2012 5:39PM
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.MASSHOLE.
Posts: 7408 - Karma: 11,040
Or Nuclear Medicine..good luck with that. Almost all sciences/math paths are difficult due to the need to "weed" out inadequate students. We dont want future doctors, chemists, engineer, etc to be incompetent.

Anyways, I am going for an Econ Major paired with a Poli Sci minor (how cliche, I know), but I plan on going to Grad school for Business. What type, well I have at least 4 more years to decide (taking a gap year or two to ski bum between college and graduate school).

I find that Econ is very relevant in todays society due to the constant changes in economic stances in the Govt. Not all Econ focuses on general economics either as stated above. I am taking a class that looks at a firm and its organization, contracts, and how economics can explain choices management makes.

Anyways, lets keep this thread relevant. I want to hear from people who have graduated with an Econ degree and what they did after.
Sep 25 2012 5:41PM
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PeteP
Posts: 482 - Karma: 110
Any person in this thread who claims you can not get a job with an economic degree is a moron. Actually anyone who claims they can not get a job and has a university degree simply does not know how to get a job. Degrees don't get jobs, people do. If you are a skilled person and have a degree you should have no problem entering the job market.


Sep 25 2012 6:00PM
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jensen
Posts: 2576 - Karma: 1,265
I second this. I just finished the Master's accounting program at Montana State and passed my CPA exams. Literally every single person I was in the grad program with has found a job. People describe it as a "recession proof" industry and, as mentioned above, with the tightening regulations that market for accountants is doing nothing but growing. It can be an excellent path to higher level financial positions in an industry you enjoy. I will admit though that it is not the most fun work.
Sep 25 2012 6:20PM
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PON3
Posts: 3817 - Karma: 783
This.

People think that going to college and buying that degree buys you into a lush paying job. Being an awesome hardworking sociable person gets you a job!
Sep 25 2012 7:21PM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
Related...

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Sep 25 2012 7:32PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,122
sorry, this is based on my friends. I know little about biology and basically everyone I know who has a microbiology degree got a double major in biochem. I can tell you for sure they had a lot more work than my friends taking ecology and zoology.

by "soft" I mean less quantitative. people who have PhDs in ecology can know little more than basic statistics. People just often find them easier because you can just memorize stuff and get by.
Sep 25 2012 8:41PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,122
the line between the three is pretty blurry. But you can get a biology degree with less than 6 chem classes. Physics majors also don't do an equal amount of math. less than 1/3 of a physics degree is math courses. We also don't get to use fluff classes like "history of biology" as electives.
Sep 25 2012 8:49PM
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chicken
Posts: 6843 - Karma: 2,122
oops! haha that meant to "geology"
Sep 25 2012 9:01PM
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.MASSHOLE.
Posts: 7408 - Karma: 11,040
Sort of but not really...

Id argue engineers are more likely to turn towards a Math degree than Economics. Unless theyre failing in their first year or so. Most schools require Micro and Macro before you can move on to medium level courses, then Micro and Macro theory before upper level. So if you decide to switch in your sophomore spring semester, or even junior, you will be faaaar behind.
Sep 25 2012 9:28PM
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First.Aid
Posts: 556 - Karma: 10
3rd year Econ major, I liked the field even before I got to college, so I've been loving it.  Like it's been said in this thread before, a degree is what you make of it.  I've put the time in to learn the information from class, and it's paid off because economics has really come alive.  You learn a lot of great skills that you can apply to almost anything in life.  It's not at boring as baby macro/micro leads you to think.
Sep 25 2012 9:45PM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
finance / economics major here

I really enoy it the economics a lot. Finance is very straight forward this and that equation to solve this and that. Economics at my school the professors are really good. One o fthe things I enjoy the most is that economics really lets you think outside the box in terms of the financial world.

The first few classes you take though are SO boring and really not that interesting. Once you get past that into upper level classes there pretty interesting. Money and banking has been by far my favorite economics class so far.

In terms of what you can do with the degree? Its really up to you. You can get almost any job with it besides specifics like engineering. I have a friend who worked in sales and trading at morgan stanley with his economics degree. Getting a job really in this day and age comes down to who you know and if you have any sort of connection to the firm. Economics is a well respected degree. Put the work and effort in and it will pay off. Don't slack off and do some stupid bs major like communications or marketing
Sep 25 2012 11:18PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
interesting thread seeing the time lag, and my position as a senior about to graduate with a degree in Economics.

My take is that Fiance is more practical, however i think its a bit basic / elementary, Econ is far more intangible and abstract. My ability to graph the consumption preferences of the representative individuals when faced with a tradeoff between beer and pizza doesnt really have many marketable jobs skills in there. but the problem solving and critical thinking skills are valuable.

That being said im in a finance class my school offers where we invest 50k of real money and compete with other schools to see who can generate the greatest return.

If someone told me they were thinking about Fiance VS Accounting I would recommend Accounting just based on my peers in both majors, and the far greater number of opportunities afforded the accounting majors.

Even as an econ major ( i tell people im not smart enough to study accounting or engineering haha) Ill be starting as a new analyst for one of the bulge bracket investment banks next summer.
Sep 25 2012 11:45PM
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grown-ninja
Posts: 3031 - Karma: 175
i graduated a few years ago with a double major finance/sociology.  Good combination of quantitative and qualitative skill sets.

My recommendation...take the 50k and skip town or play NUGT and DUST and make 30% a week if it goes right.

I've been in the financial industry for about a year now.  Trying to figure out if a MA is the right path or wait a few more years and get an MBA?
Sep 26 2012 9:18AM
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