Thoughts on Econ major vs Business if offered

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I double majored in Econ and Accounting.
If you are not at a T25, then do Business (preferably finance or accounting). I do not think Econ majors get too much respect if you are not at a top school.
Totally opposite - you can go to University of (insert state), major in accounting, pass the CPA exam and get a job that pays well. If you don't want to be an accountant, it is trickier and have to find a school that has a good business program in what you want to do plus be at top of class.

Right now, my son is planning on getting an economic degree. Basically, he doesn't know what he wants to do after college. However, he is interested in accounting. So, he may end up majoring in accounting or with an economics major and an accounting minor. The problem with this path is he will need to get into a Masters in Accounting program in order to sit for the CPA exam. This will likely require more classes than required for a minor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I double majored in Econ and Accounting.
If you are not at a T25, then do Business (preferably finance or accounting). I do not think Econ majors get too much respect if you are not at a top school.
Totally opposite - you can go to University of (insert state), major in accounting, pass the CPA exam and get a job that pays well. If you don't want to be an accountant, it is trickier and have to find a school that has a good business program in what you want to do plus be at top of class.

Right now, my son is planning on getting an economic degree. Basically, he doesn't know what he wants to do after college. However, he is interested in accounting. So, he may end up majoring in accounting or with an economics major and an accounting minor. The problem with this path is he will need to get into a Masters in Accounting program in order to sit for the CPA exam. This will likely require more classes than required for a minor.

If he has never taken an Accounting course, then best to wait and see. Most people have an immediate reaction to accounting, for good or bad. If he likes it, he will understand the need for 5th year and it won't be a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which business major? I’m not a fan of General business, management, marketing (especially if lacking math) for undergrad. Accounting and finance can be ok, depending on the school. On the Econ major, depends if the student wants a liberal arts education. And Econ at the top schools is much better than at most schools. Look for programs where calculus is required for the Econ major.

I agree with this.

There is definitely a team that believes business is not a useful undergraduate major. I am on that team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I double majored in Econ and Accounting.
If you are not at a T25, then do Business (preferably finance or accounting). I do not think Econ majors get too much respect if you are not at a top school.
Totally opposite - you can go to University of (insert state), major in accounting, pass the CPA exam and get a job that pays well. If you don't want to be an accountant, it is trickier and have to find a school that has a good business program in what you want to do plus be at top of class.

Right now, my son is planning on getting an economic degree. Basically, he doesn't know what he wants to do after college. However, he is interested in accounting. So, he may end up majoring in accounting or with an economics major and an accounting minor. The problem with this path is he will need to get into a Masters in Accounting program in order to sit for the CPA exam. This will likely require more classes than required for a minor.

My son is also declaring accounting as his major. He’s in second year of college in the business dept. He likes finance but realizes accounting will be more feasible as a career, especially in the beginning. He has already mentioned he may stay for the 5th year to get the Masters and prepare for the CPA, but he’s not thrilled about an extra year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some very old timers saying Econ, but in reality if the schools have business programs they are almost always harder to even get in and more prestigious.

For example, UPenn, Cornell, Notre Dame, NYU, Georgetown, Berkeley, UVA, Emory, etc. etc.
For many schools you even have to apply again to the business program in your freshman or sophomore year.

“Old timers.” The most prestigious schools don’t even have business programs.

Back then, they didn't have CS major either. Even today, some of the schools considered 'the most prestigious' are not really known for CS and Tech. Things slowly progress, MIT has a top notch business program.
Brown and Rice relatively recently started business programs.

?? That’s because CS was in its infancy and could be seen as an extension of math- for decades schools have had math profs who teach computer science.

Business didn’t just start in the past century.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Undergrad business is meh because real world experience is valuable before business school.

Undergrad business students get internships, then jobs and get real world experience more easily.

And your proof is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I double majored in Econ and Accounting.
If you are not at a T25, then do Business (preferably finance or accounting). I do not think Econ majors get too much respect if you are not at a top school.
Totally opposite - you can go to University of (insert state), major in accounting, pass the CPA exam and get a job that pays well. If you don't want to be an accountant, it is trickier and have to find a school that has a good business program in what you want to do plus be at top of class.

This is really only true for accounting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious if people have opinions here

Economics in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The same opinion I have on Physics vs Math: whatever you find more interesting.

Same. Whatever they prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Undergrad business is meh because real world experience is valuable before business school.

Undergrad business students get internships, then jobs and get real world experience more easily.

And your proof is?

Not PP but I just saw a document with the employment report from the undergrad b school at my DC’s future university (T20) and it’s very impressive. Can’t imagine pure Econ majors do better there. I also think there is a huge overlap with Econ and business at this school- the course offerings are advanced and math intensive. The whole thing seems very impressive, and I say this as someone with a top 5/10 MBA.

[Anonymous]

One of mine was accepted into one of the top 10 undergrad business programs but decided to do economics. People from both majors went into similar jobs and had to go to do MBA so no difference in outcome.

General perception of people who go for business after high school is that they are often less interested in intellectual growth and have more materialistic approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Undergrad business is meh because real world experience is valuable before business school.

Undergrad business students get internships, then jobs and get real world experience more easily.

And your proof is?

Not PP but I just saw a document with the employment report from the undergrad b school at my DC’s future university (T20) and it’s very impressive. Can’t imagine pure Econ majors do better there. I also think there is a huge overlap with Econ and business at this school- the course offerings are advanced and math intensive. The whole thing seems very impressive, and I say this as someone with a top 5/10 MBA.

How do you measure “math intensive.” Economics level of math intensive involves Measure Theory, Time Series, topology, sometimes there’s dynamical systems work, and probability theory. I’ve never seen a business program with math above calc 2, maybe 3.

Also why rely on your anecdote and not seek public data if you’re this highly educated?

[Anonymous]

Econ is typically much more rigorous. I work in investment banking and we typically hire Econ majors for their math skills, with exceptions for top ranked b school grads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which business major? I’m not a fan of General business, management, marketing (especially if lacking math) for undergrad. Accounting and finance can be ok, depending on the school. On the Econ major, depends if the student wants a liberal arts education. And Econ at the top schools is much better than at most schools. Look for programs where calculus is required for the Econ major.

+1. No way would I pay for a "business administration" major, especially at an expensive school. Way too vague and watered down curriculum. Go for a BS (not a BA) in economics, finance, accounting, etc. The MBA that will inevitably follow is a more generalized program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which business major? I’m not a fan of General business, management, marketing (especially if lacking math) for undergrad. Accounting and finance can be ok, depending on the school. On the Econ major, depends if the student wants a liberal arts education. And Econ at the top schools is much better than at most schools. Look for programs where calculus is required for the Econ major.

+1. No way would I pay for a "business administration" major, especially at an expensive school. Way too vague and watered down curriculum. Go for a BS (not a BA) in economics, finance, accounting, etc. The MBA that will inevitably follow is a more generalized program.

Some colleges don’t have BS in Econ, so check curriculums and math reqs more than degree types.