Thoughts on Econ major vs Business if offered

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If a serious business student, I would avoid a school that does not offer a BS in Econ. That is a red flag about potential job outcomes and who recruits there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If a serious business student, I would avoid a school that does not offer a BS in Econ. That is a red flag about potential job outcomes and who recruits there.

?? I think you’re just ignorant. 1) a lot of colleges don’t give out BS’s at all 2) some colleges don’t give bachelors of sciences and things that aren’t a science 3) if a school only has a BA, they just advise students to take the math classes for a BS.

You’re actually discounting a lot of elite schools with this strange rule. The top feeders to Econ phds often don’t even have a BS in Econ.

[Anonymous]

Are the 25 schools with undergrad business degrees are MIT, Penn, Cornell, Cal, Rice, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, UVA, and WashU? Am I missing any school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are the 25 schools with undergrad business degrees are MIT, Penn, Cornell, Cal, Rice, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, UVA, and WashU? Am I missing any school?

*meant top 25 schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are the 25 schools with undergrad business degrees are MIT, Penn, Cornell, Cal, Rice, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, UVA, and WashU? Am I missing any school?

Yes and my DS is headed to one of the above. He wants to major in a social science that he likes but also wants to pick up a double major in Econ or the business school (maybe Finance specialization), which could clearly be helpful for a career in business. So the debate is, should he double major in Econ or something within the business school? My inclination is to take advantage of the strong business school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the 25 schools with undergrad business degrees are MIT, Penn, Cornell, Cal, Rice, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, UVA, and WashU? Am I missing any school?

Yes and my DS is headed to one of the above. He wants to major in a social science that he likes but also wants to pick up a double major in Econ or the business school (maybe Finance specialization), which could clearly be helpful for a career in business. So the debate is, should he double major in Econ or something within the business school? My inclination is to take advantage of the strong business school.

Definitely utilize a strong business program. Also - a master's/5th year isn't necessarily required for Accoutning. To sit for the CPA, you need 150 credits from ANYWHERE, as long as it meets requirements. My oldest works at one of the big 4 and completed the 15 additional credits needed through the firm. Graduated with more than the minimum required, so only had the gap of 15 credits. They offer the program to interns, to be completed before they start full time employment with them. She graduated in May, already at 150 credits, studied for CPA over the summer, took 2 parts and started employment in Sept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the 25 schools with undergrad business degrees are MIT, Penn, Cornell, Cal, Rice, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon, Michigan, UVA, and WashU? Am I missing any school?

Yes and my DS is headed to one of the above. He wants to major in a social science that he likes but also wants to pick up a double major in Econ or the business school (maybe Finance specialization), which could clearly be helpful for a career in business. So the debate is, should he double major in Econ or something within the business school? My inclination is to take advantage of the strong business school.

Definitely utilize a strong business program. Also - a master's/5th year isn't necessarily required for Accoutning. To sit for the CPA, you need 150 credits from ANYWHERE, as long as it meets requirements. My oldest works at one of the big 4 and completed the 15 additional credits needed through the firm. Graduated with more than the minimum required, so only had the gap of 15 credits. They offer the program to interns, to be completed before they start full time employment with them. She graduated in May, already at 150 credits, studied for CPA over the summer, took 2 parts and started employment in Sept.

He’s not gonna be a CPA though. More likely banking, consulting and asset management

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

+1 My firm, large bank, always pick Econ major over Business major when hiring undergrad. MBA hiring is entirely different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

+1 My firm, large bank, always pick Econ major over Business major when hiring undergrad. MBA hiring is entirely different.

By this logic you would choose Penn Econ over Wharton? What I am trying to elicit here is if a very top undergrad business major is a bit different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

+1 My firm, large bank, always pick Econ major over Business major when hiring undergrad. MBA hiring is entirely different.

By this logic you would choose Penn Econ over Wharton? What I am trying to elicit here is if a very top undergrad business major is a bit different.

I don’t think there’s much of a difference. Id chose a Harvard or Uchicago Econ grad over a Wharton grad 9 times out of 10. My firm requires hard, technical skills and we hire quantitative-minded undergrads. The Econ grads have much more rigorous math backgrounds than the business grads, no matter the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

+1 My firm, large bank, always pick Econ major over Business major when hiring undergrad. MBA hiring is entirely different.

By this logic you would choose Penn Econ over Wharton? What I am trying to elicit here is if a very top undergrad business major is a bit different.

I don’t think there’s much of a difference. Id chose a Harvard or Uchicago Econ grad over a Wharton grad 9 times out of 10. My firm requires hard, technical skills and we hire quantitative-minded undergrads. The Econ grads have much more rigorous math backgrounds than the business grads, no matter the school.

What would your opinion be of a 4.0 student with Econ-Math degree from a lower ranked but reputable school ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

+1 My firm, large bank, always pick Econ major over Business major when hiring undergrad. MBA hiring is entirely different.

By this logic you would choose Penn Econ over Wharton? What I am trying to elicit here is if a very top undergrad business major is a bit different.

NP, I would, yes. Everything else being relatively equal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hire on Wall Street and would strongly prefer Econ major

can you say why?

NP. Because economics is a science, requires a lot of math and it takes some smarts to do well in it. "Business" is a mishmash that includes much less math (ie. hard courses) and more soft, fun things like "marketing."

Anyone with any hiring power knows that.

+1 My firm, large bank, always pick Econ major over Business major when hiring undergrad. MBA hiring is entirely different.

By this logic you would choose Penn Econ over Wharton? What I am trying to elicit here is if a very top undergrad business major is a bit different.

I don’t think there’s much of a difference. Id chose a Harvard or Uchicago Econ grad over a Wharton grad 9 times out of 10. My firm requires hard, technical skills and we hire quantitative-minded undergrads. The Econ grads have much more rigorous math backgrounds than the business grads, no matter the school.

What would your opinion be of a 4.0 student with Econ-Math degree from a lower ranked but reputable school ?

Would get snapped up somewhere, for sure!