Economics Major?

So I've been looking around and it looks like BAs in Econ (from non-targets) are a lot less marketable than Finance/Accounting majors. This concerned me because I'm currently majoring in Econ and I'd be able to graduate in 1 year. I could add another major like Finance and graduate in 2 additional years on top of that.

Would my job situation be that dire that I should consider double majoring, even though it would take me 3 years to graduate? Or would I be fine graduating with Econ w/ electives in Finance and Accounting (possible minor)? I have a 3.5 (projected final: 3.6-3.7) GPA and want to get into F500 Corp Fin or Credit/equity/investment research.

Thanks!

 

I don't know where you've been looking but some of my friends with Econ majors are doing just fine. Wouldn't hurt to tack on a finance or accounting minor, but I wouldn't say the double major is worth an additional 2 years

 
Best Response

Econ will serve you just fine. The best comparison I've heard on the subject is that the 3 fields are like a triangle. You will come to rely on all of them if you work in any of them.

Economics, being the most abstract and theoretical leg of the triangle can be best grasped in an academic setting, or by reading in your free time.

Finance & Accounting can be learned relatively quickly on the job, and once you knock out the intro classes, you have enough of a base foundation to get started on the job. If you have the spare credit hours, I'd look into an Accounting minor to give you a foundation in analyzing a GL, which is where Corp Fin gigs will want you to start.

Disclaimer: I'm an Econ major, no minor. I was able to learn the other stuff as I worked on projects and asked questions.

 

Thanks so much for the response, very helpful. Would a Finance minor also be a viable option (for Corp Fin)? I'd probably get a higher GPA than with an Accounting minor, and I'd also have a few Acctg electives as well (Financial Acctg, Managerial Acctg, Financial Analysis & Management). Or do you think the Accounting minor would help more?

 
Covfefe_1:
Thanks so much for the response, very helpful. Would a Finance minor also be a viable option (for Corp Fin)? I'd probably get a higher GPA than with an Accounting minor, and I'd also have a few Acctg electives as well (Financial Acctg, Managerial Acctg, Financial Analysis & Management). Or do you think the Accounting minor would help more?

I'd say if it keeps your GPA higher and you enjoy it more, go for the Finance minor. The difference between the two won't make or break you landing your first job.

 
Covfefe_1:
So I've been looking around and it looks like BAs in Econ (from non-targets) are a lot less marketable than Finance/Accounting majors. This concerned me because I'm currently majoring in Econ and I'd be able to graduate in 1 year. I could add another major like Finance and graduate in 2 additional years on top of that.

Would my job situation be that dire that I should consider double majoring, even though it would take me 3 years to graduate? Or would I be fine graduating with Econ w/ electives in Finance and Accounting (possible minor)? I have a 3.5 (projected final: 3.6-3.7) GPA and want to get into F500 Corp Fin or Credit/equity/investment research.

Thanks!

it also depends on internships. do you have an internship this summer?

you should be fine with just Econ, do the minor

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Following up on what the other guy said. Econ is fine (I did it). In terms of financial statement analysis, if you pass the cfa level 1, that should be enough to get your foot in the door. I've spoken to many finance majors, and tbh, I think that major is pretty worthless for investing, because it doesn't matter if you can calculate a bunch of values and ratios or npvs. What matters is if you can accurately predict future cash flows. And often times, past performance alone isn't a good enough indicator of the future. Also, if you're really serious, start investing now and/or writing research reports. You don't need a 4.0 but it never hurt, I'd recommend 3.5+ to have a shot.

tldr, Econ is fine.

This doesn't apply to the other types of jobs you mentioned. I have no idea how their recruiting operates.

 

Go to Notre Dame. Princeton is alright but Notre dame is #1 in business according to businessweek rankings. Go to Princeton if you want to study liberal arts, go to Notre Dame is you want to study business/finance and want to attend the BEST undergradaute business school since 2009 (IN year 2008 it was ranked #2).

 
chubbybunny:
Go to Notre Dame. Princeton is alright but Notre dame is #1 in business according to businessweek rankings. Go to Princeton if you want to study liberal arts, go to Notre Dame is you want to study business/finance and want to attend the BEST undergradaute business school since 2009 (IN year 2008 it was ranked #2).

first off, congrats, you have a ton of awesome options

don't listen to him - he's a known troll and this is seriously the worst advice i've seen. it would be a terrible decision to go notre dame over princeton unless princeton is 40k more expensive per year or something (and even then it's a very tough call).

not only that, but economics is way more than sufficient, and in fact i would argue economics is better for banking than finance/business because you come out with a more well-rounded education. hell, you could major in history/government at princeton (or cornell) and come out ahead of notre dame. your school > your major

Princeton>Cornell>UVA

 

agreed. Def Princeton with a solid 3.5+ GPA will set you up well for I-Banking, heck I've met people that went to small liberal arts school who made it to MD in less than 10 years.

 

Princeton without question, although Cornell has decent placement if you really love Cornell and hate Princeton

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Princeton.

Do the certification in finance program.

If you can do econ with something like math or physics and maintain 3.4+, you will be solid gold.

- Bulls make money. Bears make money. Pigs get slaughtered. - The harder you work, the luckier you become. - I believe in the "Golden Rule": the man with the gold rules.
 

I was/am 100% sure I was going to Princeton, but I was just wondering if pursing an undergrad business school could be better. I know Harvard is a really good IB feeder, along with Wharton and Yale, but I wasn't sure about Princeton.

I don't know how I got waitlisted at Vandy, and indeed college admissions is a toss up; I got rejected from Wharton early decision and rejected from West Point, which academically I am overqualified for. Meh.

Two more questions: 1. Is Duke a big IB feeder? And if so, would it be worth it to go there if say I got a half scholarship or more? 2. From undergrad college how does recruiting work for IBing, or just finance in general. (I mean I'm not 100% set on IB, but it seems like a job I'd love, and I definately want to work in finance or improbably accounting) Do firms send people to the university and set up interviews?

Or is there a guide somewhere I can read on this site explaining the recruiting process for college seniors? Thanks

"I did it for me...I liked it...I was good at it. And I was really... I was alive."
 

Coming from a highly ranked school (one of the ones mentioned here), I would strongly suggest Princeton. The name opens a lot of doors. Also, the school has a tremendous alumni network.

Many of my classmates have gone into investment banking. As for your major, its virtually irrelevant. The most important thing (sadly) is that you get top grades. If you have a high enough GPA and some extracurricular activities you can land an investment banking internship either you sophomore or junior summer. This will happen whether you're a math major, a chem major or something like art-history or anthropology.

Do well in the internship, maintain your grades and you'll be a shoe-in when it comes time to apply to a full-time job.

As for majors and specifically economics, there are two paths (at my school). One is easy, light math, primarily hand-wavy, worthless material. The other is extremely quantitative and the individuals usually double major or minor in econ/stats, econ/math ... we even have a few do econ/math/stats.

 

The average GPA at Princeton is a 3.28. Go there, it's a complete banking feeder. HPWS are the unrivaled schools recruited from for finance. Duke, UVA, Cornell, and Vandy are all second options to any of those.

I am permanently behind on PMs, it's not personal.
 

If you're from a non target and you're going for firms that don't normally recruit at your school then they won't give a crap as long as you self study finance, study for the CFA, etc. You might be asked during the interview why you weren't a part of the business program as the liberal arts college is usually easier to get into than the engineering/business colleges and you'll have to come up with an answer for that, but otherwise it isn't a big deal.

 

Most analyst jobs ask for business/finance/econ/accounting majors so no one is gonna think you come from some out-of-the-blue major - you'll still probably get just as many interviews as the finance kids.

Also, I'm not sure if your mom told you this when you were young, but it's okay to be different. I've heard from friends who sift through resume books that after about the 50th 3.6 gpa finance major resume they look at, everyone looks the exact same. And frankly, econ isn't really all that "different" in terms of what the guys picking out resumes are used to seeing.

Just back up why you think 1. an econ degree is interesting to you and gives you a different perspective than the finance guys and 2. why you value a liberal arts education.

Also, you yourself said it's too late to change. So just make the best of it. You're not at any disadvantage.

Remember, once you're inside you're on your own. Oh, you mean I can't count on you? No. Good!
 

Husky32 and Black Jack- Thanks for your input. I wanted to go to law school, declared as Political Science and realized that it was too late to do business when I figured out what I wanted to do as a sophomore. Had some serious life changing events around that same time that pushed me towards finance so I think I will be able to offer an explanation.

 
AlgorithMIT Trader:
Econ definitely isn't short if you're genuinely interested.

As soon as you finish the unbelievably simplified macro/micro models as an undergrad, your economic foundation is shaken once you start taking grad level courses.

MIT, aren't you a freshman? What the hell would you know about graduate econ? It's not like they suddenly change the rules, it just gets more complex, but if you are smart you should have figured out most of what they'll tell you already.

For the OP, I agree econ is a short major, as is polisci. You can easily double major if that's what you want, though an econ + math double major would look better.

 

You're generally more of a badass if you took something hard (physics, math, engineering, sciences, etc) rather than easy in college. Bankers recognize the difficulty of those subjects and are at worst indifferent between those and economics. However, you can major in anything so long as you do well. One caveat: If you are a humanities major from a top school, they will probably interview you but might test to see that you are really interested in finance and/or can do math in your interviews.

The only real way that taking a "hard" major like math can hurt you is if you lack social skills or come across the wrong way in your interviews. IBD is rather simple in terms of quant skills so be careful that you don't say that you're doing IBD b/c you like math or quantitative problems. Otherwise you should be in S&T. Also be sure that you can show that you are interested in finance/banking (e.g. through an extracurricular).

Make sure you do your prep work for interviews and you'll be solid.

 

So what I am taking away from this that a major in math would show quantitive skills and ability to do the workand having a leadership role in a business type club/ec that actually does things would be fine and in this case Math vs Econ major doesn't really make a difference (at a target school with a good GPA of course). Anything I am missing here?

 

That math is fucking hard and econ is about 5 times easier.

I am at a top school (think NW / Brown / Cornell) and I am a math / econ double. Econ classes are CONSIDERABLY easier than math classes period. Don't major in math just for IB, you will hate yourself.

 

I am not doing math just for IB, otherwise I would be doing econ, but I will most likely just minor in econ because it is not interesting enough to major in for me. What level math are you taking? Also have you taken econometrics yet? I heard that is an ass kicker. From what I have heard Econ is slightly easier than math, it is one of the harder middle-tier majors(in terms of difficulty) while math is one of the easier majors in the "harder" majors (engineering and so on).

 
Lackawanna:
I am not doing math just for IB, otherwise I would be doing econ, but I will most likely just minor in econ because it is not interesting enough to major in for me. What level math are you taking? Also have you taken econometrics yet? I heard that is an ass kicker. From what I have heard Econ is slightly easier than math, it is one of the harder middle-tier majors(in terms of difficulty) while math is one of the easier majors in the "harder" majors (engineering and so on).

I agree with the poster above you. Econ is MUCH easier than math. They are not even close. Many econ classes require no math beyond basic derivatives and arithmetic, and the "analytical thinking" required is not very difficult.

And regarding econometrics: don't underestimate the the ability of econ departments to dumb things down. Econometrics at my school was definitely not an "ass kicker."

I think one of the reasons econ is considered difficult is that among the social sciences (econ, psych, poli sci), it is the most number-heavy at the undergrad level, and many students assume that quantitative work is harder than essays and reading. At many undergrad programs, it isn't.

 

When comparing Economics and Math, is math that much harder? It seems like econ is one of the most popular majors at almost every school, so would math give me a leg up as long as my GPA is within range? There are a ton of econ majors going for IB, but it seems like not a lot of math majors are. Now that may just be because math majors aren't as interested in IB as econ majors. If math is that much harder, are there any other alternatives to economics at a school with out an undergrad business program that would be looked favorably upon?

 

Im actually doing an applied math major. I would strongly recommend applied math/ stats over pure math for anyone who wants to do anything besides just math. As of now I am planning on econ grad school but I know quite a few applied math people going into finance. If you want IB do econ and poli sci or something as, especially at top schools, GPA trumps major.

 

[quote=jgx101]What do you guys think of a Statistics major? Is it viewed favorably?[quote]

I've heard stats majors are more for trading, stuff like stochastic process, but I'm no expert and I am also interested. How much of a difference is there between let's say Applied Math and Stats majors in terms of difficulty?

 
jgx101:
What do you guys think of a Statistics major? Is it viewed favorably?

I've heard stats majors are more for trading, stuff like stochastic process, but I'm no expert and I am also interested. How much of a difference is there between let's say Applied Math and Stats majors in terms of difficulty?

 

At my school we have an "Applied Math and Statistics" major which puts them all together. If separate, I would say they are probably about equal depending upon the classes/professors.

 

I assume by CF you mean corporate finance, and by that I assume you mean finance within a F500 company.

If so, there should be absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be able to in my opinion. Start attending any careers fairs your school might host, and get in touch with alumni of your school through any formal networks that might exist. In my view, an Economics major would actually be more appropriate for certain CF functions such as FP&A etc.

Good luck

 

You're at a disadvantage insofar as not EVERY program takes econ majors. That said, the majority of the programs want accounting, finance, or related. Most of them include econ in "related", or specifically state that they take econ majors. Just make sure you know the basics of accounting and finance AND you can show a history of interest in a career in business.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

And if they don't, doing a business minor will help give you some background. Also, if the teacher likes you and you earn a top score in the class, you might be able to get into that professor's higher-level classes.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

Yeah, you will be fine, the topic probably won't even come up in interviews.

I wish our society would really drop the mindset that a few letters on a piece of paper detirmine your future career. Sure some majors help more than others, but for the most part your skills, personality, and a little luck will detirmine your career path and future successes.

 
Bernanke's Beard:

Yeah, you will be fine, the topic probably won't even come up in interviews.

I wish our society would really drop the mindset that a few letters on a piece of paper detirmine your future career. Sure some majors help more than others, but for the most part your skills, personality, and a little luck will detirmine your career path and future successes.

It's not quite as simple as you make it out to be. Why would a company hire an English major for a finance job? They shouldn't. They look at specific majors because they want people with a technical background or at the least quantitative ability.

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
D M:
Bernanke's Beard:

Yeah, you will be fine, the topic probably won't even come up in interviews.

I wish our society would really drop the mindset that a few letters on a piece of paper detirmine your future career. Sure some majors help more than others, but for the most part your skills, personality, and a little luck will detirmine your career path and future successes.

It's not quite as simple as you make it out to be. Why would a company hire an English major for a finance job? They shouldn't. They look at specific majors because they want people with a technical background or at the least quantitative ability.

Why do banks hire philosophy or economics majors to be investment bankers? Neither the allegory of the cave or the ISLM model has much to do with your ability to value companies. Companies look for certain traits and skills when recruiting, not just a certain degree because they know as long as you are of a certain cognitive level they can teach you what you need to know. At the end of the day it doesn't take a genius to be an investment banker, anybody can be taught how to use excel.

 
Bernanke's Beard:
]

Why do banks hire philosophy or economics majors to be investment bankers? Neither the allegory of the cave or the ISLM model has much to do with your ability to value companies. Companies look for certain traits and skills when recruiting, not just a certain degree because they know as long as you are of a certain cognitive level they can teach you what you need to know. At the end of the day it doesn't take a genius to be an investment banker, anybody can be taught how to use excel.

Well first of all, economics is quantitative and falls under the category of a target for most finance-type jobs. Second, investment banks don't hire philosophy majors. They hire Ivy League grads (and from other top institutions) who have usually demonstrated their interest in business in some way or another and happen to have earned a degree in philosophy.

Also, philosophy is a much better degree to get than, say, English. The analysis and sheer amount of information you have to sift through is ridiculous. English/Art History/Anthropology etc aren't anything useful to the business world (well, maybe communications for an english major)

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 

It's totally possible, but i can say from experience it will probably be marginally more difficult than with an accounting degree. Econ doesn't really fit into any neat boxes the way accounting, finance, supply chain, engineering, etc.. do. Apply widely, get a finance focused internship, and network with recruiters. Oh and have a good story for why you are interested in corp fin.

The last act is tragic, however happy all the rest of the play is; at the last a little earth is thrown upon our head, and that is the end for ever.
 

as an econ major, don't expect too many technical questions. This does however, depend on the bank you are interviewing with. For example, if you interview with a boutique that doesn't have an extensive training program (i.e. HLHZ), they will expect you to have done the legwork on your own and learned some basic accounting (which you can easily pick up by reading a book...even the vault guide). Since the BBs recruit heavily at Ivy's and expect to get econ majors, they want to see how you think and if you are intelligent enough to pick up the technical skills in training. Don't expect too many technical questions in those interviews, but you should know some broad finance topics (how would you value a company?). Don't expect to walk someone through a DCF, but you should certainly know what it is and what it entails (and some other methods of valuation).

Also, make sure you have your story down as to why you are an econ major and not a finance major. You are going to have to demonstrate interest in the markets and your desire to be in finance. You can do this through a variety of avenues--extracurriculars, past internships etc.

 

This might sound harsh, but econ is the most common "plan b" degree for people who didn't get into Haas. So some banks would just assume that you were rejected by Haas, especially if you are also taking all the accounting classes from Haas. With that said, an econ degree from Cal would definitely still open many doors for you, and a high GPA in Econ would still land you many banking interviews.

 

i graduated from ucb with an econ degree and will be working at MS next yr. i never applied to haas.

if you like econ do econ and if you like business do business. no doors will be closed to you by being an econ major.

 

If your school offers both (like CMU), the BS will be more quantitative and require a few more econometrics-type electives, while the BA will have those as an option but not a requirement. Other than a few courses, there really shouldn't be any difference.

 

so an IB won't care what your major is even if your school offers both?

What happens to the GPA average if I took those econometrics courses already and did poorly-switch to the BA major instead(and those quantitative courses aren't required), doesn't my MAJOR GPA go up and I can use that?

 

It really does not matter. and btw, the program at CMU is hardly quantitative...

I'd go BA b/c it shows you may have some other interests other than math and econ. Taking philosophy classes and lit classes actually help you learn how to think for yourself. You do want to think, don't you?

 

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