Double major or major + minor?
Hi everyone-
I will be an incoming freshman at Dartmouth in the fall. Although I would like to get into finance after graduation, I enjoy studying economics and plan on majoring in it, regardless of career goals. I have no experience with computer science. Would it be worth majoring or minoring in compsci to bolster my resume, even if I don't really enjoy it. If I like compsci I will definitely study it further, but would it be worth it to study this subject to help me in my career? I am also considering modifying CS with math, which is an interesting option at Dartmouth that would let me take computer science and combine it with math so I could study some more advanced math classes, which I imagine would be helpful in finance. Is it possible to study almost anything at a top tier school like Dartmouth and still break into finance? I would rather study something I am really interested in (like astronomy) in addition to econ, and skip compsci.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,
Thanks
It's not worth it to study CS if you're not interested...it's also not an easy subject by any means.
You should do the Econ major and minor in something else you're interested in. The Econ major itself will get you the finance job.
Minors are effectively useless from a professional standpoint. If you can minor in something you enjoy for classes you have to take anyways then sure get a minor. But a minor will not make or brake anything with regards to recruiting.
A strong GPA is much more important than your major. Someone with a 4.00 as a english/marketing/polisci major shows they are hard workers, they understand that details matter, and are dedicated to the task at hand. A business major with a low GPA as a very long road ahead of them.
Thanks so much for the advice guys I guess I'll go with the econ and see how much I like compsci before deciding what to do with that
I double major in finance and CS. At my school, you can't really learn that much CS in classes required for the CS minor. Since all CS curricula are kind of the same, I guess it's similar at Dartmouth. If the CS/math minor is anything like what it is at my school, you do not want to take it since it will not be useful at all. Also, CS can actually boost your GPA if you find it interesting and have an aptitude for it--that was the case for me.
I also think you should just try taking a few classes in CS. Make sure you try out the proof-based math classes or algorithms classes too.
Should I double major in Econ + ComSci or major in one and minor in the other (Originally Posted: 06/14/2013)
I go to UMich which seems to be fairly well ranked in both studies. Which would offer more benefits in the future? My career goal is to do trading and my backup career is to do software engineering.
Double major would look the best, but if this ends up being too much to handle, then major in Comp Sci and minor in Economics.
what's your expected gpa for each of the 3 options? if about the same, double major, otherwise I'd just go for whatever combination would provide the highest gpa
lol, this is the worst advice you could possibly give. I usually don't respond to posts I disagree with, but there's no way in hell to get an expected GPA for any of these options. Michigan isn't MIT, and your GPA will be whatever you make out of it, depending on how hard you work. Obviously computer science will take up more time and is a more demanding major, but people get lower GPAs in engineering because of either a) mathematical incompetence (not good if you want to go into finance/trading) or b) slacking off, which is easier to do when there's just a lot more sheer material that one needs to go through. I'm assuming OP is actually interested in comp sci and isn't just doing it for the future payout or because of "prestige" since he mentioned software as his second choice career. Also, it will likely be extremely hard for him to get into a top trading shop with an Econ degree + comp sci minor, when competing against Ross undergrads. Honestly, whether you decide to double major or major + minor, computer science as a major has to be there. Just make sure to aim for a 3.5 GPA to beat the cutoff (don't let it slip under a 3.3).
He can figure out his expected GPA for his school based on his aptitude and inclinations and the difficulty of his curriculum. I said his expected GPA, not the.
Anyway, I majored in computer science, and there's no way I could have done anywhere near as well in economics. When you write a program, it either works or it doesn't, and it has a given computational complexity, if you care about efficiency. If you're studying theory, it's extremely rigid, and everything follows. Economics is a lot more subjective, a lot of the underlying assumptions just don't sit right with me.
Perhaps better advice would be "do what you love" but I'm pretty sure this will end up being the one with the higher GPA anyway.
double major or major and 2 minors (Originally Posted: 03/06/2008)
I'm majoring in econ and also took a lot of math and comp sci courses. So I'm in a position to declare a math and cs minors or a computational mathematics major what should I do?
To be honest, it won't make much of a difference. If you MUST choose, I'd go with the computational mathematics major. Strong quantitative skills always show well, and a major speaks loader than a minor. Also, not everyone easily marks CS as a quantitative skill-set.
Stay with econ, at least it's close to finance.
To go with what CompBanker said: nobody gives a DAMN about your double minors/double majors. Lots of younger people at my school pick up double majors and minors trying to impress people and sound intelligent. Absolutely nobody in the real world cares.
Focus your time on doing well in one major. Add a minor if you please, but it won't help you get a job.
Should I Drop My Double Major And Add On 2 Minors? (Originally Posted: 01/08/2014)
I'm currently majoring in Economics and Biology/Society at Cornell minoring in business. I find that my interest in Biology has waned a lot. I'd like to make more of an effort to learn about finance. The plan would be to drop the Biology and Society major and then replace that with a real estate minor and biology minor (i already completed the requirements)
Sure. It's a start.
Econ is a strong major that offers both a strong quantitative and qualitative background for many business-related careers.
That being said, the rest is pretty irrelevant. Sure, a bio major might open you up for some pharma jobs, but not much else. As difficult as it is for many, biology is seen as the easiest of the ‘hard’ sciences. A better investment of your time is networking and keeping up your GPA. I would even say the three minors is excessive/unneeded, but if you already have the requirements done, then go for it.
anyone else care to comment?
thanks guys. my parents are the main reason behind me still staying with biology. i've invested my freshmen/sophomore year in science and i found that my interest switched to finance. i wanted to be premed but not anymore.
the reason why i want the busines and real estate minor is because the classes directly relate to what i want to do. the biology minor is just because i completed the courses already.
i'm just wary about the economics major because i feel a lot of people look down about it in the finance industry since its a "simple" / easy major
any other takers?
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