Value of a math minor?

I am an econ major/cs minor at a nontarget. My goals are pretty scattered from AM, ER, to quant dev. I am thinking about adding a math minor to open up another summer for a shot at an internship. I am interested in math and have really wanted to learn more, but I've been too busy with school/finding internships to self study. I passed calc II with an A+, so I am thinking about taking calc III over the summer, which would just leave linear alg and diff eq to finish the minor.

However, I would rather not waste my effort on a minor if it doesn't have much value in getting interviews or on the job. I can always learn math outside of school.

5 Comments
 

The courses you listed are basic courses covered in almost every engineering discipline I can think of.

So unless you do something like advanced statistics, probability, differential geometry, etc, on top of those basic courses like cal III and diff eq., it won’t make any difference for any quantitative role.

Extending graduation for a shot is a different thing, but based on those courses alone, it won’t make a difference. 
If you want ER and AM, better take a finance course, practice modeling, and start making pitches and monitoring some names regularly.

That will help you a lot more than linear algebra and differential equations.

 

I appreciate the input, that's sort of what I was thinking but didn't want to admit. I regret not becoming interested in math earlier as I would really like to learn as much as I can, but I can't justify the time spent if it has no tangible impact on anything. Perhaps I can demonstrate some knowledge through math-oriented projects if applicable.

 

I can’t comment on its value in eg applications/promotions, but linear algebra is absolutely foundational to basically every meaningful quantitative topic. So if you want to engage in quantitative work, it would be very useful to know well (though that doesn’t necessitate studying in a classroom setting). I also think it is super interesting.

 

0 value for making yourself a differentiated candidate. IB analyst? PE associate? HF analyst? Consultant? None of them will care whatsoever about your minor. You’re better off using the extra time networking.

 
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