I know I have time, as I’m still a senior in high school, but I would just like some advice. I’m a good writer, a critical thinker, I enjoy dealing with numbers, I’m average at math (do not enjoy one bit of calculus , I’m highly organized, and I’m looking for an area of study that combines liberal arts (reading, writing, and critical thinking) with more technical skills (math, numbers, and formulas). Which one of Accounting, Finance, and Economics would fit my personality/wants the best? Thanks!!
BUMP!! I really need help here guys, ant advice is much appreciated.
At the end of the day, math is very important for nearly every one of those majors you listed. If you want to go into one of those fields you listed and actually be good at what you do, then I suggest you take a good amount of time to solidify your basic math skills - at least including single variable calculus. Also, for Calculus, check out Professor Leonard on youtube. Watch his full-length calculus videos - he’s probably THE best calculus teacher I’ve ever come across.
As for help with your major selection, I would say your top choice would be finance. Then accounting. And then economics. I’m not saying this to fit you or your personality or your likes/dislikes. This is in order of the most usefulness in life i.e. what’ll open up more opportunities later on in life.
However, finance and accounting have a lot to do with math - I would say definitely more than economics. Although economics involves math too, I would peg it to be more geared towards reading and critical thinking skills.
But again, all these areas involve a pretty substantial amount of math - finance and accounting more than econ. If you don’t like math, you’re most probably going to end up hating whichever one of these majors you select. If it’s more that you like math but aren’t very good at it, then you have a decision to make. Either work to improve your math skills or choose a different area.
Why just these three? Urban Planning, Political Science, Psychology- you need more math for urban planning, but a solid grounding in statistics for the other two is what’s required (and a lot of people who don’t like calculus love statistics). Public Health?
You haven’t given us much to go on! And you don’t need to be planning your eventual career right now if you don’t have a burning passion you want to pursue…
Finance is very number-centric btw… do you know what it is?
Accounting does not require higher level math. CPA exams do not involve higher level math.
Econ varies by school regarding math intensity.
Finance is conceptual, but can involve a lot of math. Check out CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst courses.)
Best to investigate the course offerings & requirements for each of these majors at any school that you are considering as course offerings & requirements can vary by school.
P.S. Many students double major in accounting & finance.
IMO unless you are applying to colleges that accept by majors (which I do not believe is the case) the ONLY decision you need to make now is if you want to apply to an undergraduate business school program (where accounting and finance are housed) or a liberal arts program (where economics is typically housed) at a college.
It is important to understand that economics and going to an undergraduate b-school program are very different. Economics is a liberal arts course of study and gets very theoretical at the upper levels. In contrast if you go to an undergraduate business school you will take a business core with introductory classes in subjects such as accounting, finance, IT, marketing etc. and then you will pick one of those disciplines to major in. If you go the b-school route I would not recommend selecting a major until you have taken these introductory courses so you can better see where your interests and aptitudes lie. (FWIW you don’t need to take math higher than business calculus for b-school, not sure about economics)
One path is not better than the other, but they are different. I would strongly suggest that you take the time to look at the coursework (can be found online) you would take at an undergraduate a b-school and as an economics major and see if one path is preferable to you. These are choices you should be researching and making for yourself.
^^^^^FWIW you will also take two semesters of economics as part of the business core curriculum.