<p>Hi y'all,
I am a transfer student entering Cal State Long Beach as an applied math major. The school offers a couple different tracks for applied mathematics, either economics/management or science/engineering. I was wondering about the career prospects of being an applied mathematics major with an economics background vs. one with an engineering background. </p>
<p>Of course, my passions and interests will be taken into consideration, but I'm also interested in which option would also make me more employable. </p>
<p>One thing I have in mind is the fact that a double major in econ and math might be viable in my time at Long Beach, whereas I'd only be getting 4 or 5 electrical engineering courses in. The way I think, why would anyone hire an applied math major with some general understanding of engineering if he or she could just find an engineering major? </p>
<p>Any thoughts or comments would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Definitely do the engineering track and I have to say I love the fact that they have that program. An applied math with an engineering concentration degree gives you SO many options. You can pretty much do anything with that background and it’s just a wonderful foundation to build your career upon. </p>
<p>Definitely fit in a few economics and business classes as much as you can though. IMO economics is an extremely important subject and not enough people in our society have even an elementary understanding of the basic principles. Management classes will let you see how you like the business world in case you might want an MBA later, and it will make you more versatile overall. I recommend taking the basics of accounting and finance so if you start your own business or land in a top leadership role you will have a firm understanding of the language of business.</p>
<p>You can do applied math with a systems engineering/operations research concentration which is very marketable. Add in some applied CS/IT courses like operating systems, database systems and cryptology and you pretty get apply to many jobs that CS major apply to.</p>
<p>Applied Math is THE BEST major in the world.</p>
<p>Hi, I seem to be in the same situation as the person above. My school offers Applied Mathematics with concentrations in more specific things such as Statistics, Acturial Science, Computer Science, and Economics. I am stuck between statistics and acturial…</p>
<p>Actuarial Science is supposed to be extremely boring (so says my dad, who is a stats prof). Actuaries make good money, though, and it could be the career for you, so I won’t make a blanket statement and say that you should stay away from it. Talk to some professors you know/trust and other students.</p>
<p>OP: I don’t know enough to make recommendations either way, but don’t people who are interested in management come back to school later and do MBAs, anyways? You could definitely do that in either case, which could be a relevant factor when you make a decision. Also, I’m pretty sure an econ track will lead to much different career paths than a science/engineering track, so examine each track carefully to see what you’re really interested in.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is view skeptically by most employers–at least most engineering employers. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, probably the best thing to do would be combine applied math with several computer science courses, or with several accounting courses. The applied math will help you throughout life. The computer science or accounting will help you get a decent job.</p>
<p>Nobody cares about economics in the working world.</p>
<p>Duecey, did you fail macro and micro economics?</p>
<p>I’m not going to knock applied math or economics, they both have good purpose in the real world. Realistically, a strong understanding of economics can be extremely useful in the real world.</p>
<p>Depending on the applied mathematics track you select, there can be very minimal applications to the real world. </p>
<p>It just depends on what you do with each. </p>
<p>Ironically, applied mathematics and economics overlap each other in many areas. Strange that you would be pro one while kicking the other at the same time.</p>
<p>It’s a little like saying “become a chef” at the same time as “nobody cares about baking”.</p>
<p>Economics is one of the most useful subjects on the planet. It’s a shame so many feel the way they do about it. Many of my college peers have no interest in taking even one economics class and the business board on this site could care less about it. Economics is to business majors as IE is to engineering majors. Both awesome subjects with awesome applications to real life, but for some reason disregarded by many.</p>
<p>For the applied math science emphasis, my school allows me to choose between physics , electrical engineering , and civil engineering courses to enrich the math courses.</p>
<p>If I were to go with the engineering/science route, Would it be prudent to pick a particular category of courses or just take a mishmash of these three departments?</p>
<p>Based on the previous responses, it seems like a minor in computer science would be wise.</p>
<p>Economics. I took several higher level grad classes (time series, financial econ) to fulfill a minor and did well in all of them. It’s good information know, but it’s still dumb to major in economics. Econ majors are a dime a dozen. They get out knowing very little about the way the world works, and with very few technical skills or problem-solving abilities to boot. Econ grad school is even worse. It’s basically mathematical navel-gazing that has little, if any, semblance to the real world. </p>
<p>Physics/electrical engineering/civil engineering. Your best bet is electrical engineering. In civil engineering, every employer will want to see a CE degree, if not progress towards a license. Physics won’t be marketable. At least with electrical engineering, you can heavy up on computer and electronics classes that will make you somewhat competitive. Still though, most people who screen resumes are really, really dumb. I can’t emphasize that enough. Even if someone makes stellar grades in applied math–and has all the requisite skills–HR will typically pitch his resume because he doesn’t have a engineering degree. </p>
<p>In computer science, employers don’t care as much about a degree. They just want to know you have the right skills. Your best bet would be get Applied Math and focus on stats/discrete math/algebra. Then become proficient in a few languages–Java and C++ among them. You will be very employable.</p>
<p>How much interest do you actually have in being an electrical engineer or a civil engineer. Since you seem undecided I think your best bet would be to do applied math with plenty of statistics and economics courses and then look at some professional masters programs. Just as one example, nc state has a highly regarded 10 month professional masters program in analytics designed for math and statistics majors and their graduates are getting great positions in a growing field. That’s just one example. There are opportunities all over the place like that, you just need to seek them out.</p>
<p>I’m trying to get a better grasp of my interests this Spring semester by completing the macro/micro series of econ courses and introductory accounting (along with a programming course), knowing full well that entry-level classes occasionally don’t do justice to a field of study. In fact, econ is a little bit of a drag right now, but I’m still giving it a chance. Maybe it’s just a bad prof or the fact that the material is so introductory. </p>
<p>The common thread through my studies is that I love problem-solving (thus the applied math major). I just don’t want to make my decision based on some romanticized and preconceived notions about econ and engineering. I love tinkering with circuit boards and transistors, but have heard over and over again that engineers don’t really do that on the job.</p>
<p>The professional masters programs are definitely something to consider, especially with how quickly they are completed.</p>
<p>Many graduate programs in systems engineering, industrial engineering and engineering management require a course in Economics or Engineering Economics. If you end up managing large projects or many projects simultaneously (called programs), you will need to have some background in Economics.</p>
<p>I know someone who went from an applied math degree to a professional engineering career. It’s definitely doable, but be prepared for some twists in the road if you want that to happen.</p>