<p>I've been thinking about this combination for a while. Before taking Economics into consideration as a double major, which would probably take me 2 more years (so 6 years) rather than 1 more year with a mathematics double major, which option should I go for? Is this a useful combination? What are the job prospects for a B.S. in Computer Science + B.S. in Economics? Are the two more years worth the tuition and time?</p>
<p>What is your post-graduation goal?</p>
<p>If you want to go into computing with economics and finance applications, taking some economics courses like intermediate micro and macro economics, econometrics, and financial economics may be helpful, but you would not necessarily need a full economics major. Indeed, even for PhD programs in economics, the recommended undergraduate preparation emphasizes math and statistics.</p>
<p>An extra 2 years for a second BS in Economics is not worth it. Almost any employer would hire someone with a CS degree and two years of experience over someone with both CS and Econ degrees and no experience.</p>
<p>If you don’t mind doing finance instead of economics, getting a Masters in Finance would offer a better payback than either a second BS or MS in Economics. Finance is more practical, while economics is too theoretical.</p>
<p>My wife has an undergrad Economics degree. She thought it was interesting, but Economics degrees are a dime a dozen, and she couldn’t get a decent job. It wasn’t until she got a Masters in Management Information Systems that she became employable.</p>
<p>I see. I definitely like the subject and consider working on Wall Street (hehe, everyone has dreams) is one of the things I was thinking of. How is a degree in Finance “really” different from Economics? Maybe that’s very obvious for some, but I’d like an explanation and some examples.</p>
<p>You could probably ask that question in the business major forum. The easiest way to answer your question is to look at the courses required for each degree at your university. I agree with the other posters that an extra 2 years for the second undergrad is unlikely to be worth the time/effort/lost income.</p>
<p>Gave it some extra thought: Computer Science vs. Mathematics and Economics joint major?</p>
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<p>In the 90s I used to work on trading systems for the Fixed Income Analytics group at, ahem, Lehman Brothers. I didn’t know very much about the fixed income market, so decided to take some classes in Manhattan. The formulas we were using to price fixed income securities were very much the kinds of formulas taught in those finance classes.</p>
<p>I remember the general attitude in the group was that economics was too broad-based and general for what was needed on the trading floor. There were areas in Lehman where economics was valued, but there seemed to be a lot more finance-type jobs there.</p>
<p>As for whether Wall Street companies are good to work for, Lehman was one of my favorite jobs. I also worked at Schwab, which was one of the worst jobs I’ve ever had - and Barclay’s Global Investors, which was an OK job.</p>