<p>i'm applying for rice for mech e., but i'm thinking about econ./applied math as possible alternate majors. can any people at rice with any friends in these majors (or if they r in these majors) tell me about the job prospects for these majors. i mean i have no desire to become a prof, but wud like to get an mba, so does these fields provide good starting salaries for rice grads and good work experience. i kno rice engineers get sucked up by local oil companies, etc. but are the econ/applied math programs well respected compared to the ivies, duke, chicago, etc. also wud it be easy to transfer from engineering to these departments? thx and glad to see the owls beat smu on saturday.</p>
<p>-Transferring from engineering to econ is not a big deal at all. Unless you involve the music or architecture school, you're entirely free to transfer between whatever schools you want (though if you want to be an engineer, there's a pretty set progression of classes that you need to get started on as a freshman if you want to finish in 4 years).</p>
<p>-There are lots of job opportunities for econ majors (I'm a senior econ major). A lot of my friends who have chosen follow the i-banking route have easily gotten interviews and offers from major banks. Rice isn't as well known due to it's location off the East Coast and small size, but the recruiters who come to Rice tend to know it well and respect it. There are a lot of other options though - I've been hearing a lot from various oil and energy companies that want econ majors. If you combine an econ with an engineering degree, you'll have a lot of options open to you.</p>
<p>Econ has the highest average starting salary out of Rice.</p>
<p>But that shouldn't be your primary concern.</p>
<p>what do you guys think about majoring in econ, but looking into a career in business. how do you think that plan would play out?</p>
<p>Econ is a pretty good start to a wide variety of careers, including business. One thing to keep in mind though is that economics is not pre-business and it's not finance. Though you can take some classes in things like accounting or corporate finance that you can take and apply directly to your first job, the vast majority of your studies will be in more broad, theoretical areas that you won't really use unless you decide to go on and become an economist. One thing that one of my econ professors (who also happens to be the former president of Rice) said that I agree with is that the most important things that you learn from majoring in econ are how to handle quantitative data and think effectively (writing effectively is the other thing he felt you should pick up from a Rice education). From that you'll learn the specific applications in your first job.</p>
<p>there is also a managerial studies major and a computational finance minor. i'm not sure if the business minor is in place yet, but i remember there being talk about it.</p>
<p>The business minor is in place. It's six classes if you're an econ major; eight if you haven't fulfilled the prereqs.</p>
<p>is mathematical economic analysis a minor or a major, i was a little unclear about this on rice's website...thanks</p>
<p>major</p>
<p>Undergraduate</a> Studies - Economics Department, Rice University</p>