<p>First off i know economics can be or is considered a social science but whatever haha. I'm a junior in high school but i think it'd be smart for me to start figuring this major stuff out. I've done some research for all three of these, and ill be taking both an AP economics class and AP accounting class senior year, so i'll get a better taste then.</p>
<p>I'm interested in all 3 of these fields, and i think i can do well in them too. My GPA at the moment is 3.3, which i hope to get to a 3.5 by the end of the year(the lowish gpa is due to laziness and other interests throughout high school). My first act score was a 30, hopefully when i retake it i can get a little higher. </p>
<p>The best college i will hope to get into is U of I(illinois), but i know its tough to get into their business school, so im not sure how well that will work out. Other options are illinois state, marquette, or maybe purdue. But i do have three main questions: Which major is typically the most difficult? which has the most job opportunites? and, of course, which will give me the best chance to strike gold? Thanks for any input.</p>
<p>Most difficult: economics (conceptually), accounting (workload), although the difficulty of an economics major can vary considerably depending on what school you go to, and what types of classes you take.</p>
<p>Most job opportunities: Accounting, although finance may have a higher proportion that are higher-paying.</p>
<p>Best chance to strike gold: Depends on many factors, but if you are going to a solid but not elite school (like the ones you mentioned), I would say accounting would give you the best chance to succeed. </p>
<p>I would take all the advice with a grain of salt, however. You can do very well with any of these majors, but you can also do poorly. In the end, smart and hardworking people will succeed, no matter what they major in.</p>
<p>thanks alot. what about double majoring in acct/econ or acct/finance? or would it not really matter. and for anyone else looking at this, would an MBA really widen job opportunities substantially?</p>
<p>Accounting and finance is usually doable in 4 years, and it would add a bit of value. However, accounting and economics don’t have too much overlap so it might not be possible. And you don’t do an MBA until you work for 3-5 years first, so I would focus on picking your major for now. There are only a few programs in the country that accept students right out of undergrad.</p>
<p>gotcha. do you have any experience in accounting? because im not great at math, not bad either. Are the math classes involved terribly complicated?</p>
<p>Math in accounting is mainly limited to addition and subtraction. As you get into the upper level courses, you may occasionally have to multiply or divide. When this occurs, however, professors will generally let you use a calculator on the test. </p>
<p>You will need some math to finish the business core, but it’s generally pretty basic (partial derivatives, least square regression with a single variable, maybe a few integrals). Nothing most high school seniors can’t handle.
Depending on your curriculum, the math in econ can get pretty intense (applications of more advanced statistics, linear algebra, finite series (taylor series expansions, …) and differential equations). </p>
<p>Finance will a lot of algebra and some basic statistics (least squares) and basic probability (expected value, …). Depending on your course-load, you may need to know some basic calc concepts (taylor series expansions, partial derivatives, that sort of thing but it tends to be a small relatively insignificant portion).</p>
<p>^^ Getting an MBA after getting an econ in undergrad is a popular option too. In my opinion…</p>
<p>Econ: Most versatile, relatively good chance of striking it rich</p>
<p>Acct: Most job opportunities, very limited choice in work (you will become an accountant…), not much of a chance of getting rich, tedious work</p>
<p>Finance: Between econ and accounting in versatility, about same chance as econ to strike it rich, not as many job opportunities (in this current economy, can’t speak about 10 years down the road).</p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think majoring in finance is worth is unless you go to a top 20 (or around that) undergrad b school. Your options will be somewhat limited, and you won’t be getting too many good job offers. With an accounting degree from a lesser known b school, you have a better chance of finding a job because accountants are in demand. Econ is also a good option if you are going to a lesser b school, because with an econ degree you can go into other things than strictly business.</p>
<p>and i think im leaning toward illinois state uni. its an acredited top 100 b school i believe. they actually have a finance + accounting major. @ dfree, you said finance major’s salary is probably better than accounting, but not as much job opportunites. But with that said, i live about 30 minutes from downtown chicago, so would it make sense that there would be a lot of job opportunites in both?</p>