<p>Hey there.</p>
<p>I plan to major in Mechanical Engineering along with a minor in Economics. </p>
<p>1)However, in case I dont like Engineering, would Economics be a good major to switch to?
2)It it a "marketable" major?
3) Is it like any other humanities major ( such as English & History ) with career prospects mainly in teaching,etc or does it involve much more?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Rice University (Nice engineering and double majors are easy. Rice is a very prestigious school in one of the best states (Texas)). </p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon University (Ditto with engineering and amazing marketability now that Econ is within the Tepper Business School which has consistently been selected as a top choice by recruiters and having high salaries)</p>
<p>University of Chicago (Only Harvard beats its economics but I am unsure whether or not it has an engineering school)?</p>
<p>An Econ major is very open; it can lead you to a lot of things, although mostly you would have to at some point pursue graduate studies.</p>
<p>Depending on what you want to do, you can head into law, business, management, etc...but a bare econ major probably won't get you as far if that's all you plan to do.</p>
<p>A lot of econ majors are recruited into finance, i-banking...after completing their undergraduate, and then work for a few years and then get their masters.</p>
<p>If you look at a bunch of CEOs and big people on Wall Street, many of them are Econ majors.</p>
<p>
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A lot of econ majors are recruited into finance, i-banking...after completing their undergraduate, and then work for a few years and then get their masters.
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</p>
<p>1) So are the chances of an econ undergrad getting employed right after school the same as the chances of an business major? </p>
<p>2) From what I understand, the following is the list of the three majors i'm considering with the top being the most marketable:</p>
<p>a) Engineering
b) Business
c) Economics</p>
<p>Is this order accurate or would you change it?</p>
<p>3) Also, according to this link: <a href="http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos055.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos055.htm</a>, it seems that economics majors have an average starting salary of $25,000.. I'm assuming this is much higher for business majors? </p>
<p>4) Having read what you wrote, I gather that Economics is not good as a standalone degree unless one plans to go to grad school and get a masters/phd in Economics. I was personally planning on doing my MBA in grad school after doing Engineering with minor in Economics in undergrad ( or with only an Economics major if I realize I dont like engineering ) .. However, I was hoping that I'd get a decent job which could pay for my MBA,etc..</p>
<p>
[quote]
Rice University (Nice engineering and double majors are easy. Rice is a very prestigious school in one of the best states (Texas)).</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon University (Ditto with engineering and amazing marketability now that Econ is within the Tepper Business School which has consistently been selected as a top choice by recruiters and having high salaries)</p>
<p>University of Chicago (Only Harvard beats its economics but I am unsure whether or not it has an engineering school)?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I was looking into universities only in the Northeast ( preferably in the Boston/Philly/NYC area ) . Didn't know Carnegie Melon had a good Economics department. Shall check it out.. </p>
<p>Thank much guys.. appreciate it :)</p>
<p>A lot of Econ majors at schools like HYPSM, Dartmouth, Duke, etc. don't have the option of majoring in business but still pursue the same careers in finance, banking, consulting...the average starting salary for an economist might be lower, but the average starting salary for some with a degree in economics who goes into finance is probably one of the highest for a college grad with just a bachelors</p>
<p>An econ major generally is considered a substitute for a business major.</p>
<p>
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An econ major generally is considered a substitute for a business major.
[/quote]
Or the business major is what all the kids who weren't smart enough for econ, major in.</p>
<p>Or the business major is what all the kids who want to learn things that are applicable to their career path, major in.</p>
<p>From what I gather, economics is fine if you go to a reasonably high ranked school. So an econ degree from U of Chicago or Harvard will be treated just like a business major for the most part (assuming you don't become an economist, and actually go into business). However, you can probably expect to go back and getting your MBA a few years later (same for business majors).</p>
<p>If your school offers business, and you enjoy it, I'd major in that; if your school only offers econ, go for it. If you have to choose between business and econ, just go with whichever one you'd enjoy more, because they both lead to basically the same career path if you don't go the economist route.</p>
<p>Quote: "Or the business major is what all the kids who weren't smart enough for econ, major in."</p>
<p>At about every top school with the exception of MIT (since their business school is not really traditional business anyways), the business school is HARDER to get into than Economics when BOTH are offered.</p>
<p>Examples:
Upenn Wharton vs. Upenn CAS
CMU Tepper vs CMU Econ
NYU Stern vs. NYU CAS
Berkeley Haas vs Berkeley Econ (apply in your later years)
Umichigan Ross vs Umich LSA</p>
<p>It should also be no surprise that ALL of these examples mentioned comprise of the Top 5 Business Schools.</p>
<p>At most schools there is no entrance requirement for the econ major, so your point is moot.</p>
<p>economics is usually a rigorous(in comparison to business) major which offers a a real liberal arts education. can't say that about business majors at most schools(with the exception of wharton, which is actually an economics degree everyone receives)</p>
<p>^ My point is not moot since you seemed to miss it. At top schools (the ones that get recruited by Wall Street and such), business is usually harder to get into than the main school which houses Economics.</p>
<p>This is to counter your ridiculous quote: "Or the business major is what all the kids who weren't smart enough for econ, major in."</p>
<p>If you want to get technical yes it is a basically a business econ degree from Wharton but I think we all know why US News ranked Wharton ALONG with the Business Schools and Not as #1 over Harvard and Uchicago for Econ.</p>
<p>Just you think a major is "hard" does not mean its students are smarter. Do you think NYU CAS kids are smarter than Stern kids? Do you think Michigan LSA kids are smarter than Michigan Ross kids?</p>
<p>Ridiculous...</p>
<p>PS: I took 2 econ courses (1 each semeseter) in my 1st year of college and NEITHER was as hard as Intro to Accounting.</p>
<p>it was meant as a jest, if you can't take a joke...
all i'm try to do is to advocate a liberal arts education in economics, rather than a practical major like business(i don't see what there is to learn about business in the classroom, anyways)</p>
<p>You seemed to be serious and it is hard to pick up sarcasm without the use of smileys or /sarcasm over the message boards.</p>
<p>It seems you were partly serious as you say "(i don't see what there is to learn about business in the classroom, anyways)"
I can assure you there is plenty to learn (at least with regards to quantitative analysis and finance; which is what I'm doing)</p>
<p>It is IMPOSSIBLE to say which one is harder and which one is better. It all depends on the person. </p>
<p>Economics is THEORY based while Business is APPLIED based. It is very dependent on the individual and I don't think Economics needs more support. It is already the most popular major in the nation. :)</p>
<p>PS: I obviously can't speak for most schools but at CMU; business students are REQUIRED to take programming, math, writing/argument, statistics, economics, science, and other courses in order to get their degree.</p>
<p>I'm kind of surprised by the judgements/statements made here.</p>
<p>When I graduated, admittedly during the end of the ice age, economics was considered a fairly rigorous liberal arts degree. Many colleges don't offer business (on purpose) so econ is not some second-best choice for rejected would-be business majors on those campuses.</p>
<p>The examples given of undergrad business versus economics arent the best examples because the admissions requirements for the business schools are harder period than the CAS. Its well known Wharton is higher than the rest of Penn in selectivity, as with Stern versus the rest of NYU. Since these programs are among the best business programs, the students are expected to take lots of math, econ, and other tough classes. Its not like a business major at Wharton or Stern is the same as a "business administration" major at the state school level which veers away from the quantitative strength needed to be succesful in many fields of business.</p>
<p>However, at all the private schools that are targeted for Wall Street recruitment only a few of them have undergrad business schools (I guess Penn and NYU, versus HYPSM, Dartmouth Duke Columbia etc)</p>
<p>Business majors who concentrate in finance are doing as much as work as econ majors at other schools too, and many econ majors in elite schools without undergrad business schools still take many management classes and finance classes.</p>
<p>Thus, if you want to go into business, and your college offers a business school, do that. If it doesn't, any major will do but econ with math courses, finance, and management courses is especially good. In any case, going to the best school you can will help when it comes to going into Wall Street (top 15-20 or so).</p>
<p>"Many colleges don't offer business (on purpose) so econ is not some second-best choice for rejected would-be business majors on those campuses."</p>
<p>I'm sorry, are you referring to me? I did say :"when BOTH are offered." in post 9 in order to avoid any misunderstandings that I was insulting economics. It is the most popular major in the nation for a reason.</p>
<p>I have a question. Where do you guys think an Bachelors degree in economics at UCSD lead me too? Good financial pay/starting salary? What's the future outlook? Any possible advancements? What companies or firms would most hire me?</p>
<p>"Business majors who concentrate in finance are doing as much as work as econ majors at other schools too, and many econ majors in elite schools without undergrad business schools still take many management classes and finance classes."</p>
<p>How are economics majors in colleges with no undergrad business schools still taking many management classes and finance classes?</p>
<p>That's a good question to ask the school's placement office. They should know and if they don't, worry.</p>
<p>I meant my question more literally. I didn't mean to imply that these courses were necessary to obtain a Wall Street type job.</p>