<p>Right now I'm in high school aiming for a t20/t25 school. I'd really like to go into business, but I think that I'd rather major in economics in college and then do an MBA. Will this work out?
I know you're supposed to do an internship/job thing for MBA admission, can I do this with an economics major? As a fallback, how's an economics major in general?
Also, eventually how would economics help me? I hear many executives were once in economics soo....?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Economics even at a T25 could either be consulting or waiting tables depending on how bad the economy is when your graduating college…be forewarned that business or engineering might be better</p>
<p>I would do business if the university has a business school, as it will almost always give you better opportunities. The “internship thing” is what you should do, possibly even 2 or 3 times before you finish undergrad to get a “job thing” that you should do about 5 years before a top MBA program will even consider you. Economics is definitely better than a lot of majors for getting these things, but keep in mind that the strength of your program will determine if you can get the good internships needed for good jobs, which you will have to live off and do well in for about 5 years before doing a good MBA program. By that I mean do some research into the school you’re applying to. Just because a school is top 20 overall does not mean it has a top economics or business department, and you may actually be better off applying to some that are a little farther down the “overall” ranking, but have very strong economics or business programs.</p>
<p>A business degree is more like training for the business world and an economics education is an education. There is a lot of overlapping between a business and economics degree, however. But yeah, economics gives you the knowledge to consult. Both are good majors (I mean, if you were to choose between something like basketweaving or business and economics, choose the latter if you want to make money). You can’t go wrong with either and if you go to a school with a good alumni network then you won’t be waiting tables with an econ degree.</p>
<p>I see very little intrinsic value in an economics degree. Micro won’t teach you how to manage a company and macro won’t teach you how to function in the capital markets (because textbook econ does not reflect the actual markets). </p>
<p>If you want to go into management, you need to do two things: develop your practical business knowledge and develop your soft skills (i.e. communication, work ethic, calm under pressure etc). You develop your business acumen by working in the real world and studying how businesses function. Accounting goes a long way towards this end by giving you the tools to understand the various aspects of a business. If you can understand a firm’s 10-k you’re won half the battle. Management and marketing courses help to a lesser degree but accounting is the bread and butter. In terms of developing your soft skills, you can major in just about anything.</p>
<p>If you want to go into finance, just major in finance. Pick up a few accounting and econ courses here and there but on the whole, finance classes will give you the tools to start a career. After that dive into real world application and you’ll learn on the job.</p>
<p>Most degree have no direct applicability. This includes business. Economics is certainly the more intellectual major, though yes, nothing about economics is applicable to anything. My mother has worked in business most of her life and was a business exec at a Fortune 500 company. She said that nothing you learn as a business major, with the exception of very practical majors like accounting and finance, will actually help you in the business world. Additionally, from what I’ve looked up, economics majors have higher salaries than business majors (just based on bachelors) as is seen here [WSJ.com[/url</a>] and here [url=<a href=“http://blogs.payscale.com/salary_report_kris_cowan/2008/07/list-of-best-co.html]List”>Human Verification]List</a> of Best College Degrees by Salary: What Is Your Major Worth? - The Salary Reporter](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html]WSJ.com[/url”>http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-Degrees_that_Pay_you_Back-sort.html) and here [Forbes</a> Ranks College Majors by Average Starting Salary](<a href=“http://www.savvysugar.com/Forbes-Ranks-College-Majors-Average-Starting-Salary-1764731]Forbes”>http://www.savvysugar.com/Forbes-Ranks-College-Majors-Average-Starting-Salary-1764731).</p>
<p>Emerlus, those figures are 2 years old. While that doesn’t change starting salaried much, our current economic status is much different and jobs don’t exist in the same places/quantity that they did in 2008. Take that into consideration.</p>
<p>These days an undergrad degree is a minimum qualification. A Masters Degree in anything will make you stand out. If you are considering getting an MBA and going to a top school, they prefer that you NOT have an undergrad business major, they would prefer economics. And they do want work experience, you are right. There are other options besides an MBA, my son is considering a Masters in Finance, which is a one year program that he can go into straight from undergrad business.</p>
<p>Thanks guys, I apologize for not following up on this a few months earlier =P</p>
<p>But how about a more ‘specific’ economics degree, like international econ., applied econ., etc.?
I’m more of a fan of stuff like that honestly, especially international trade stuff. I saw on Sporcle game =) that business administration is the most common major, so I thought it wasn’t as competitive as something else. Especially NYU Stern’s Business and Political Economy program, that’s just… my thing right there.</p>
<p>But I was also looking at an MBA in Economics to further pursue a career in a government post, like the IMF or some consulting. Though I’m guessing business school isn’t like med school, where people often go for research oriented jobs as well.</p>
<p>Econ degree salary figures aren’t helpful IMO. Best to look at the salary info at your particular school and compare the business majors to the econ majors and see how that goes. It’s nice that those guys getting their undergrad econ degrees out of MIT and the Ivies are making bank, but if you are going to Podunk U it is a different story.</p>
<p>Yea, if you are doing econ at a lower-ranked university, you need to double major in something more marketable. I would know because I’m an economics major and even if I get into Utexas I’m still going to double major in something marketable. Remember though, economics majors have great mid-career salaries usually no matter where they start out simply because of the fact that they understand economic decision-making better than most people.</p>
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I think OP is primarily concerned with the former :).</p>
<p>Frankly, I’m just interested in Economics. At this point, I can’t say for certain what exactly I decide to pursue with an econ. degree (I beleive I have wide range of gov. to private jobs). </p>
<p>Though money’s nothing everything, but it does follow passion =)</p>
<p>^^^Then definitely do economics. What’s attracted me to the major is the versatility along with the fact that it’s interesting. Economics shouldn’t be seen as preparing you for a specific career, but rather as a great foundation for lifelong good decision-making. If you really want to impress business graduate schools double major in economics and math and take as many as business and computer courses as you can. That strategy will also help you get employed easier as you will have a well-rounded skill set along with an analytical and logical mind.</p>
<p>Math? Good at it somewhat, but def. not my favorite. I’d rather do something on the lines of Intl Relations or something</p>