Economics or Political Science? - Any help would be extremely appreciated.

College Majors
1

Hello everyone. I have already made a similar thread, but it was full with questions about other issues not-so-relevant to the simple dilemma of studying either economics or political science, so I decided to post a new one regarding only this particular question. I am on my gap year and trying to decide between those two subjects for the past 2 years, so I definitely need your help.

Information about my interests: I am interested in learning about international relations, law, voting systems and behavior, contemporary global history, political economy, maybe regional development. I am very interested in learning about politics and economics of several countries of the world, combined with a bit of history and maybe even sociology.

When I think about getting myself employed sometime in the future, I think of either an international organization or something similar (I am European so working for the EU would also be pretty nice), working with people and working for people, even though I realize fully that the competition for such jobs is immense, or in the business sector, which would be more realistic for most people. I could definitely be fine with a job in the business sector, possibly something like business management, since I am not crazy for marketing (currently, at least) or accounting. Finance may also not be bad for me. But, to be honest, I kind of feel like working for a company would be my back-up plan and not something I’d do for my whole life, without ever trying to get into politics one way or another. I am extremely interested in politics but I don’t want to state that I will try to be a politician because it is simply not a job to get, it may or may not work out in the end. If I do something that has even a small impact on politics and people’s lives, I would be feeling well anyway. Of course, I could just be working in the business sector and try to get involved into politics sometime in the far future, to see whether it will work out or not, so I’m not worried about missing my chance there.

Now, when it comes to classes I have taken in high-school: I have taken an introductory economics course, which I did not love. I performed greatly in it and scored 97/100 in the final exams (I missed a few words of the theory), and it definitely was not a lesson I disliked being taught. I was just a bit tepid about it, since it was only microeconomics, which I find too theoretical and does not have the political nature of macroeconomics. I believe I would like macroeconomics more, since it deals with inflation, GDP and other socioeconomic issues.
I have taken a course on Politics & Law, which was mainly constitutional law mixed with some political issues, which I liked very much and scored perfectly in it.

I should probably note that I do not like math. I did well on my final exams (91/100), but I’m actually sick of calculus. Statistics and probability theory were alright, I can’t say I loved them but I could surely stand them. Calculus, especially when it’s hard, will be a problem for me. I would not have the drive to try hard and perform well, because I simply dislike the course, I don’t like that kind of math, that’s also a bit worrying for me in economics.

Some other information about me, not directly related to my academic interests: I like to travel. Not so much about the reasons other people do (e.g. travelling to Asia or Africa to learn about other cultures), I just like seeing developed cities and learning about economic and political factors that impact the lives of the citizens.

Now, my options are 4:

  1. Going to a good university in my city for an Economics degree. It will allow me to take electives on political economy, economic development etc., but I would have to deal with not too simple math, and I hope I’d like the basic economic courses (micro, macro, international, public etc.).

  2. Going to a maybe less good (but definitely decent) university in my city for an Economic and Regional Development degree. It does have courses on political economy and it gives more emphasis on economic and regional (so, offers non-economic courses as well) development. The math MIGHT (probably) be simpler, but I still would have to take math, statistics, econometrics. Given the fact that I cannot be entirely sure of it being easier regarding math than my first option, I would only choose it if I decided I would want to take courses with emphasis on economic and regional development, while the first option is a broader economics department which does have some alike courses, but probably less. I also see courses related to human geography and urban sociology, which I find very interesting as well.

  3. Going to the same (as option 2) decent university for a Political Science & History degree. It is the only option of the four that I may not accomplish (did not perform very well in history in my finals, even though I do like history), if I select it. I like the courses being taught there, but the department gives emphasis on political theory and political history. International relations, comparative politics and public administration courses are almost absent (there are a few but the vast majority is in political/social philosophy and history, including historiography courses which, I believe, are for historians and not political scientists). Its history (and philosophical) emphasis worries me a bit, since I have more practical interests and do not want to study history (more than 2-3 courses that would be necessary in any local political science department), but maybe I could take some electives in more “practical” fields of the subject, and the rest in political philosophy (which is also not too practical). I have heard that the particular department is weaker than the second one, even though we are talking about different subjects, and gives way too much emphasis in history.

  4. Going to another city, a small city actually (I currently live in the capital of my country and I’m talking about a city of less than 50.000 residents), to a good university for a Political Science degree. I have heard that the particular department is organized and works well, but it is not a very big department (not too many electives) and its core is in political theory. It does offer a few more practical courses, it does not offer more than 2 courses in political history in contrast to option 3, where most electives are also in history, but has mainly political theory courses. I like this department more than the previous one, but I would have to leave my city (which means I’d have to pay for rent etc.) for a greatly smaller one (which means I wouldn’t be able to attend many extracurricular activities such as conventions and lectures), so I would probably try to get into option 3 first.

I am mainly trying to decide between subjects. If I decide on the subject, it will be easier for me to think about which particular department I’ll try to get into.

If anyone has any questions concerning my interests, my options, or wants me to share the course catalog of the departments I referred to, it is my pleasure to do so.

Thank you very much for your time. Any opinion at all will be very useful to me, since I have been trying too much for too long to figure this out. :slight_smile:

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What 3 universities are you talking about? Have you been admitted to all of them?

3

Economics is a way of thinking. If that way of thinking appeals to you, then an econ major would be a good idea. Otherwise it is possible to major in something else and then pick up an additional course in macroecon and/or public finance to get the knowledge in those areas that you think you would find useful.

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@Dunboyne Thanks for your interest! Here in Greece, the final exams on our last high-school year are common for every student of the country and your grades decide your available options. Even though a department’s entry requirements in terms of your grades are not fixed, because the Panhellenics system works comparatively (e.g. a department may accept 200 students, so it’ll accept those applying with the highest grades, so the lowest one is not standard every year), they are almost stable.

I know I didn’t have to explain it analytically, sorry if I bored or confused you. The point is that my grades (not only my grade average but also my grades in every single exam) allow me to join the following departments, which are the options I stated in my original post:

  1. Economics department, University of Athens
  2. Economic and Regional Development department, Panteion University
  3. Political Science & History department, Panteion University (again, the only one of the four that I may not be admitted to, given my low exam score in history)
  4. Political Science department, University of Crete

If you have any views on my thoughts I would be glad to read them.

@CheddarcheeseMN Thank you for your answer! It is possible that I would not be too interested in the entire material in an economics major, so I try to decide on that basis. Some concepts I learned in my microeconomics course, such as the utility function, really pissed me off for being too theoretical and trying to mathematize every need or desire of people. Also, minimization of cost and maximization of profits are also not concepts that fascinate me, since I do not really care for business economics and I’d only be interested in political economy and macro-like concepts about the whole economy.

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Option 3 doesn’t sound very enticing because you already have doubts about getting through the program, motivationally if not academically, due to its focus on history. Then you suggest that you’d rather not leave Athens for option 4 because of the added cost and lost ECs, and that you’d rather apply to option 3 which, as noted, isn’t the best option to begin with.

You seem doubtful whether the math in option 2 will be significantly easier than option 1. If it’s not in fact much easier, the biggest advantage of option 2 seems to be in the more narrowly focused subject matter that you happen to be interested in right now. But what if your interests broaden or change? That happens a lot in undergrad as students develop new passions.

I’m going with option 1. It’s a stronger university overall. Plus, it’s not like you’re poor at math (in the way you struggle with history). I don’t know how much math you would take in an econ major there, but it is usually not overly burdensome here (less than a minor). It might be a motivational challenge for you, but you’re not going to find every course interesting (no student does). It sounds like Athens also offers a broader grounding in economics and it’s a larger department with more course offerings. Having access to a broader assortment of courses is never a bad thing when you’re unsure about your future.

6

Your interests are very much like my son’s. He will be majoring in economics this fall, but he is passionate about history, politics and sociology. We have discussed it at length and he agrees that economics would be a good major for him. He’s a strong writer and talented at math (although he’s not terribly interested in it.) I think the math component (statistics, econometrics etc.) adds value to your skillset, and is not overly burdensome (no worse than calculus, from what I hear.) If you don’t intend to work as a “number cruncher” then you can branch out to other areas, econ is a very diverse field - behavioral economics, historic economics, etc.

I recommend that you go to the best university you can afford, regardless of the subject. If you decide that econ is not for you, you will have more options, and I assume you could transfer to one of the other schools in the future.

As a Greek economist, your biggest issue may be credibility… :wink:

7

Thank you both very much for your answers!

@Dunboyne You are correct on option 3 not sounding too enticing because of the department’s emphasis on fields I’m not too interested in. Depending on my mood and train of thought when I think about my options, there are times that I’m close to eliminating option 3 (and keep option 4 as the only possible department of political science for me), and other times that I think I’d prefer option 3 to option 4 just because of the department’s location.

Truth is that I could avoid most history courses if I chose (and was able) to join the third department I mentioned because it offers quite a lot of electives, but I would surely have to take more history courses (including a mandatory historiography course). Also, they offer courses in Social Theory, and not Political Theory (as department #4 does), which worries me a bit, but I believe they won’t differ too much. I don’t know what is more important to me to choose between the two - staying in Athens or studying at the department of my preference between the two (my preference is neither too slight nor excessive - it’s moderate and that is why I tended to choose option 3 between the two, because city isn’t a minor factor for my decision).

I definitely agree with choosing a broad department instead of a specialized one. However, even though Economic and Regional Development department’s core courses are mostly in economics, there are quite a few - especially elective ones but some core ones also - in Regional Science (in which economics are again very important, but it has more to it I believe), Human and Urban Geography, Urban Planning, Environmental Science, Transport Policy, and there is even an elective course in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

So, concerning the department, on the one hand I’m thinking that it has interesting courses which could be useful, especially if I don’t love economics in the end, because of the extra options, while on the other hand I’m thinking that most of the non-economic courses, especially those regarding urban planning, transport policy etc. could fall under the fields of Civil Engineers and I, as a kind-of-an-economist (the state considers economists the graduates from the particular department), would not be trained properly if I wanted to get into such fields.

I’ve always loved travelling to cities, discovering different places and even thinking about their formation, but that might not be enough to seriously consider that I’d love the courses I mentioned. So, unless I become certain that I’d like this type of specialization and its non-economic courses, I’m going with the first option. It’s a more renowned university, a broader (and probably stronger) department, and it’s not like I could lose my opportunity if I ever want to get into the waters of department #2, I could specialize in that later (and a bit while taking courses in the area of development economics). So, it’s a safer bet overall, and could easily be the better option between the two.

Conclusively, unless I start to love the non-economic courses offered by department #2, if I decide that I’ll be studying economics, department #1 will be the way to go.

@subtropicus I definitely don’t intend to work as a “number cruncher” and I only care about the sociopolitical side of economics - that is why I am unsure that I’d like the whole material (it would be alright if I don’t love a few courses, but I would have to like most of them, otherwise why bother?) and I’m having a dilemma between economics and political science.

Math in the undergraduate programs of most economics departments are in fact not on the level of very math-intensive programs (such as, in general, engineering, math, physics, perhaps computer science and others). However, it is not too easy for someone who dislikes the material to get through with it, since we are talking about 2 math, 2 statistics and 1 econometrics course (at least in the local programs I’m thinking of) - let alone the math involved in microeconomics and maybe some other courses. I am not saying that I would not be able to get through with it, I am just a little concerned about disliking it and not be focused to doing well in it, if I study economics. The last phrase is true, we’ll just see what happens! :slight_smile: Also, good luck to your son, I’m sure he is an interesting person (since our interests are very similar :D), a passionate student and I hope he finds what he seeks!

I expressed my views on my options. Currently, if I choose to study economics, I’m most probably going with option 1. If I decide to study political science, I really don’t know whether I’m going with option 3 or 4. To be honest, the biggest problem for me now is deciding on the subject, and not on the particular department (since that is what makes the biggest difference). If we were talking about other universities (mainly in other countries), with strong Political Science departments with many courses in international relations, comparative politics and public administration, it is very possible that I’d be more fascinated by those departments in comparison to economics (even though I would probably still be in a dilemma since I find economics interesting as well, and it might just be more useful overall), because I might be interested in a more practical field of political science rather than reading the works of political philosophers (which does not sound boring to me, but I’d like more practical things too) and, even more so, studying history which is a humanity/social science (it’s controversial, maybe mostly a humanity) I like, but did not choose to study for some reasons (I preferred other social sciences which would be more practical and would require more specific material to be studied rather than all the events of a period in a certain region, and, more importantly, would be connected to the present (and future) rather than the past - of course, I realize history’s importance for every social science, I’m just saying it’s not for me). However, now we are talking about one kind of large department with important emphasis on political and social theory and political history, with courses named like “Social Theory I/II/III” or “Contemporary Balkan History I/II”, and one small department in another (small) city, that I prefer in terms of courses but it is still political theory oriented, with courses on “Political Theory I/II/III/IV” or “Theories of Democracy”. Political Theory courses do seem interesting as well, it’s just that, as I said, I’d like to be able to give a more practical emphasis on my studies (that’s what I don’t like about option 3: it deliberately gives emphasis on those particular areas to not be entangled with other departments such as the “International, European and Area Studies” or the “Public Administration” departments of the same university. Option 4 does not do it deliberately since it does have a few (not much, but a few more than option 3) courses on international relations and public administration, but is just a small department which offers only a few electives in comparison to central departments in larger cities of the country. I should note that, at least the 1/3 of the professors on department option 3 are historians and not political scientists.

If there are any more views on my thoughts and options, I would be very glad to read them! What I would really like is to decide on either economics or political science (if anyone knows a way, please let me know), but choosing one between the two departments of political science or even one between the two economics departments for certain, would also help quite a bit. Thank you for your time! :slight_smile:

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P.S.: Sometimes I wonder whether I’m simply mistaken about history in relation to political science, that it could be too important and, since I do not dislike history at all as I find it interesting, I should prefer option 3 to option 4, because I would get to stay in my city and in a pretty broad (political theory and history oriented) department. Other times, as I mentioned before, I think that it would be better for me to choose an all-around department that does not give much emphasis to any fields of the subject, even if it offers less electives and most of the core courses are in political theory since it is a classical political science department. Again, if anyone has any thoughts to share, I’d like that very much. Thank you! :slight_smile:

9

I’m not trying to sell you on econ, but it is hardly the “dismal science” of the old days. Check these out when you get a chance.

http://danariely.com/

http://freakonomics.com/blog/

Not sure how it works in Greece, but in the US a lot of students don’t declare a major until they’ve had some exposure to different fields of study.

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@subtropicus Thank you for your answer. :slight_smile:
Unfortunately, it does not work that way in Greece. In Greece, you choose the department that you want to get in, and there is not option to transfer to another department. Also, there is no such thing as general education courses, as all of the courses you will be required to take will be in your department’s subject. So, I’m trying to be 100% sure about my choice, because there is no turning back pretty much. :stuck_out_tongue:

I have read Freakonomics and I liked it, however I thought that it is an economist (and a journalist) doing sociological research, perhaps using some economic tools. However, as you said, it is true that there are fields of economics who are not quantitative and have a mainly social (or political) nature, so I’m sure I would find something I like. Both economics and political science are good choices for me, I was just trying to figure out which one is the best one, and by how much (in case the answer was political science, so I would know whether me leaving the city would worth it).

Regarding my options, I will have to decide between staying in Athens for one of the first two options or leaving for Crete for the fourth option, as the third option is not certain at all (we will know in about 2-3 months from now) and I am not fascinated by it anyway. So, it would be best if we left it out of the question for now. I would like if I could classify those three options by descending preference.

I am sorry my previous post was so long. The way I think about my options now is the following.
If I decide to study in a broad economics department, I select option 1.
If I decide to study economics, but I wish to learn about urban planning as well and am very interested in that more than various fields of economics, I select option 2.
If I decide to study political science, knowing that I will probably have to live in a small city, I select option 4.

Do you agree with this way of thinking?
Something last I would like to ask you. Do you believe that Political Science is relevant? I have heard people saying that it is not very relevant and useful, and they would not suggest studying it.

Thank you!

11

Guys, a final update:
If I decide to study economics, I go with option 1, having option 2 as a back-up plan (probably not going to need it though).
If I decide to study political science, I go with option 3, having option 4 as a back-up plan (may or may not need it).

So, it all comes down to the social science I’ll be choosing. Given my interests and desires, which one do you believe would suit me better?

Thank you!

12

Give us some idea of the types of jobs each major would set you up for in Greece. How easy is it to land those jobs? What are the advancement prospects? What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

In North America, economics is seen as the more practical, in-demand major, although both sets of grads often pursue grad studies to enhance their resumes.

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Well, I believe the prospects of those two majors are similar in Greece and in North America. In Greece, economics, apart from being seen as more in-demand than political science, is closely related with all business sectors. Economics is not as distinguished from business majors as it is in North America, I believe, but economics majors are more qualified to work for the Bank of Greece and other such institutions than business majors for doing economic research.

Political Science, on the other hand, is more closely related to Law. Of course, you cannot practice law with a degree in political science, but you may go for jobs in the public sector, such as public administration, international relations (including working for the EU etc.), academic careers… Of course, a lot of political science graduates go on to study law, which also happens in the North America if I’m not mistaken.

Landing a job with an economics degree will probably be easier, because most companies will see it as more practical than a political science one and useful for their needs.
However, I was thinking that it would be best to not choose my field of study according to the market’s desires (which are not even official, it’s just what I’ve heard people say), but to my own, in order to be interested in and become good at whatever I select.

I am planning to go on for post-graduate studies, so, if I have a political science degree, I am having a hard time finding a job and I’d like to move towards the business sector, I might choose to do an MBA or something similar, closer to the market’s needs.

But, since you are asking what I’m seeing myself doing in 10 years, so I presume you are asking what I would really want to do then, the answer is definitely not easy. I would say that working in the business sector would be fine, especially as a back-up plan it’s perfect (I think I would like a job in either sales or management, perhaps even marketing). Nevertheless, my first choice may be something involving people and possibly politics, such as working in public administration (not particularly in Greece), maybe international relations, analyzing political systems and political behavior, working for a political campaign, researching on political economy concerning what needs to be done by the states in order to tackle poverty, war, injustice etc.

As you see, my interests are pretty general and my desires seem pretty blurry, because I do not have a clear idea of what it is that I’d like to do. What I believe now is that I’d be happy to work on lots of stuff, even in the private sector, but careers closely related to politics and social welfare might be way more fulfilling for me.

So, if I went for economics, I could go for political economy or international economics (or both), in order to try to get involved with economic policies globally.
If I went for political science, I’d go for international relations, political campaigns, analyzing voting behavior and political systems. I cannot draw out the possibility that I’d like political theory, but I’m not as theoretical as a practical type of person.
Public administration seems reachable from both the degrees, same goes for most jobs in the business sector.

Did I help you at all?

Thank you!

P.S.: I am also a Canadian citizen and I am planning to do my post-graduate studies there, if everything goes fine. I don’t know whether I would stay to work in Canada, but that is also a possibility!

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P.S.2: Also, I have thought of Urban Planning as a possible post-graduate degree, as I love cities and would be interested in learning more about their planning and the social, cultural, economic, environmental and perhaps even political factors that influence their design. I could never rule out anything with human (economic, political, social) geography as well.

I believe both the majors I am thinking about are a good fit for me, I am just trying hard to decide between the two. I have also thought about others (philosophy, history) which I ruled out because of the lack of any practicality, and sociology, which I kind of ruled out because of the lack of clear identity. There is such thing as a subject being too general, so I’ll definitely be avoiding that.

I’ll be glad to read your thoughts. :slight_smile:

15

It sounds like you’d fit in either program and you’re just going to have to do some soul searching and more research to hit upon what work you’d rather be doing. Your case is actually frustrating to me because you are a great example of a student who would benefit from a system where you don’t declare a major until later, or where a double major (at the university of your choice) is perhaps the smartest move.

I would still lean toward economics because, as you say, you can focus on political economy, where you could end up working in largely the same roles that a political science program would deliver. On the other hand, I’m not sure you’d have similar access to the types of roles in business/sales/marketing with a poli sci program. Economics has more “reach”, in that respect.

16

That is exactly the case, I would really like to have the option to double major in these disciplines, or, at least, not have to choose one before taking some related courses.

Your suggestion makes a lot of sense as the degree might be more useful and I will be studying in the best university and broadest department of my options. I’ll try to do both the soul searching and the research you are referring to, to find out whether Political Science will be a better fit for me. If it is not, I’m going with option 1, which is economics.

Thank you very much for your advice, I really appreciate it and I wish you the best of luck in everything you choose to do! :slight_smile:

I will read any other views with pleasure, including any extra thoughts of those who have already expressed their opinion.

17

Guys, I got into the Economics department of the University of Athens. I hope I’ll like the required courses (especially math, statistics and maybe even microeconomics, since I am more into macroeconomics, economic policy, political economy, international economics, public finance etc.) and I’m not going to wish I had gone for Political Science at the University of Crete instead.

I believe I’ll be fine, though. Economics and Political Science are very similar really, if we are talking mainly about international relations, current political events and public administration, since those are the fields I am interested in (rather than political philosophy and history), right? I believe both are very useful for the fields I am interested in and I would actually double major if I was able to, but, since that’s not an option in Greece, I hope that economics is at least just as useful as political science for these fields and I’ll be able to pick up extra knowledge about the subjects after my degree.

Any last views would be very appreciated, otherwise I’d just want to thank you for your advice. :slight_smile:

18

Congratulations. All of that required stuff is meant to build a foundation, not make students happy. Just keep your eyes on the final prize and you’ll be able to get through one or two uninspiring subjects. Anyway, Athens is like ground zero for the study of economics in modern-day Europe, so if you can’t find the drama, you’re not Greek! Good luck. And study hard – Greece is counting on you!

19

As a student of economics, hopefully your department will teach you early that it’s not a matter of Micro or Macro in terms of explaining economic phenomena with static, concrete models and theorems, but it’s more a matter of school of thought (i.e. differences in views between Neoclassical, Socialist, Austrian, Keynesian, etc). Economics surely is a way of thinking – a way of approaching and analyzing complex problems, and a continual exercise in critical thinking. Take, for example, another poster’s comment regarding his son (not to point or call him/her out, just to use as an example):

One observer might take this comment on face value, that it’s correct that the son being referred to is a strong writer. Other more skeptical readers might think, “No way, everyone thinks they’re good writers, when really they’re all bad.” An ECONOMIST would ponder, “Well, it depends.” For an economist, this comment, and much other things in the world when examined through economics, is relative. The son may be a strong writer relative to his peers, or to his own family members or close friends. However he may not be a strong writer relative to his soon-to-be college colleagues, or to the level that his college professor may expect. Different professors, even who facilitate the same class, may grade the same writing sample differently. So, it depends. And the critically thinking economist would FIRST ask, “Well, define ‘strong’,” because many things, including value, are subjective, and one’s interpretation of “strong” is different from another’s.

Urban Economics was actually one of my most interesting courses. I was introduced to the Urban Model, which explained much phenomena about cities such as traffic, transportation selection, living selection (rent vs owner-occupied housing), location of CBD (central business districts, basically concentration of job and labor location decisions), among others. This course actually counted as an elective in the MUP (Master’s of Urban Planning) at my university.

As a previous poster has mentioned, no student likes all of his or her courses, even within his or her own major. But yes, generally, I was interested in most if not nearly all of them, which helps getting through the academic program. What you may be surprised to discover is that not all economics is about concrete calculation through static models. Austrian economics, for example, focuses on ideas and explanations that do not require, or in instances actually refute or criticize, the use of specific formulae to “predict” certain economic outcomes. The question is what school of thought will your university specialize, or have a comparative advantage, to take another ring from the economist bag-of-tricks, in?