<p>Hello All,</p>
<p>I attend Northeastern University and I just changed my major from Criminal Justice to Economics in hopes that I will end up with a better job in something like iBanking, Economist, etc. Any thoughts on Econ as a major and what the job market may look like as a Northeastern economics graduate? Thank you all!</p>
<p>Hi, I used to be an Economics major at Northeastern. So are you planning on doing graduate school?</p>
<p>Yes, eventually. I was hoping to graduate with my degree get some good work experience for 2-3 years then aim for an MBA or graduate degree.</p>
<p>An Econ degree is quite flexible…However, adding a math dual into it maybe make your resume even more marketable…how is your experience with math?</p>
<p>I’m no math whiz but I do solid enough that I should consider adding a math minor to make myself more marketable. I should do whatever I can especially with all the big business focus graduates in/around Boston. I’m just terrified that focusing on math can make me or break me.</p>
<p>Either math or business can help you. Another way of doing this is major in Business and Minor in Economics with one extra course in Economics (to have enough both Micro and Macro Theory) and the rest go to maths, or another business concentration ( you have nine free electives as a Business major, and more than 11 free electives as an econ major)</p>
<p>Wow really? Very good to know! I am not a 100% sure that I can change my major from Econ to Business because it’s a different college within the University and they look at major changes on a case-by-case basis. Thanks for the advice though I am definitely going to do some mixture of course to make myself more marketable.</p>
<p>typically, if you are on track for a certain major, changing college within the school would be alright. Unless you get AP Econ (both) you are still on track for the first semester of College of Business Administration.</p>
<p>Yes I may just try and see if I can change my major to Business. Are you still at Northeastern or have you graduated? Have you done any co ops under Econ yet? If so where and how was the experience? I apologize for all the questions.</p>
<p>No, transferring normally to business is more difficult than that. They only have limited number of spaces available.</p>
<p>However economics has a dual with business where you don’t have to transfer, so you can always do that.</p>
<p>The number one marketable trait an economics major can have (even a business major) is very, very strong Excel skills. Most of the jobs available to economics majors are heavy Excel based. Learn VBA, macros, pivot tables, etc before you start interviewing for your first co-op.</p>
<p>Just a note- you won’t become an investment banker with an economics degree unless you are a secret finance whiz who does trades in their spare time and has three summers worth of investment banking internships. You’d need to be a finance major for that- and a GOOD finance major, at that. Also most “economist” positions require a PhD in economics.</p>
<p>I saw that Econ has a couple of dual degree programs with political science, business, etc. Also where would I learn those excel skills? Are those skills you acquire through classes or outside seminars and workshops? And thanks for the heads up on the ibanking position. You think a financial analyst or associate sounds more reasonable?</p>
<p>The school hosts classes every once in a while, but you can just google it and find online things.</p>
<p>Financial analyst is possible, BUT that job can mean a hundred different things. So I personally could totally get hired as a financial analyst in my old co-op company, but some places might consider “financial analyst” to be really technical. It just depends. There’s no point it trying to pick specific job titles now.</p>
<p>Nice thanks for the advice on the Excel skills I’m definitely going to do some google hunting and see what I can string together. Btw how is the Econ program at Northeastern? I know business program is pretty intense and well known? </p>
<p>Also how have your Econ co op experiences been? I know that it can probably be pretty versatile.</p>
<p>Mine have been great, but the duties will span pretty wide depending on what the job is. Econ can spread through a lot of fields. But I’ve loved my co-ops and part-time jobs.</p>
<p>The econ program is pretty… not well known. It’s alright, but isn’t ranked or anything. Not really anything you can do about that. We have a few good professors that came from top schools, which is good.</p>
<p>In terms of difficulty how would you rate the program? And do you mind me asking for what companies you have done your co-op with?</p>
<p>I know that at a lot of schools which don’t have undergraduate business programs (not Northeastern) they make available things like Finance Certificates which you can graduate with as an econ major. That would then allow you to pursue a career similar to that of finance majors. I don’t know if NU offers this since, as I said before, they do in fact have a business program. Possibly something that you should look into if you are interested in IB or some other wall street-esque job. Good luck.</p>
<p>Difficulty? Like classes? Not really. I’ve had some tough professors, 20 page essays in a few classes, and Real Analysis (math) was pretty terrible- but I enjoyed it.</p>
<p>I worked in an actuarial/investment firm for my first co-op, and a management consulting firm for my second. Now I’m working at a bank in NYC. It’s pretty standard stuff for economics.</p>
<p>neuchimie when you say economics has a dual with business do you mean you can pick up a dual major like Eco-Finance without having to transfer into the school of business? Obviously if someone wanted only a bus major they would have to transfer into that school but if what I think your saying is right then that’s a good deal. Do you feel like NEU is helpful for students who want to double major after they have enrolled?</p>
<p>I think at NEU you can dual major Econ with Political Science, International Affairs, Environmental Studies, and Math. I think you can only minor in business with an Econ major. But I’m not 100% sure.</p>
<p>Neuchimie how’s the internship in NY? Are your expenses covered over there? Those co-ops are going to look great in your resume!</p>