Explain the difference between Economics maj. and Business Maj.???

College Majors Business Major
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<p>Can someone please explain the differences between an economics major and a business major?</p>

<p>So far I'm leaning towards an economics major partly because I believe a business major is going to be so common in the near future that I don't want to just get lost in the pack. I've also heard that economics majors require a little bit more math than a business major, something that I would be comfortable with.</p>

<p>I've also heard that business majors are more highly recruited for some reason, maybe because something along the lines of business majors having a more practical business sense than an econ major. </p>

<p>I also plan on eventually getting an MBA, is one of these majors favored more? or more practical?</p>

<p>Do econ majors and business majors often have the same types of jobs?
Is it true that econ majors require more math?
Can econ majors make it to the executive side of business? (I know they "can", but do they?)</p>

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<p>An Economics major is more liberal arts based, you get a broad education in economic theory, policy, etc. Business majors study Econ, in addition to other things, like maybe finance, accounting, marketing, etc. Business majors learn more practical real-world applications. Of course, an Econ major could still take courses in things like marketing, finance, accounting, or whatever and get a similar education. </p>

<p>Tons of Econ majors go into the corporate world, it will not hinder you. And yes, you can make it to the executive side of business. Your Undergrad major will not make a huge difference (assuming you're studying Econ/Business). Economics majors generally don't struggle for jobs - if your undergrad major decided everything, than pretty much all humanities majors would be homeless, which obviously isn't true. There are lots of things you can do with an Econ degree, or any Bachelor's degree. </p>

<p>For an MBA, an Econ B.A/B.S might help. I'm copying this statement from another thread I read recently:
"An undergrad business degree doesn't help in MBA admissions, and the skills imparted are largely redundant. My guess is that MBA programs would rather you applied technical acumen from another degree towards the business world." Also, good MBA programs prefer if you work for years before getting your MBA - don't get an Econ degree and go straight to an MBA. Decent schools won't take you without work experience.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I also plan on eventually getting an MBA, is one of these majors favored more? or more practical?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Your major won't matter at all.</p>

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<p>"Also, good MBA programs prefer if you work for years before getting your MBA - don't get an Econ degree and go straight to an MBA. Decent schools won't take you without work experience."</p>

<p>Also if you go straight in b-school and get your MBA you are endangering yourself from being either under qualify (lack of experience) and overqualified (high degree and wont stay at the job)</p>

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<p>Some business schools offer BBA with majors in specific areas like accounting, finance, marketing, mangement etc. Others offer a BS with major in business, and you'd would concentrate on a specific area. Either case, be careful with what you choose to major/concentrate on. A general business degree would probably worse off than an economics degree. As a side note, I am always wondering why many business schools, especially those at lower end (tier II and below) offer way too many BS majors like management, marketing... for example.</p>

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<p>this is something that i've been wondering also. my school's business school offers a BBA in econ and the liberal arts college offers a regular BA. it seems like they're roughly equivalent, except the business students do other business stuff as well (accounting requirements, finance, marketing requirements, etc) and the liberal arts students get a more broad liberal arts education (languages, math, philosophy, etc) is this impression accurate?</p>

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<p>Econ will give you more post-grad opportunities, and on most accounts is more difficult than a business major. Econ will probably help you develop more analytical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills than you would as a business major.</p>

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<p>"So far I'm leaning towards an economics major partly because I believe a business major is going to be so common in the near future that I don't want to just get lost in the pack."</p>

<p>Actually, econ majors are just as prevalent as business majors, if not more. If you're afraid of getting "lost in the pack," econ won't help you differentiate yourself at all. However, I do agree that overall an econ major lets you do what business majors do plus a few extra things that require more statistical analysis and use of software like SAS/Stata. Another viewpoint is that if your school offers a business program, most recruiting will be done there, so it won't be a bad idea to be part of that. I know at my school, the business school kids overall have a much better time in the recruiting process than their econ major counterparts. The career services and recruiting relations have a lot to do with it also, not just major/department.</p>

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<p>I understand that an Econ major could potentially put public service on the table (something a Business major can't), if one is only interested in entering the Private Sector and the school they go to offers both an Econ major and a Business major, what is the most strategic option (I happen to like Econ and obviously Business)</p>

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<p>I still get confused about the question.
And I also wonder that what job can we do when we graduation from the econ major?</p>

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<p>If you’re going to a good university with a business school, the business school will almost definitely be more selective, have smarter students, and employers will look to them first for candidates for the most prestigeous jobs.</p>

<p>To address a few of the issues mentioned in this thread:</p>

<p>“I believe a business major is going to be so common in the near future that I don’t want to just get lost in the pack.”
There are actually more econ majors applying to top jobs than business majors because a lot of top schools are liberal arts focused. If you go to a top business program, you will stand out a lot more than going to a mediocre econ program.</p>

<p>“I’ve also heard that economics majors require a little bit more math than a business major, something that I would be comfortable with.”
The difference will be how practical the math is in the business world more than how much math you’re doing.</p>

<p>“I’ve also heard that business majors are more highly recruited for some reason, maybe because something along the lines of business majors having a more practical business sense than an econ major.”
This is true, and it’s also because admission to the liberal arts program will likely be significantly easier than admission to the business program. The increased competitiveness means more of the brightest students end up in the business school.</p>

<p>“I also plan on eventually getting an MBA, is one of these majors favored more? or more practical?”
Your undergrad major DOES NOT MATTER in MBA admissions. What matters is the job you land with your degree, and if a business degree lands you a better job, then it’ll give you a leg up on MBA admissions.</p>

<p>“Do econ majors and business majors often have the same types of jobs?”
Yes.</p>

<p>“Can econ majors make it to the executive side of business?”
Yes, but more of their learning will need to be done on the job. This won’t be a problem if you’re smart.</p>

<p>Some people have noted that a business degree is more practical, and it will teach you practical skills, but you will have to complete “core” classes and could very well do more philosophy or psychology or language than an economics major if you choose to.</p>

<p>In response to pbg’s post:
"Econ will give you more post-grad opportunities, and on most accounts is more difficult than a business major. Econ will probably help you develop more analytical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills than you would as a business major. "</p>

<p>The econ majors at my university fare nowhere near as well as the business majors and I’ve yet to meet one who didn’t wish they were accepted to the business school.</p>

<p>The business classes are designed to make you develop analytical skills and solve problems and they do so not just by presenting things for you think about, but by giving you projects and actual problems to solve as well as giving you the dimension of presenting and explaining your solution.</p>

<p>That said, there are still plenty of classes that give you things to think about, too. After all, finance is basically economics with a little less psychology and a lot more practicality.</p>

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<p>Econ in a social science. It has a lot more graphs and terms and is very idealistic (by which I mean there are a lot of situations where only one or two variables change and you need to find the outcome).</p>

<p>Business is practicle. It is designed to give you skills that employers want. The problems are much more similar to real life, and there is relatively more room for creativity in classes/projects (with the exception of accounting/finance). </p>

<p>I have taken an equal amount of econ/business classes and right now econ is a lot easier than business. This might be due to the fact that most students who aren’t accepted into the b-school end up in econ, so the standards are lower, I am not sure (just a theory). However, the econ classes I have taken have been much more interesting than the business classes I have taken.</p>

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<p>Why do people say that Economics is harder than business?</p>

<p>How is it harder than business? What makes it harder?</p>