I will be a freshman next year, and I have taken three years of calculus, linear algebra, and applied linear algebra, and so I am not too far from a math major and I want to finish. That said, I have a lot of time to combine my math major with something else, which I want to do since pure math on its own bores me.
I have thought about these double majors:
Math + Computer Science
Math + Economics
Math + Statistics
Which one of these combinations do you think creates the best employment/grad school prospects?
Is it worth it to pair math with something other than CS and then just take some CS classes to gain computer skills?
I have heard that Economics PhD programs actually prefer math majors to econ majors. Is this true? If so, is there any real use in majoring in economics, or would it be more worthwhile to just take a few economics courses (e.g. econometrics and intermediate econ) instead?
The math major is going to require at least six upper-level proof-based classes beyond what you’ve taken. You have a couple of lower-level prerequisite classes which are also required for plenty of other majors, so you shouldn’t feel like you’ve wasted your time if you don’t commit to the math major.
Do you like proofs?
Math + Computer Science. My impression is that the other disciplines tend to want graduate school, and you can get into statistics or economics graduate school without a whole major. Software development jobs will often take math majors, but they prefer computer science majors.
I should add that I also took a class in enumerative combinatorics and the three years of calculus courses included some differential equations, but I think you are right that I will need about six more classes. I do think I enjoy math enough that I would want to finish a major, but I would just not want to pursue a grad degree in it or anything like that. I like doing proofs, but I wouldn’t want to just do proofs forever.
Software development sounds like it could be interesting, but as of now I see myself more interested in a economics/finance application. So it looks like grad school will be likely for me, but of course, a lot could change. Thank you for the information!
You should take a few economics courses but you don’t need to do the whole major, even if you want to go to an economics PhD program. Intro to Micro/Macro, Intermediate Micro, and Econometrics would probably be enough Econ to get you into a PhD program.
Computer Science is very useful but you should only major in it if you actually enjoy it. Try out a couple classes and see what you think. Even if you don’t major in it, you should still learn how to program since almost all math/econ/finance jobs involve A LOT of programming.
You can take the introductory courses for CS and economics, and calculus-based probability and statistics courses, before deciding.
If you do want to go on to PhD study in economics, choose the most math-intensive intermediate microeconomics, intermediate macroeconomics, and econometrics courses, and take additional math and statistics courses of the type suggested at https://www.econ.berkeley.edu/undergrad/current/preparing-for-grad-school .
Operations research or industrial engineering, if offered at your school, may also be of interest to you.