<p>wow… I can’t believe that anybody is taking these ignorant racist untrue comments seriously. How does one’s ethnicity determine who they are as a person? And I don’t see any Chinese people being questioned in front of congress as of current. And I don’t see Asian countries facing the same financial crises…</p>
<p>Judging from what you are writing on other thread, you sound like a ■■■■■. You claim to want to be an investment bank and have a 4.0 in Econ. Yet you’ve taken UGBA 102a… the easiest Haas class with 50% As and you want out? Seriously? If you really are a Haas major, did you just take 1 econ class and then based your 4.0 off of that? Or are you a business major who just couldn’t make it? If you are so discontent, why do you still follow that path? It’s not hard to double major or even change majors in Berkeley. I suggest that you grow up and understand what diversity and acceptance really means.</p>
<p>On different note, I took upperdiv Econ and Haas classes. In fact, the lower div for Econ and Haas are THE EXACT SAME. And most of the upper divs are actually interchangeable. In fact, a lot of the upper div Econ classes are more like social science classes with an emphasis on economics.</p>
<p>I’m also a poli sci double major. I have to say, that each department has its merits. I don’t see why there has to be a comparison.</p>
<p>Also, it is true to financial analyst jobs have a low base salary with high bonuses etc. It is also true that many business majors start out in Accounting. After completing a CPA, it’s not unheard of to earn a 6 figure salary in a couple of years. </p>
<p>But does it really matter? It’s the person that goes in for the interview and applies. Major stops mattering after a certain extent.</p>
<p>sakky, honestly, don’t bother with these guys… Look at them: one of them (flutterfly) is clearly a person who failed UGBA 10 and now hates Haas for his failure; and the other (anony) is obviously a racist who, through some mistake in the paperwork, was admitted to Haas, but now realizes that he isn’t smart enough to keep up with the competition. </p>
<p>flutterfly, you tell sakky not to misquote you, and yet, you respond to his comments while only “skimming” through them…? Please come back, actually READ, and then respond. You will sound much more intelligent that way.</p>
<p>New admits who are interested in Haas, do not be discouraged by what these guys are saying. They’re making themselves sound self-righteous by blabbering about how they’re only interested in what they’re learning (and have no interest in money) and how they’re going to save the world… Really now? I highly doubt either of them will contribute anything anywhere. Take flutterfly for example: he decides that he is going to double major in Econ and MCB. Why? I doubt it is because he simply loves those two topics or that he plans to use his knowledge here to save humanity. Having two majors is attractive to employers and it gives him a wide range of career options to choose from; that’s all there is to it. Now, I am not saying that everyone at Berkeley is only out for the money. Quite the contrary, I know a few friends who plan on going to Africa and Asia to help the needy upon graduating. However, when someone decides to major in ECON AND MCB, do you really think his intentions are as righteous as he claims? </p>
<p>The fact is, most of us attending college will obtain a degree and then, go out and find the highest paying job we can find. Math majors and Engineering majors may love what they’re doing in school (just like how Business majors may love what they’re doing), but ultimately, the goals of most people are to find a job. Most of us want to be financially secure so that we can build and maintain a comfortable life and start a family. Most of us want to be able to buy our kids that brand new toy when it comes out instead of telling them we cannot afford it. That is how our society functions. I do not see your reasoning for arguing against students desiring financial security.</p>
<p>^Um. I got a B+ in UGBA10 freshman year first semester, got an A in Stats 21, but did not apply to Haas because of the reasons I stated before - I did not like the people there and I did not care to join business clubs and get random leadership positions because it all just seemed very fake and robotic to me. I realized I wasn’t very interested in finance/banking and that I did not care to be a retail manager or a marketer or anything else that the business major had to offer.</p>
<p>I didn’t take any science classes freshman year because I was in the prebusiness/econ mode, but I actually liked OChem/Bio1A and decided I wanted to major in MCB. I’m primarily an MCB major right now, am working in a lab over summer, and am probably going to grad school for biochemistry. Econ’s my side double major because I’d already taken enough classes and because I think it’s actually pretty interesting.</p>
<p>And I’m a girl (flutterfly think about it).</p>
<p>So now that we’re done attacking me, read what I actually said. My main point was that Econ and Business are very separate fields and that the OP does not seem to realize that. Not everyone majoring in Econ is there just because they got rejected from Haas. And Business is really not as elite as all pre-business freshmen seem to think - they get disillusioned about it once they get there. I’ve been here 2 years and I’ve seen this happen many times.</p>
<p>I don’t have any side in this debate since I’m not even a student yet at Berkeley, but something secretaznman said drew my attention.</p>
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<p>This is exactly what I was talking about! People go to HAAS to do that, to have financial security, to make money, etc. Yet the data in the career center shows something contradictory. It appears that HAAS undergraduates actually have a lower-than-expected starting salary!! I don’t know if this is true (my original question was…is this data accurate?). Do people really come out of HAAS and get $56k/yr on average? I’m assuming that to even get into HAAS u have internships / some work experience and have a good GPA.</p>
<p>^Sigh, can we get over this career center data please. Those surveys are answered by a very limited amount of people and leave many variables unaccounted for. </p>
<p>And do you really want to decide your life over average graduate first year salaries? How about you first get to college and try to figure out what you are interested in. Maybe you’ll love UGBA 10 and decide that Haas is completely worth it, or maybe you will not. If you have to do something right now, look up the major descriptions and requirements, it will help you more.</p>
<p>I’m not deciding anything of my future college path by this data. People have an unfortunate tendency to assume things =. If I haven’t made it painfully clear now, I just wanted people to comment about the irony and to possibly provide a reasonable explanation for this contradiction. I also could’ve sworn I said in an earlier post in this thread I have no interest in HAAS (okay, I’m sorry…Haas) or business.</p>
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But you see, the career center shows the number of people who reply as well as the total number. 63% replied. Also, the numbers shown by the career center should be HIGHER than they actually are because of self-selection bias. If you’re making minimum wage or you’re going to a bottom graduate school, you probably wouldn’t reply to this survey. On the other hand, if you’re going to Stanford or MIT for engineering graduate school, you would. Likewise, if you’re making big bucks, you would reply. </p>
<p>I do not deny there are unacounted variables. But certainly you can not deny the number is still surprisingly low. Also, about the</p>
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<p>No, we can’t. Why? Because this is what the thread was created around.</p>
<p>JBeak, Engineering and Math majors have a specific skill set that they can normally apply right as they enter the workforce. While this makes them more immediately competitive in their first year, there is less room for growth. Business and Econ graduates (which often apply for the same jobs, and debatably are often seen as equal in terms of value as far as liberal art degrees go) have much more room for growth.</p>
<p>Made up guesstimates on salary:</p>
<p>Engineers/Math majors middle 80% 10yr after graduating: $60k - 100k
Business/Econ majors middle 80% 10 yr after graduating: $80k - 150k</p>
<p>That should answer your question, and yes, the numbers are completely fabricated. They may both start at the same place, but the potential for growth is much more for Econ/Business.</p>
<p>Also, in the business world, there is a huge emphasis on networking, less so your skill set. Right when you enter business you likely start with a small network, but as your network grows, so does your salary.</p>
<p>With engineers and math, there is a huge emphasis on your skill set, less on networking. However, unlike business, your skill set is much more finite.</p>
<p>“However, when someone decides to major in ECON AND MCB, do you really think his intentions are as righteous as he claims?”</p>
<p>i was going to double in econ and mcb (or maybe integrative bio and i had even thought about bioengineering for a while)…econ’s my primary interest, bio is my 2nd, and business is my 3rd lol, only doing haas/econ cuz it’s one less yr at cc, but i would have pursued econ and bio if i hadn’t disliked cc so much just cuz i’m interested in both…not to make myself appear “more valuable” to employers as you put it…though i’ll admit the haas degree is just to look good to employers lol, econ’s where my heart is at</p>
<p>mentality of OP: “Well if you’re a business major, it must mean you’ll get rich.”</p>
<p>Reality: Business is widely known to be somewhat of a bull-**** major. UNLESS you come from a very well-renowned business school. In that case the degree alone is still partially bull-****, but you can succeed with the right networking and taking the right courses.</p>
<p>Actually, that my mentality is the same of yours (that an undergrad business degree is partially ********. But the mentality of high school seniors is the mentality that you said. If i’m not a doctor or a lawyer or a businessman I’ll never have enough money! I made this thread to see what people in college think and then I found some data that showed business majors really don’t make more money than math major ones. But sakky showed otherwise. (although the avg salary of math majors was 50k in 2006 and for buisness it was 54k, which is still much smaller than would otherwise be expected)</p>
<p>Anyways, I learned from people on this thread that while the starting salary is low, the range of salaries is very high during mid-career.</p>
<p>I get the impression from people who replied back on this thread that I’m trying to prove or demonstrate or argue something. I’m not. I just wanted to point out a contradiction (it may not be for you guys, but for most high school seniors, it is) and perhaps the false alure that a business major will = more money. I wanted to learn what college students think of this. I don’t at all think Econ is “lesser” version of Haas, but I do think that people who are in Haas are more likely to be more competitive, more entrepreneurial, and harder-working.</p>
<p>As was pointed out before, you’re paying far too much attention to salaries, which what you care about is total compensation. Admittedly, the figures for total compensation are not available, but it is widely understood that consulting and finance positions that bus-ad grads disproportionately garner tend to pay far higher bonuses than do careers in other fields. Finance in particular is notorious for its exceedingly high bonuses, often times upwards of 100% of the salary in the first year alone, and can literally exceed 10,000% (that is, 100x) of your salary if you become a top trader or fund manager. Within the upper echelons of the finance industry, nobody really cares about salary, as the vast majority of your pay packet is derived from the bonus. </p>
<p>But, like I said, bonuses are unpredictable. You might get zero. That’s why they’re difficult to tabulate within a career survey. </p>
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<p>Generally speaking, it is actually true that a business major will make more money. Clearly, they make more money than does the average Berkeley graduate (aggregated across all majors). </p>
<p>As a case in point, MCB is the largest major on campus, yet the fact is, MCB graduates make relatively low starting salaries. </p>