Hello!
I’ve been struggling a lot with what I want to major in. Ever since Freshman year of high school, I told myself that I’m going to major in accounting/finance, but I was recently told I couldn’t due to religious reasons. The only career I know that’s close and makes good money is Economics. I’m just a little worried…
Can I still work with numbers? That’s the only reason why I went into business. Also, will Economics be very politics/government based? I didn’t enjoy AP Government in high school, so I’m assuming I won’t like it college (History is fine though, I love history).
Also, historically, various religious groups couldn’t lend money because their religions prohibited it. However, nowadays accountants and financial people don’t do that. Accountants at the entry level make the financial statements and at higher levels, they check the statements for errors… mostly. Tax accountants file people’s taxes for them and have to know or look up whether stuff counts as a deduction or not. Finance is more numbers based than accounting because it’s all about doing math to make educated guesses on how much a stock will yield and stuff like that.
@MyCCscreenname Thanks for the reply! I’m not interesting in the engineering field since, from what I heard, it’s more creativity based and I’m not creative.
Also, I still wouldn’t want to risk it. My accounting class in high school was dealing and learning about interest; it was a red light for me.
If you really are that concerned about money lending (which you should be, it is very unethical regardless of religion anyway) any job in the finance industry is going to be helping the money lenders, either directly or indirectly. On the other hand, an Economics degree is good for many things such as helping a non-profit or your church deal with finances or working in the government, so it isn’t a bad degree to have, it just depends on what you do with it.
@Ultimablade not sure how ethics is relevant to the OP’s question, but it isn’t dependent upon major, it’s dependent upon company goals. Most non-profits have investment funds because it isn’t possible to funds their operations purely based off donations. They also need finance professionals to understand how to most efficiently allocate and maximize the use return/use of their charitable contributions. Aside from internal management of funds, there are a number of non-profit investment firms that have seen large success in creating returns for their clients while helping to develop impoverished areas (look into Acumen Fund).
@muzzles I’m not sure what your religion is, so I wouldn’t know the exact restrictions that would prevent you from working in finance, but if you even look at a specialized field such as Islamic banking, there are plenty of opportunities. It is a practice that has grown in recent years with increased investment both in the Middle East by international financiers, as well as abroad by wealthy Middle Easterners. Islamic finance professionals are able to help foster relationships and transactions between 2 very disparate cultures. So if you are truly interested in finance & accounting, I would pursue it.
@Ultimablade I see, thanks! I’m considering it to be my official major.
@AoDay Actually, I do practice Islam! The problem with Islamic Banking is that it’s not popular in the United States, which is where I currently reside. I wouldn’t want to leave the US for my career. I know that some states have a major Muslim population and they have a couple of Islamic Banks in the area, but it’s not a major field. Thank you though!
@happy1 You’re right, since I’ve only found this out through the internet. I might try talking to the cleric, thanks!
I would also take time and do research as to what your program would be as an economic major or as an accounting or finance major. One is not better or worse than the other but they are very different roads. Economics is a liberal arts course of study. However, if you choose to go into a business program you will take a business core curriculum with classes such as accounting, finance, IT, management etc. I would go online at some schools you are considering and see which course of study seems more in line with your interests and aptitudes. And if you have questions as to what is allowable for you, consult your cleric before making a decision.
@happy1 I want to do Business Economics. I know that I still have to take Accounting and Finance as required classes, but my family said that as long as I’m not making money and just learning, I should be fine. Business Econ is more statistic based, right?
As long as you watch out for what classes you’re taking, you should be fine. The school also probably has a Muslim chaplain that you could talk to about it.