<p>I've searched through numerous threads about this topic and got some very helpful replies. However, most were focused on Economics (rather than Management Science) vs Joint Math/Econ.</p>
<p>I'm currently a 2nd year and I decided to switch into Economics last quarter from Engineering. I've taken Econ120A, got AP credit for Econ 1, and am currently taking 120B, 100A, and 3. So far, I have aced all my Econ midterms/finals while my math grades in the 20 series are about at a B average. (Haven't taken 20E) The rest of my grades have been about the 2.8 range. (Darn engineering, haha)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What are the differences between the job prospects with just the undergrad degree for these two majors?</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better suited to find jobs in order to get into a good MBA program? (Is it the same as #1?)</p></li>
<li><p>If i plan to go to grad school, I would assume joint math/econ would be preferred, but how does it compare to math majors, or economics/management science majors with a math minor?</p></li>
<li><p>Any advice on finding internships? What are employers usually looking for in an undergrad with no experience?</p></li>
<li><p>I'm currently a management science major, but I'm hesitant to pursue the joint major since I'm much stronger in economics than math. (Although the math I have done in 100A and 120A-B is a walk in the park for me. Not sure how much harder the upper div math classes are compared to the 20 series). Any advice?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry if this is really long. I would really appreciate your replies. :)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Math/Econ will open up more doors to more computational and technical jobs (finance, banking, actuarial sciences, etc.). It’s possible to get these jobs as a Management Science major, but employers look primarily for quantitative breadth (actual math/stats classes instead of the economics/social science equivalent).</p></li>
<li><p>Doesn’t matter. Undergraduate degree literally doesn’t matter.</p></li>
<li><p>Not much different. Depends on what you want to go to grad school for, but if it’s for an Econ PhD, just take the staples like Math Reasoning/Intro Proofs, Real Analysis, Advanced Differentials (ODE/PDE), Probability/Stochastic Theory, and Topology. Whether you have a minor, pure math, math/econ, or no degree (just grades on a transcript), you’ll be suited for an Econ PhD as long as you do well in those particular classes since that’s the gold standard for evaluating one’s chances at a top PhD program. I doubled in Joint Math/Econ and Psychology and am now doing my PhD at a top business school. The math courses I took (along with my research experience) spoke for itself during interviews.</p></li>
<li><p>Just apply through Port Triton (or whatever if they changed its name) for any internship (paid, unpaid, whatever) and take the most intensive and demanding opportunity you can. Jobs during undergrad are all about learning and moving up. I had a total of 7 different positions while at UCSD going from working the line at Ventanas for $8.50/hour to eventually ending my undergrad career working as a Computer Programmer/Analyst I making $18.75/hour, and an Economics TA for $14.50/hour or so. Along the way, I moved onto better and more demanding jobs and impressed my supervisors and employers throughout. Build a strong reputation among your superiors and it’ll carry your r</p></li>
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<p>Haha its just typically that when i found threads about this subject, you always seem to give long and informed decisions about the topic. (Sorry if i didnt single out others that were helpful!)</p>
<p>About #4, people tend to say to look for more well known firms. My problem is that I don’t how to differentiate between those and more mediocre ones. Also, most internships i find on port triton tend to be about marketing but I was not really too into marketing. (Not very creative) </p>
<p>If i decide to pursue an MBA, should i be looking for internships similar to the work i expect to do in the future or should i just get as much experience as possible? (I should probably stay within the same firm right?) I would also stick to management science so I could avoid the harder math and focus on getting a higher GPA instead.</p>
<p>If i decide to pursue a masters/PhD in economics/statistics, I would guess you would suggest i do joint math/econ correct? Would that also mean I should not worry too much about work experience?</p>
<p>Sorry for overloading you with questions, but i really appreciate the help I’ve gotten directly/indirectly from you! (Would love to hear opinions from others as well)</p>
<h1>4 - if they’re a Fortune 500 company, it’s well-known. Also, marketing is not advertising. There’s nothing inherently creative about marketing unless you’re in advertising. Marketing mostly deals with pricing/segmentation strategy, ROI, and consumer/product development. Anything that can be related to the valuation of a product/service is considered marketing.</h1>
<p>For an MBA, GPA matters very little. What matters is your work experience. You also get job ops from being in a technical field. Catch the drift?</p>
<p>If you’re doing a PhD, then figure that out soon. Math courses (and economics PhD courses as an undergrad, if you have time) are paramount for admission – not work experience. Admissions to a PhD and MBA are completely different.</p>
<p>Ahh, did not know the distinction between marketing and advertising. Although many of the jobs offered on port triton makes it sound similar.</p>
<p>I’ve been leaning toward the joint major the last few days, but I’m scared my low gpa from my engineering classes would really hurt my chances. </p>
<p>I’ve also talked to my friend whos a math major and he mentions the vast difference in difficulty between some of the math classes, such as how 140 is much harder than 142. (But the major requirement allows me to choose which i prefer). Would you guys suggest i take the easier course and pull out a better grade or would grad schools prefer that I take the tougher course even though my grade is worse. (Would they even know which is hard??)</p>
<p>If you’re going to Econ PhD, then 140AB is almost required. All of Economics is built around real analysis. Economics programs aren’t going to care what your cumulative GPA is as long as you take the benchmark courses that I mentioned (140AB being one of them).</p>
<p>And of course they know it’s hard. It’s no secret that Real Analysis (and functional / complex analysis) are some of the hardest courses offered in undergrad math departments, but the foundations you learn in those classes are vital to even get past coursework in a doctorate.</p>
<p>If you’re afraid you won’t do well in math courses, give up all ideas and aspirations to even apply to Econ PhD programs. Undergrad coursework was a cakewalk compared to PhD coursework in Econ.</p>
<p>@Oyama
Well I wasnt planning on getting a PhD, but maybe just a masters. Would the 140 series be crucial if that is all I’m aiming for? I was good at math since i was younger but my performances in the 20 series is not what I expected. (Although from what i’ve been hearing, the 20 series isnt a good gauge)</p>
<p>@chismoso
I’ve heard that a good course to take is Math 109. I plan to take that this upcoming quarter to see how I would fare taking other math courses.</p>
<p>@chismoso - 20 series is the bare minimum to see if you’ll be prepared for UD math courses at UCSD. Very few of the classes actually resemble anything you do in 20 series (the only one that was anything similar was MATH102 - Applied Linear Algebra). Like AndrewL said, take MATH109 - Math Reasoning. It’s a prereq for many of the other UD classes; reason being because it’s the intro to proofs/analysis class and most of the core/important/rigorous/difficult classes are focused around proofs.</p>
<p>@AndrewL - Depends on the type of Masters and what level school you’re applying to. If you’re going after a top MA like Duke, then most admits would probably be coming in with Real Analysis. If you just want to get a Masters at some CSU, or UCSB or something, then you don’t even need the math, to be honest. Many schools that offer a terminal masters are really just applied economics/econometrics (forecasting, data mining, etc.) that don’t need intense maths. Of course, the more the better – you’ll get into better schools and you’ll have a much much easier time in economics courses. I had nearly a 4.0 UD Econ GPA without going to class and with minimal studying (maybe 1-2 hours per exam for each class) because knowing the math behind a concept in Econ is basically like having a cheat sheet. My friends were comparing knowing math as knowing how to add/subtract and all economics was (in undergrad at least; PhD level economics is much tougher) learning how to add/subtract different objects in each class. 3 quarters of Econometrics was covered in about 5 weeks of probability/stochastic theory in much greater depth; Advanced Differentials (ODE/PDE) made Micro (even the Honors sequence I was in) seemed like cake; Macro was the only one that required studying since it just involved a system of a lot of variables and you had to remember which variables were associated with what.</p>
<p>And if you’re considering an MBA, just drop the idea of doing math and just get an internship. Now. The overwhelming number of humanities and liberal arts graduates around me speaks volumes that having a technical background isn’t an issue for getting into a Top 5 business school.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the well informed replies. I’m going to take 109 this upcoming quarter to see if i really did enjoy math the way i did when I was in middle/high school. Then i’ll decide whether I feel capable enough to pull out good grades in the tougher math courses. I felt like much of the 20 series was just memorizing new material rather than the concepts behind it, so hopefully UD math courses will be more to my liking.</p>
<p>I completely agree with your view about how understanding math makes economics courses much easier. I’m not too sure what types of schools I want to apply to (or what I would get in). I prefer to study economics more in depth however rather than going into a more broad discipline so I think the MBA path isnt for me. At least not anytime soon. I figured that if i really want to start my own business or something, I can always get my MBA in the future.</p>
<p>@nujabes29 - I had a good relationship with Eric Kyner. I took a few of his tutorials when I first started taking UD economics courses, but found that I really wasn’t learning anything and even he confided that the course does nothing if you are a math major as well. It’s geared towards students who don’t want to know the actual math and just want to know the rote step-by-step process of solving problems. It’s a great model for him making money, but it really doesn’t serve students actually learning any material (which I think the students themselves have no problem with).</p>
<p>@AndrewL - I don’t know who you took for 20 series’ classes, but I actually learned a good amount. Having people like Eggers or Agler teaching you those classes lent themselves to undergrads actually learning the material. Those classes had really steep bimodal grading curves, which made them unpopular among most of the non-engineers (I was a computer engineering major at the time, so ‘hard classes’ wasn’t something I necessarily avoided), and I learned a lot. I was also not intimidated by those classes (I received A’s and A+'s for the MATH20CDEF sequence), so when I figured CE was too difficult for me, I still kept math as a major component. I knew friends that took the 20 series with graduate students or visiting scholars that really just taught the 10-series material with a tiny bit more depth, and that’s terrible in my opinion. A lot of students treat the 20 series as a weeder course or as just an obstacle for taking other classes or graduating, but it’s supposed to ground you in the fundamentals and make sure you’re competent with the basics. That’s why I feel that if you had any trouble in 20 series (whether it was due to not understanding concepts OR with just laziness), you won’t cut it at all in UD Math. MATH109 was already only taken by students who did well in the MATH20 series (it was a strong self-selection bias) and out of 15 students, 6 dropped out right after the first midterm, leaving us with 9 (I think only 8 finished the class).</p>
<p>Unfortunately I was never able to get a class with Eggers. He always seemed to teach another 20 series course rather than the one I was taking. Fortunately, most of the prereqs for the UD math courses require only 20F which happened to be my strongest subject in the 20 series. I guess I won’t know if i can handle it unless i try! :)</p>
<p>Yup! Well best of luck. Just try to find a classmate you can study with. Math classes really benefit from collegiality between students. When dealing with such abstract concepts, it’s actually more helpful to have someone to explain to just so you can process your knowledge in a communicable way – I felt the concepts were just too abstract unless I had to try to bring it down to a more concrete level where the person I was explaining it to and I would understand it better.</p>
I came across this useful thread. My son is almost accepting UCSD econ offer. Any new perspective you can offer? More in terms of job prospects? His plan is to take up MBA in finance or marketing after some industry experience. What would be the right major? mgmt science or math/econ?
thanks.