<p>I was wondering, for the parents who majored in mathematics, what has been your experience in the work force? Did you have difficulty finding a job?</p>
<p>I'm passionate about Economics, and as I may plan to go to grad school one day for an econ phD, minoring in math at the very least is a necessity to get a solid math background. I have generally been good at math in the past, and I won't say I'm passionate about it, but at the same time, I don't dislike it. I'll say I enjoy it but I'm not crazy about it.</p>
<p>Here's the catch, the difference between a math minor and math major for me is a mere 3 courses I believe (at max 4), due to econ/math courses I can count for both.</p>
<p>Part of me says just to go ahead and try for the Math/Econ double major. Though Econ is certainly my focus, I have spoken to individuals, and it's clear that more math never hurts. Certain individuals have also told me that math = money in the workforce, but this seems contrary to the belief I was exposed to in high school that math basically is good for teaching and not much else. So I'm not sure what to believe.</p>
<p>What's holding me back from a math major (just 3-4 courses more) is that I think it might keep me from taking random courses that I'm interested in. For instance, I thought I might take chinese one of these semesters, just for the heck of it, or some computer science courses, or some course in the business school. It might not seem like a huge trade off but it kind of is. Doing a double major and balancing school requirements leaves not so much room to take random courses.</p>
<p>So I was just looking at what you all thought about my situation. There are lots of people experienced in the work force and I'm sure you all could speak more definitively about the value of a math major.</p>
<p>If it matters at all I go to a pretty good school.</p>
<p>My husband has two degrees in mathematics, and one in electrical engineering. He is a prominent research scientist in mobile telecommunications protocols, and has colleagues and projects worldwide, including a significant amount of travel. He is well paid. He originally studied mathematics for the beauty of it, but has found that his ability to think mathematically and work out solutions to complex problems have been invaluable in his career.</p>
<p>He is hoping to teach mathematics once he retires from his corporate position... and also to continue studying it indefinitely. :)</p>
<p>I can't say whether studying math as a major would be the right thing for you, but I suspect it may be a nice combination rather than just an Economics degree. If you can fit in the other few courses, go for it. (And in my husband's case, anyway, his mathematics degrees have been nothing but valuable and satisfying for him. There's much to be said for satisfying, too.)</p>
<p>I agree with Mootmom. My husband has a Bachelor's and Master's degree in math but has worked as a Systems/Software Engineer in the defense industry for most of his career. It has been financially rewarding, enabling me to stay home to raise the kids, but has also required relocations and a great deal of travel. To me, some people are just born for math -- my husband continues to have an interest in all kinds a quantitative and analytical subjects, and used to work math problems for fun during his lunch hour. If your interest is econ, I think the math double major can only be an asset -- any investment field is going to look favorably on the math degree.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think an undergraduate math degree means nothing. If you are interested in Economics and good at it, and you take enough math to be really strong at the quantitative stuff -- that's really all you need. A math "minor" is plenty of window dressing, if you want that. A double-major is gilded window dressing. It's fine if you want to take that much math anyway, but I don't think you "need" it.</p>
<p>That said -- can you hedge your bets for awhile? If you love the math, you may want to take the extra courses anyway. And there is at least one thing that means even less than an undergraduate math degree: one semester of Chinese. If you want to learn even rudimentary Chinese, you have to make more of a commitment than that.</p>
<p>i have a friend who majored in math who interned with york international and harley davidson doing math related things, so I think math is a great major if you're into it.</p>
<p>My husband is a math major - and he has a law degree. He worked 18 years as a pension actuary, dealing with ERISA and employee benefits. Math is his first love. However, he changed jobs 6 years ago and is now a partner in a law firm doing exactly the same thing as he did when he called himself an actuary. He is still working in employee benefits, dealing with ERISA and pensions. His math backround has served him extremely well. The actuarial field is lucrative - there aren't many people in the field nationwide and actuaries are in demand. Those who enter the field will have to take several exams to become a full fledged actuary (called a "fellow of the society of actuaries.)</p>
<p>Don't give up on the math degree. It can be helpful in many fields.</p>
<p>Ok, what I've heard is so far encouraging towards the math degree. Well I really don't have to decide at this point, I'm on the Minor track regardless, so if I decide I don't want to major it's not very hard to change.</p>
<p>You're overthinking this. The Minor/Major difference is almost irrelevant.</p>
<p>Having said that, IF you decide to go for an Econ Phd, you should take all the math you can. But you should be picking math courses (such as real analysis, game theory, linear algebra, prob and stats, econometrics, maybe some topology, etc.) that advance that agenda. </p>
<p>But it's early. Perhaps before your junior year, talk to an economist at your U for more tailored advice.</p>
<p>For what it's worth - a friend is now getting his PhD in economics at Princeton. He - and most of his friends there - double majored in math and economics. That seems to a combination so popular as to be almost a prerequisite for the hot grad programs.</p>