<p>I have this family friend who studied Pharmacy and after graduation this year got an instant job offer for over $100,000. Ever since, my parents have been pressuring me to choose a different major, as they believe my intended major Economics will not guarantee me a job with a good salary unless i'm top of the class. They believe that to be mature, I should be willing to look past what I want for what is in demand. Although I could probably do well in medicine or another career in health care, I'm obsessed with financial markets and don't see myself in any other career. I will be starting at Brown University this fall. What do you think?</p>
<p>I don’t understand, don’t positions as financial analysts pay well? </p>
<p>I think the key with your major is intern, intern, intern. If you love economics, make sure you land the internships to build the network to make it a viable career option. If you want to be a financial analyst for a large firm like DeutscheBank or Morgan Stanley (does that still exist, post-meltdown?) then you will definitely need the internships to get your foot in the door. Or even if you do something small, like intern with an accounting firm, a think tank, or a financial services office in your hometown, you can learn a lot about markets and find a way to parlay your career into something well-paying. Economics is a great degree and very marketable, even if it isn’t pharmacy.</p>
<p>Your career is (probably?) something you’ll be doing for the rest of your life. At least choose something you genuinely enjoy. </p>
<p>If you’re still unsure, try to get an internship, job shadow, something in both fields and see how you feel. One or both choices may surprise you–you may end up (dis)liking something that you had formerly had your mind made up about.
One of my internships had me running away from a major I was previously certain I wanted to do as a career.
It may help you decide.</p>
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<p>People define “mature” differently. Some would say “mature” involves being able to choose something and live with the consequences without whining.</p>
<p>I think there is an element of maturity involved in being able to look past immediate gratification, but what’s in demand is only going to fetch you something if you’re ready to snatch it. </p>
<p>Financial positions can pay really well if you’re really motivated and willing to work like crazy.</p>
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<p>Wise advice. Your major does not equal your career - what you prepare for your career is your career. You don’t become a physicist by being a solid physics major - you become a physicist by using your major to help you think about things the right way, but also learning to do what is necessary. This is an example which generalizes to how to treat education vs. career in general. </p>
<p>May I also remark - making money, once you have some intelligence, involves a lot of actually wanting to make money really badly. As in, wanting to do it enough that you’ll sacrifice other forms of comfort. For instance, some really academically brilliant people know they could make money, but know that it would involve doing things they would find boring, to the point where some others would call them irrational. </p>
<p>If you have a huge knack for something which is not most in demand, just be sure you have backups that are worth taking, and ask if you’d be fine with them if that’s what you’ll likely be doing. If not, get yourself to do what’s in demand. Be honest with yourself and think about what you really see yourself realistically doing. If you think that a certain path won’t work out, don’t fool yourself that it will, but if you think a certain path is exceptionally attractive to you, and you have been really good about considering all the possibilities, then I’d say it’s worth treading it even if it isn’t the biggest goldmine.</p>
<p>Your parents think economics is a bad major? Your parents fail at reading the job market. Do not listen to them. Switching majors due to parent pressure is never a good idea, let alone switching out of Econ (***, lololol).</p>
<p>The key with most majors is to intern and to try to get real career experience as soon as possible. Your career certainly does not have to be related to your major, but it helps. Right now, I’m really, really wishing I looked harder for internships and that I had more non-college experience in the workplace. </p>
<p>Oh, I did not realize you were starting Brown this fall.</p>
<p>1) Do not listen to what your parents think a good major is. They are stupid.
2) You may not actually want to be an economics major. You probably do not know what economics is really like. Try out different fields that you might be interested in during your first year. Do not just take pure economics courses. Have a backup plan.
3) Try to get relevant work experience (hopefully paid) as soon as possible. Learning **** about the real world matters, and not only does it look amazing on your resume, you learn a helluva lot.</p>
<p>[Salaries</a> in Investment Banking](<a href=“http://www.careers-in-finance.com/ibsal.htm]Salaries”>http://www.careers-in-finance.com/ibsal.htm)</p>
<p>Here’s my take on the whole thing. I think that colleges should get rid of general education requirements and require students to get a minor instead. That way you can study and get a degree in something that is practical or something you want to get a job in and also get a minor in something you want to study.</p>
<p>This is a tough predicament, parents love their kids and always want the best for them. Unfortunately, at times its difficult for them to understand how you feel and what makes you happy.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how reasonable your parents are, but you have to let them know how passionate you are about what you want to study. After all, it is your life and you have to decide how you’re going to live it.</p>
<p>The best approach may be to meet them half way. Let them know freshman year you’ll try out one of the major specific 101 classes to see how you like it. However, let them know that if you don’t like it, you intend on pursuing your intended field.</p>
<p>You might also try and show them info. about jobs requiring economics that make decent money.</p>
<p>This whole process can be hard on the parents. They want so much for you and it’s hard to let go. A gradual weaning might help.</p>
<p>More internships? Ugh …</p>
<p>Anyway, what is against the economics major really?</p>
<p>Take some math with your Econ major, it’ll be very good. You may not make 100K right out of college, but if you are at the top of your class, you will have great potential as an econ major.</p>
<p>[Study</a> Hacks Blog Archive The Unconventional Scholar: Don’t Discuss Your Major With Your Parents](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/08/08/the-unconventional-scholar-dont-discuss-your-major-with-your-parents/]Study”>The Unconventional Scholar: Don't Discuss Your Major With Your Parents - Cal Newport)</p>
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<p>Actually, the OP’s soon-to-be school (Brown) does not have general education requirements. Brown students are required to complete one major and the rest of the courses are up to them, I believe.</p>
<p>It’s relatively simple to earn a minor in something enjoyable at schools with general educations requirements. At my alma mater, we needed 124 semester hours to graduate. 30 gen eds, 30-60 for a major, and the rest were pretty much open. Minoring or double majoring was fairly easy, unless you changed your course of study late in the game.</p>
<p>whats the difference between an investment banker and an accountant?
which one is easier?</p>
<p>“whats the difference between an investment banker and an accountant?”</p>
<p>They’re not remotely the same. There’s not really a way to make a comparison, they’re completely different.</p>
<p>Or was this the opening of some sort of joke? If so I’m going with “The accountant can only rape you once a year.”</p>
<p>Because everyone wants to be either a doctor or investment banker, investment baking is a very hard field to get into, (as is medicine) but then you’ve got everyone competing for far fewer jobs, so it’s even harder. Then apparently they work 100 hour weeks regularly, so it’s fair to say accounting is exponentially easier.</p>