<p>i'm interested in majoring in math, but i think i might go to law school after undergrad and i don't want a terrible gpa. how hard is college math compared to high school ap classes? i took ab calc my junior year and barely got an a, and now i'm taking ap statistics and i'll get an a or b in it. i got a 35 on the math section of the act but i doubt that relates to success with college theoretical math. basically what i'm wondering is how hard is it to get a good gpa as a math major for someone like me (compared to a humanities major) ?</p>
<p>Well, my short answer is that you need to test things out, i.e. figure out how college math works for you. It's not how "hard" it is, it's how well it fits you. Some people are built to do the subject, and some people aren't -- a lot of this has to do with how interesting it is to you. It's a lot more engaging stuff than AP stuff in high school, but the bottom line is that you may not be doing very well in that stuff plainly because it's boring to you. </p>
<p>A humanities major is definitively going to be easier in most cases to get a good GPA in. </p>
<p>However, if you really like math and decide it's for you, I'd go for it.</p>
<p>I'll put it this way -- if you take advanced enough number theory, there are no numbers -- just pure, abstract machinery used to deal with the fact that concrete problems can get so impossibly tough to solve that entire theories are developed to deal with the problems. Think of math as a subject aiming to answer NATURAL questions, but resorting to complex theories to answer them when simple attempts fail.</p>
<p>I think if you like it and can make an earning out of it, definitely stay and just enjoy it. Who cares if other people smirk at you? LOL both of my majors/minor are pretty ridiculous but I love it and I know I can make a living out of it especially because only 4% or something make into this school of my University altogether.</p>
<p>It's just that math majors when I think of it.. I just kinda blank out on their career aspirations except math teachers/professors. My friend's mother holds masters degree in math but she teaches SAT math to high school students...</p>
<p>Math majors can do a ton of things, mathematicians are needed in every higher tech company, every bank have armies of mathematicians and of course the normal teaching work and the research part.</p>
<p>Its just the mathematicians who refuse to do anything but math that can just teach/research, for the rest of them there are job openings everywhere and they certainly have no problems of getting jobs after their degree.</p>
<p>I respect math majors pretty much more than most majors in undergrad...even though I am not a math major</p>
<p>math and econ>finance and marketing.
I'm getting an econ BA. I'll learn business on the job, thank you.</p>
<p>^ i agree wutang, and I hate it when people think econ = business (although in some colleges there's a major called business econ). it's like saying biology = herbology because at some level they involve studying living things. </p>
<p>Economics is a Liberal Arts major, all about studying the economy as a whole (macro) or studying individual aspects of it (micro). Economics majors learn about policy and theory, and some advanced classes can get pretty theoretical, involving a lot of advanced math. </p>
<p>Business involves a bit of Econ - a Business major takes a few Econ classes, some basic macro/micro stuff, some basic applied Economics. A Business major picks a specialty, like Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Administration, etc - great if you're going into a field like that. My boyfriend's doing Business Administration and he learns things like "Happy workers are hard workers!" and doesn't even need to take anything after basic calc.</p>
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My boyfriend's doing Business Administration and he learns things like "Happy workers are hard workers!" and doesn't even need to take anything after basic calc
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<p>How much more math do you need to take as an economics major out of curiosity? I know for a fact some graduate students in economics need insane amounts of math, but I'm curious what you have to do as an econ major. Engineers I know generally have to take roughly 2 levels of math more than basic calculus, and other majors do less than that.</p>
<p>i dont want to start an argument but there is a lot of misleading info on this thread. some of the people here are making it sound like liberal arts is compeltey safe major and the people graduating this field will have no problem finding a job. this is not true, on average for most of their majors. what can a phsych major do after undergrad, because they cant become a psychologist. or what can an anthropolgy major do, or a history major do. grad school is filled with people from these majors who realized that the only thing they can do with these degrees is office work and filing papers. while some majors like math and econ can enter business fields and become successful, there are still dozens of other majors that wont become successful. i dont want to bash anyone here, i just want to give people an accurate picture, and that entering one of these majors may make it much more difficult to find a job.</p>
<p>Are</a> Liberal Arts Degrees Worth Anything? - MSN Encarta </p>
<p>and here is a link with salary information. graduating from college to make 15 dollars an hour is not worth it in my opnion</p>
<p>Wow, I made more than $15/hour working at Nordstrom's in high school.</p>
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dont want to start an argument but there is a lot of misleading info on this thread. some of the people here are making it sound like liberal arts is compeltey safe major and the people graduating this field will have no problem finding a job. this is not true, on average for most of their majors. what can a phsych major do after undergrad, because they cant become a psychologist. or what can an anthropolgy major do, or a history major do. grad school is filled with people from these majors who realized that the only thing they can do with these degrees is office work and filing papers. while some majors like math and econ can enter business fields and become successful, there are still dozens of other majors that wont become successful. i dont want to bash anyone here, i just want to give people an accurate picture, and that entering one of these majors may make it much more difficult to find a job. </p>
<p>and here is a link with salary information. graduating from college to make 15 dollars an hour is not worth it in my opnion
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Honestly, you're not insulting anyone, you're just coming off as kind of ignorant - do you really think your major puts you in a box for your life? Let's think about it logically for 1 minute - think of all the thousands of colleges across the U.S.A alone - millions graduate every year. Many of those, in fact, probably over half, are Liberal Arts majors. Liberal Arts includes both the Humanities and Social Sciences - that's a lot of majors, lots of people. Do you really think they all end up unemployed? Obviously not.</p>
<p>Employers want intelligent, hardworking people. Who cares if you have a B.A in Anthropology or Psychology? Most business related fields have on the job training. I don't understand how some people on this board can seriously think only those who study Engineering, Comp Sci, Nursing, Business, and Education end up successful - that's crazy! I mean, that's like 5 undergrad majors! Do you think you need to major in Marketing or Advertising to actually do Marketing or Advertising? Or to study Business to go into Business? If their earning potential was limited to $15/hr, no one would pick those majors! Take my mom for example - B.A in Anthro, made about $60K working in the Marketing dept of a cosmetics company. </p>
<p>Sure, some of these people won't become successful - but that's not because of their major, it's cause of them. I'm not telling anyone to study Latin for 4 years, I think that's a waste of life, but to say all Liberal Arts majors are a waste is simply stupid. I'm studying liberal arts and people with my major make more on average than Business, Engineering, and probably others. And studying something you dislike for 4 years is kinda silly, imo :) Obviously for technical fields you need special training, but for most fields you don't.</p>
<p>Psh, it's certainly not uncommon to make a crap wage with a LA degree. Sure, you can do the degree and you're not 'in a box' but I think people triumph despite that, not because of it. Just a thought.</p>
<p>^ I think people triumph because they're smart and hardworking. plenty of LA majors are stupid, lazy, or both, so naturally they earn next to nothing. but having an LA degree is not some kind of death sentence that prevents you from earning more than $15/hr for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>What about people with a Bachelor's in a science, like Bio, Chem, Physics, Environmental, etc? What do they do? They can't do research or anything with a B.S/B.A - do they all live in boxes? </p>
<p>The truth is a Bachelor's doesn't mean a lot, but it sure doesn't prevent you from making money. Smart people always find a way to make money, with or without a degree, and dumb people will find a way to not make money, with or without a degree.</p>
<p>I think you need high level math to get a PhD in competitive fields like Comp. Sci., Physics, and Economics. And that could definitely make you a lot of money.</p>
<p>From what I've heard, Math is most useful for future teachers or for grad school preparation.</p>
<p>molly, </p>
<p>1) I did not say people with liberal arts majors are going to be in a box or even unemployed. They will find jobs, but most likely it will be a job that pays very little, and one that has nothing to do with their interests or major. </p>
<p>2) People who study comp sci, engineering, business, or nursing have much lower risk in their careers. On average, they will be making more than people with history majors. Of course this is not the only way to succeed, but it is the safest and easiest way to. Yes you can be a history major and make more than a finance major, but im talking about on average, not exceptions. You keep saying you will be making more than comp sci and business majors, but again, while you may be the expection, not everyone can be by definition. </p>
<p>3) The people with chem and bio majors go to med school. or they become lab assistants for 15 dollars an hour. What did you think they do, become top level cancer researchers after taking 5 schience courses?</p>
<p>4) I agree that a liberal arts major will not stop anyone from making money, it will just make it extrememly harder. </p>
<p>5) Ok, so maybe over half of American graduates are liberal arts majors (even though you made this stat up, but lets say its true). Thats why over half of graduates end up in grad school or making less than 30k. If the average liberal arts starting salary is 30k, that means about half of college graduates make less than 30k. </p>
<p>Again, I'm just trying to paint an accurate picture here, since it feels like you are being over optimistic about employment options for liberal arts major. You're more optimistic than the finance and engineering majors I know..</p>
<p>You're right, majoring in a vocational subject definitely has less risk, and if you feel uncomfortable majoring in something "risky", by all means, don't do it! everyone likes different things - my boyfriend is doing business admin and loves it, I know people who love nursing, etc. I wish everyone could find their own niche and not feel scared to do it, but that's idealist. </p>
<p>Btw, I'm not saying i'll be making more than anyone - I merely pointed out that people in my major make more on average than some pre-prof majors, so it's average, not the exception. I have no clue what my salary will be one day, but I'm not scared i'll be poor - i'll make enough to live by. </p>
<p>No, I didn't say the Bio majors become researchers, I said the exact opposite - that they don't become researchers, but most find jobs. If the only options for studying Bio/Chem were lab assistants, then obviously no one would study those without intention of going to grad school. You think a smart, capable Chem major will be screwed without med school? Well, maybe in this economy, but we all are :)</p>
<p>I know i'm being very optimistic and idealist here. In this economy, grads are lucky to find jobs at all, and I bet those Lib Arts majors are struggling right now, and I bet business/finance majors are worried as well. But I'm saying i think it's worth it to study what you like, because if you're smart you'll find a way. I guess I'm optimistic since most of my family is in the Business/Finance world but none of us majored in Finance/Business, and my dad hires people and doesn't have a preference for those majors :)</p>
<p>Most of this thread looks like unprovoked degree-envy and people from both sides with giant chips on their shoulders. How about get off CC and do some homework?</p>
<p>I'm off. It's been nice watching you guys yell and all, but I have stuff to do. Toodles!</p>
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How much more math do you need to take as an economics major out of curiosity? I know for a fact some graduate students in economics need insane amounts of math, but I'm curious what you have to do as an econ major. Engineers I know generally have to take roughly 2 levels of math more than basic calculus, and other majors do less than that.
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<p>You need linear algebra, a basic stats course (one that uses calculus), and probably four semesters fo calculus. A lot of grad programs make you take real analysis, which is the first "real" math class. It's still a little light as far as "hard" math goes, but its more than what most econ majors do out of undergrad.</p>
<p>It's a lot easier to teach economic theories to math majors (which is pretty much just applied common sense), whereas its much tougher to teach econ majors math. This is why econ grad schools prefer math majors to econ majors, ceterus paribus.</p>
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From what I've heard, Math is most useful for future teachers or for grad school preparation.
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<p>This is generally true, although most majors need grad school or significant work experience to stand out. For example, a master's in engineering increases earning potential pretty substantially, even though a BSE is good enough to enter the work force. Econ NEEDS grad school, you can't get anywhere with only an undergraduate degree in that field. Even in business, an MBA is one of the best ways to network and accelerate your career, even though it is probably easiest to get by without grad school in that field. Math majors can also work in finance (not some office job; think hedge fund). Some math majors become actuaries, as well. There are a few career paths with just an udnergrad degree, but grad school opens up new doors.</p>