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Tue 12 Jan, 2010 11:30 am
I'm currently a sophomore in International Relations but lately I've been considering Economics.
I'm not exactly sure what I want to do career-wise but something in business or law on a global level - for this reason I chose Intl Rel.
Lately however, I've been questioning the usefulness of an Intl Rel degree and what types of companies/organizations would look for that. It interests me very much but is it on the same level of practicality as an Art History major?!
With Economics however, I think I could get into a variety of fields and maybe even contribute something in my pre-graduate study years. The only thing keeping me away is all the upper-level math courses (of which I'm not incredibly fond).
Any thoughts and opinions would be great. Thanks in advance.
@brokencdplayer,
the law is there to protect you
@brokencdplayer,
Hmmm. I wasn't aware there were all that many upper-level math courses involved. I know plenty of Economics grads who never complained once (and most of 'em hated math LOL).
Take another look, maybe?
@Irishk,
I have a Master's Degree in Economics and Math is huge - if you like Calculus and Stats, then Economics is a good subject. There is also alot of theory and graphs. My strong points were the theory and graphs. The advanced math (although I loved math before) was a struggle, but I muddled through it.
@Linkat,
Thanks for the info, Linkat! I have several friends that graduated with B.A.'s or B.S.'s in Econ -- not advanced degrees. I pretty much thought just basic calculus and statistics were required. Could also depend on the school, I suppose. One friend is now a banker, one works in commercial real estate and one went on to law school (we use him when we need to sue someone LOL).
@Irishk,
I kind of question the value of a bachelor's degree in almost anything, these days. In some fields and for some people, maybe. My perception is that they are no longer keys to good jobs.
@Irishk,
One summer while I was in college, doing some grunt work to help pay for tuition - this VP at the particular company came over and asked me some questions about where I went to school - what I was going for, etc. I told him I was very interested in Economics - his comment was that it was an excellent major as it shows that you are capable of reasoning and thinking (whereas some majors is more around memorizing and re-spitting out information.
Study what inspires you. Most people end up in a different field than what they go to college for anyway. Companies look for employes who can think, read, write and have common sense. I was one of those Art History majors and it launched me into a Wall St. career. I was also offered jobs in publishing and import/export. I worked in the art world for a short time, but most of my work has had nothing to do with my college focus of 19th century decorative arts. It did come in handy when my first real boss turned out to be a collector in the field when she wasn't designing networks for financial institutions. We had a lot of fun checking out antique shops in between business conferences. Today I live on a farm. Life's short, enjoy your education.
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