Economics Career Help? (1 Viewer)

[absorber]

Hi, I'm in year 12 now and I'm studying with (primarily) the aim of getting into an economics degree. I'm convinced I can get the marks to get in, but I'm not sure if I'd be good at the subjects it demands, and if I'd actually enjoy it. =\
Any advice on what the course involves and what makes it enjoyable would be helpful. thanks.

PS sorry if this is the wrong forum to post in

 

[wrong_turn]

you should probably do some personal research on this topic. otherwise, it would be wise to go and check the uni handbooks for the particular uni you want to do it at.

e.g. www.handbook.unsw.edu au - the unsw handbook

read up on the courses for the programs and see whether there maybe something else that may interest you besides economics. this is because most degree programs request you to choose a double or single major and very rarely do people choose a single major, unless doing a combined science, law or engineering degree.

 

[08er]

Hi, I'm in year 12 now and I'm studying with (primarily) the aim of getting into an economics degree. I'm convinced I can get the marks to get in, but I'm not sure if I'd be good at the subjects it demands, and if I'd actually enjoy it. =\
Any advice on what the course involves and what makes it enjoyable would be helpful. thanks.

PS sorry if this is the wrong forum to post in

what makes it enjoyable is that you learn how supply/demand work which leads to understanding real life issues faced by consumers and suppliers. well thats just from half a semester of 1st year uni

 

[cute.asa.button]

If you think you might find eco a bit dry, go for a double degree with arts or law (or whatever you are interested in).
I don't know how much you know about Melbourne Uni, but that's where I am doing a bachelor of arts but with an economics major. I love the eco because I get to learn useful things about how the world works (which really complements my politics major) but I couldn't do four economics subjects a semester - it would be too much. Having the other subjects gives you a break - a chance to be more creative etc etc.

 

[absorber]

Thanks heaps you guys...I hadn't really thought about the double degree thing. I should've mentioned I'm doing economics for the HSC, and I think I find it interesting enough to do more. I'll look at that unsw handbook, ty

 

[BeeCom]

Thanks heaps you guys...I hadn't really thought about the double degree thing. I should've mentioned I'm doing economics for the HSC, and I think I find it interesting enough to do more. I'll look at that unsw handbook, ty

Uni economics is a fairly different to HSC economics. I'm not sure about other uni's. but the BCommerce at UNSW has 2 compulsory economics courses in first year, so you can see if you like it compared to other majors and go from there.

 

[seremify007]

Uni economics is a fairly different to HSC economics. I'm not sure about other uni's. but the BCommerce at UNSW has 2 compulsory economics courses in first year, so you can see if you like it compared to other majors and go from there.

I've tried looking at the non-core Eco subjects at uni and they are very very heavy in terms of quantitative work (i.e. lots of maths) and very conceptual-based. It's not like high school eco where you memorise a relatively simple concept and write essays about how it works unfortunately.

As others mentioned, go down the route of normal Commerce for first year and see if you really enjoy the economics courses (I believe they are core/required subjects for first year Comm students in various unis). If you really like it, then go for it... but I suspect you'll be like many of us who used to love eco in HSC but ended up hating it in uni.

 

[paperpromises]

Uni Eco is definitely very quantitative. There is still the conceptual stuff but there's a lot more numbers and maths applied to all the theory. I'm not sure what other uni's are like but here at Melbourne even the first year (compulsory) Eco subjects weren't that good an indication of what future study in Economics is like... first year was an introductory course for students who hdn't done Eco before, so it was still mostly qualitative. Hitting second year was definitely a big leap in terms of what the course covers. Plus, having to do quantitative subjects as part of the core of your degree just adds to the numerical part of the course!

 

[absorber]

I've tried looking at the non-core Eco subjects at uni and they are very very heavy in terms of quantitative work (i.e. lots of maths) and very conceptual-based. It's not like high school eco where you memorise a relatively simple concept and write essays about how it works unfortunately.

As others mentioned, go down the route of normal Commerce for first year and see if you really enjoy the economics courses (I believe they are core/required subjects for first year Comm students in various unis). If you really like it, then go for it... but I suspect you'll be like many of us who used to love eco in HSC but ended up hating it in uni.

Should I do a commerce degree, or an eco degree then? what's the dif?

 

[seremify007]

I'm not sure to be honest what the difference is- I've always presumed that the difference was that Commerce enabled you to pick Economics as one of your majors, whereas if you do an Economics degree you had no choice and had to have it as one of your majors. Both cases however require you to do those introductory economics courses (pretty much year 11/12 kinda stuff) all over again.

Btw not sure if you understand what we mean when it comes to qualitative/quantitative but if you enjoy doing lots and lots of maths (we're talking formulaes and functions) then 2nd year economics and onwards is very much focussed on the combination of mathematics and economic theory- and it's damn difficult.

 

[wrong_turn]

hey seremify

well the main difference between the two degrees is yes, you have to do a major in some sort of economics but in commerce, there are no requirements as such.

however, you cannot major in economics in a commerce degree other than the make up majors such as business economics or even business strategy which do not introduce econometrics unless you choose them. thus, you cannot major in econometrics either.

in economics you can major in a full-blooded economics major. and like others have said, it is grilling quantitative work and has heavy theoretical work as well.

 

[Studentleader]

Microeconomics: Prices & Markets is the economics unit I currently do at UWA. It is extremely boring (up to this stage anyway) and basically covers the year 11 economic syllabus in half the time, adding minute information.

In respect to the choice between economics and finance I have these comments:

If you plan on working in Human Resources, Accounting, Management, Marketting or Finance do Commerce while if you enjoy the study of more theoritical stuff in markets (supply and demand, game theory and etc) I would do economics.

I'm not sure how you're intened university will work, though in UWA you can pretty much swap from commerce to economics after the first year without having to do any more level 1 units, well thats the way I've set my units out anway.

 

[absorber]

Thanks, looks like I'll be looking for an economics degree then

 

[Studentleader]

Thanks heaps you guys...I hadn't really thought about the double degree thing. I should've mentioned I'm doing economics for the HSC, and I think I find it interesting enough to do more. I'll look at that unsw handbook, ty

Thats good enough now you just have to bear the first microeconomics and macroeconomics units at uni which are pretty much the same as year 11 and 12.

 

[Economist]

I studied economics at Australian Catholic Uni and combine it in a BA with a B Commerce - I get 2 degrees and 2 majors and the economics is not very quantative or mathematical.

It is very contemporary and interesting - it got the top rank for teaching quality in economics in the Good Universities Guide in 2009.

All my friends at other unis are envious.

 

[Cookie182]

I studied economics at Australian Catholic Uni and combine it in a BA with a B Commerce - I get 2 degrees and 2 majors and the economics is not very quantative or mathematical.

It is very contemporary and interesting - it got the top rank for teaching quality in economics in the Good Universities Guide in 2009.

All my friends at other unis are envious.

And based on your post, I'm guessing the school got the worst rank on literacy skills

 

[Economist]

And based on your post, I'm guessing the school got the worst rank on literacy skills

I think you had better look in the mirror. You have a rank 'in' something NOT 'on'.

 

[ComingUpForAir]

serious/advanced economics gets very mathimatical (mainly because of moddling), not just 'quantitative', but more pure absract maths, i.e differential calculus, real analysis, etc. But if you go to easy uni's with 'practical' (i.e no career prospects) economics coarses, the maths is fairly elementry.