What is Econometrics like and is it useful? (1 Viewer)

[obviouslyme]

Hi guys! I am doing B commerce/Science at USYD and am wondering what is Econometrics like? Is it hard and is the workload a lot? I am thinking of doing it because i enjoyed Economics when i was in High school and also because in the intro, it says employment demand for econometrics is high. I was also going to choose Economics instead but a number of people had been telling me that it is hard to find a job with Economics.

For my second major i am thinking of either commercial law, marketing or management? I am leaning towards management and marketing. From the intro, they both sound interesting. Marketing is apparently a fun major and management - I would like to 'achieve objectives' within an industry.

Please provide me with some insights. I cannot really envisage a clear career path in commerce but more so in Science. I kind of see myself working as a Vet xS

I have chosen Immunology and cell pathology as my majors for Science. And i am hoping maybe to apply for Vet later. I also hope that the subjects won't be too tough to get a good WAM. Any suggestions? Thank you!

 

[JasonG123]

Hi guys! I am doing B commerce/Science at USYD and am wondering what is Econometrics like? Is it hard and is the workload a lot? I am thinking of doing it because i enjoyed Economics when i was in High school and also because in the intro, it says employment demand for econometrics is high.

I have only done ECMT1010, ECMT1020 and ECMT2110 (although I'll do a couple more econometrics units this year) but I may be able to help. Econometrics is basically the application of maths and statistics to economics, so obviously one of the more (if not the most) maths heavy Commerce majors. Therefore, if you are not quantitatively strong I would not recommend it. I've also been told that the workload it quite demanding in third year subjects. In any case, you can just do the introductory econometrics unit (ECMT1020) and see if you enjoy it/are good at it. I personally find it very interesting, however most people I've talked to (who only did the introductory econometrics unit) found it too dry/boring/hard.

It is very useful in the sense that it signals to employers that you are quantitatively strong and does teach you some practical skills in statistical software such as STATA. However, it really works better as a secondary major to either finance or economics, it might work with marketing however I haven't done any marketing units so I'm not sure.

I was also going to choose Economics instead but a number of people had been telling me that it is hard to find a job with Economics.

There are good prospects any any field if you are good enough, although obviously some industries are more saturated than others. It generally is harder to make a career out of Economics (than say accounting) because for alot of the better jobs you'll need Honours (an additional year). If you combine it with finance/econometrics/mathematics/statistics your prospects of making a career out of it will also increase (you might not even need Honours in this case).

For my second major i am thinking of either commercial law, marketing or management? I am leaning towards management and marketing. From the intro, they both sound interesting. Marketing is apparently a fun major and management - I would like to 'achieve objectives' within an industry.

I wouldn't recommend management, it's more something you learn on the job in a management position than something university can teach you. I'm not sure how it would allow you to 'achieve objectives' within an industry, whatever that means. Commercial law can be useful as a second major to accounting or finance, but I don't think it goes well with Econometrics. Marketing could compliment econometrics, however admittedly I haven't done any marketing units so I'm not entirely sure.

For all of your Commerce majors you'll have the opportunity to do the introductory course and then you can decide from there.

I have chosen Immunology and cell pathology as my majors for Science. And i am hoping maybe to apply for Vet later. I also hope that the subjects won't be too tough to get a good WAM. Any suggestions? Thank you!

If you are interested in becoming a vet, why are you doing Commerce at all? I'm not sure any Commerce majors complement those Science majors. If you are doing Commerce just out of interest or to keep your options open then that it totally fine.

Hope that helps.

 

[obviouslyme]

I have only done ECMT1010, ECMT1020 and ECMT2110 (although I'll do a couple more econometrics units this year) but I may be able to help. Econometrics is basically the application of maths and statistics to economics, so obviously one of the more (if not the most) maths heavy Commerce majors. Therefore, if you are not quantitatively strong I would not recommend it. I've also been told that the workload it quite demanding in third year subjects. In any case, you can just do the introductory econometrics unit (ECMT1020) and see if you enjoy it/are good at it. I personally find it very interesting, however most people I've talked to (who only did the introductory econometrics unit) found it too dry/boring/hard.

It is very useful in the sense that it signals to employers that you are quantitatively strong and does teach you some practical skills in statistical software such as STATA. However, it really works better as a secondary major to either finance or economics, it might work with marketing however I haven't done any marketing units so I'm not sure.



There are good prospects any any field if you are good enough, although obviously some industries are more saturated than others. It generally is harder to make a career out of Economics (than say accounting) because for alot of the better jobs you'll need Honours (an additional year). If you combine it with finance/econometrics/mathematics/statistics your prospects of making a career out of it will also increase (you might not even need Honours in this case).



I wouldn't recommend management, it's more something you learn on the job in a management position than something university can teach you. I'm not sure how it would allow you to 'achieve objectives' within an industry, whatever that means. Commercial law can be useful as a second major to accounting or finance, but I don't think it goes well with Econometrics. Marketing could compliment econometrics, however admittedly I haven't done any marketing units so I'm not entirely sure.

For all of your Commerce majors you'll have the opportunity to do the introductory course and then you can decide from there.



If you are interested in becoming a vet, why are you doing Commerce at all? I'm not sure any Commerce majors complement those Science majors. If you are doing Commerce just out of interest or to keep your options open then that it totally fine.

Hope that helps.

Thank you so so much for your reply!!! I am really grateful and it clears things up ALOT! I was going to do Finance instead of marketing/management/commercial law but according to my sister, finance is a hard major and if I am going to do Econometrics (which is demanding as you've said) then the workload might be unmanageable for me (since i can get pretty stressed). She reckons i should do a hard major and an easy major. And if Econometrics works well as a secondary major which you have suggested, I will need to think of another major. Maybe with Marketing. Thank you so much for your reply again! Also do you know what Finance/ Accounting is like? (I don't know anyone who went to USYD for commerce :/)

Yup, I chose Commerce because when I went to the Information day for USYD, the lecturer said that applying for Vet is very competitive so it is better to start with a good course that has a diverse range of career options just in case you can't get out of uni with Vet x) And cos commerce was interesting in High School haha.

Thank you again!!! I really appreciate it!

 

[JasonG123]

Thank you so so much for your reply!!! I am really grateful and it clears things up ALOT! I was going to do Finance instead of marketing/management/commercial law but according to my sister, finance is a hard major and if I am going to do Econometrics (which is demanding as you've said) then the workload might be unmanageable for me (since i can get pretty stressed). She reckons i should do a hard major and an easy major. And if Econometrics works well as a secondary major which you have suggested, I will need to think of another major. Maybe with Marketing. Thank you so much for your reply again! Also do you know what Finance/ Accounting is like? (I don't know anyone who went to USYD for commerce :/)

Yup, I chose Commerce because when I went to the Information day for USYD, the lecturer said that applying for Vet is very competitive so it is better to start with a good course that has a diverse range of career options just in case you can't get out of uni with Vet x) And cos commerce was interesting in High School haha.

Thank you again!!! I really appreciate it!

No problem, happy to help!

Finance and econometrics is generally a pretty solid combo, finance and marketing isn't bad either. You'll need to do further research on whether marketing and econometrics go well together because I really can't tell you, maybe go visit one of the career advisers at the Career Hub in the Jane Foss Russell building (book at an appointment once you get your unikey here: https://careerhub.sydney.edu.au/students/login?ReturnUrl=/) or do further research by searching BoS and whirlpool.

Finance is apparently quite hard at Usyd (especially FINC2012), however I can't comment on what finance/accounting is like at Usyd since I haven't done it. There are a few people on BoS who do it so hopefully they can help.

You'll get a good idea of what workload you can manage after the first semester, and as I said before you can just do all the intro courses and then decide what you want to major in from there.