What can I do with an economics degree? (1 Viewer)

[SGSII]

Hi Guys
So basically, what can I do with an economics degree?
Is the course interesting/challenging/fun from a students perspective?
What do you generally learn in this course? Is it very math based?
And specifically for USyd, I noticed that all the majors offered are from the arts and social science faculty and they don't seem to interest me as much, would I be able to pick majors from another faculty such as the business one?
Thanks

 

[OzKo]

In contrast to HSC Economics, it's much more mathematical. You'll also learn a lot about econometrics which is arguably the most important tool an economist has in their tool set. The maths itself shouldn't be too difficult if you've only done two unit. Differentiation and integration would probably be the hardest mathematical concepts you would use for most economics units but it's possible that some others will use more difficult ones (e.g. Lagrangians).

In regards to the majors you can pick:

Candidates have the option of completing a second major from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences or other faculties of the University as permitted by individual Faculty resolutions. Requirements for the completion of a major and the majors available are specified in the resolutions of the faculty offering the major.

http://sydney.edu.au/handbooks/arts/coursework/b_economics.shtml

Your best course of action would be to consult with the handbook released by the faculty you wish to study that extra major with to see what the requirements are.

 

[SGSII]

Thanks
Also in terms of employment, is this field saturated in the market nowadays?
Like upon graduating with an economics degree, how likely is it to attain a job?

 

[OzKo]

Thanks
Also in terms of employment, is this field saturated in the market nowadays?
Like upon graduating with an economics degree, how likely is it to attain a job?

I haven't heard anything regarding the job market being saturated. It's likely that graduate prospects are fairly average if you take into account all the different fields an undergraduate can enter into.

If you want to make sure that you're competitive, I would recommend aiming to do honours or perhaps majoring in something else which is more applied. Economics is fairly theoretical and employers could be averse to employing economics graduates on the basis of the degree being less applied than others.

 

[SGSII]

I haven't heard anything regarding the job market being saturated. It's likely that graduate prospects are fairly average if you take into account all the different fields an undergraduate can enter into.

If you want to make sure that you're competitive, I would recommend aiming to do honours or perhaps majoring in something else which is more applied. Economics is fairly theoretical and employers could be averse to employing economics graduates on the basis of the degree being less applied than others.

Ahs okays, what do you mean by honours? What is involved in it?
Also which majors in your opinion are considered more applied?
Haha sorry for asking so much!

 

[OzKo]

Ahs okays, what do you mean by honours? What is involved in it?
Also which majors in your opinion are considered more applied?
Haha sorry for asking so much!

The following link outlines what the Honours program in B. Eco entails but I'm sure it's fairly similar across all universities which offer this major:

http://sydney.edu.au/arts/economics/undergrad/honours.shtml

The second major you choose is really up to where your interests lie.

It's probably best to ask why you're interested in economics and what industries interest you in particular.

 

[SGSII]

Alrightie, thanks!