Psychology or Economics?

[JS80]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
I've taken 2 economics courses involving law (contracts and bankruptcies) as well as a course on energy. I didn't find them hard at all, and I really enjoyed the material. At the same time, my psych classes have me just as pleased.

It seems as though the smart move would be to go after economics, considering that I enjoy both;might as well take advantage of that fact. I'll consider a psych minor but I've researched and it's not proven that a minor will increase chances of admission, employment, higher salary, etc. Unless its a language and they want a multilingual individual.

lol Those aren't econ classes.

 

[amish]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
I've taken 2 economics courses involving law (contracts and bankruptcies) as well as a course on energy. I didn't find them hard at all, and I really enjoyed the material. At the same time, my psych classes have me just as pleased.

It seems as though the smart move would be to go after economics, considering that I enjoy both;might as well take advantage of that fact. I'll consider a psych minor but I've researched and it's not proven that a minor will increase chances of admission, employment, higher salary, etc. Unless its a language and they want a multilingual individual.

lol Those aren't econ classes.

JS80 is right, sh!t like econometrics is a true econ course.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Err I am still in college but let me give my recommendation.

If you don't mind going to grad school then it really doesnt matter what you take as a undergrad. You could go to school as a psyc major and then go to graduate school for your MBA or a masters in econ. You will probably need to take some math classes to be accepted but if you are interested in working in that field you should take them anyway.

On a side note I will use my parents as an example:

My mom graduated with a degree in English(mostly useless degree)
She went to grad school for counseling I believe..
Now she owns here incredibly successful Jewelry store which is totally unrelated to both topics.


My Dad graduated with a psyc degree
went to school to get his MBA
Has worked in several large companies in high positions and now works at a start up company as a CFO

So really...it doesn't matter a whole lot in what you major in as a undergrad except for a few fields. If you want to be a accountant, your gonna need to take a certain amount of accounting classes, if you want to be a engineer...your gonna need a engineer degree...if you want to be a architect your gonna need that major as well. Besides the careers that require a technical skill you are still employable.

Thats not to say that having a business degree..when you want to get into business wont hurt lol


If you like economics all right, I would go wtih a major in econimcis and minor in psyc if you really want to take Psyc classes.

 

[novasatori]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
In your honest opinion, do you think an individual should choose a major based on what they enjoy studying, or other factors like job outlook, average salary, security, etc.?

I'm having trouble deciding on what I should concentrate in. I really would want to study psychology, not to be a psychiatrist or anything like that but because I enjoy the subject. Career wise I want to work with people in business, perhaps marketing or financial services; law school is also in my mind within 4 years (3rd year undergrad) but I know that my major does not really influence admission decisions.

Most people I ask tell me that without a business/finance/related major, it will be harder to break into that industry. Not to say it can't happen, because many go in with liberal arts majors, but the general idea floating around is that majoring in psychology will really decrease your job outlook, there are so many of them, etc. But I want to think that I can major in whatever I enjoy studying and then move on to any career that I want to, save for professional occupations (engineering, nursing, etc.)

If you could go back to college/when you went to college/when you go to college, would/did/will you choose something that you enjoyed or something that makes money/security?

what about marketing and psychology

I hear that works pretty good it has nothing to do with my major though so I can't give you concrete proof, just hearsay.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Originally posted by: novasatori

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
In your honest opinion, do you think an individual should choose a major based on what they enjoy studying, or other factors like job outlook, average salary, security, etc.?

I'm having trouble deciding on what I should concentrate in. I really would want to study psychology, not to be a psychiatrist or anything like that but because I enjoy the subject. Career wise I want to work with people in business, perhaps marketing or financial services; law school is also in my mind within 4 years (3rd year undergrad) but I know that my major does not really influence admission decisions.

Most people I ask tell me that without a business/finance/related major, it will be harder to break into that industry. Not to say it can't happen, because many go in with liberal arts majors, but the general idea floating around is that majoring in psychology will really decrease your job outlook, there are so many of them, etc. But I want to think that I can major in whatever I enjoy studying and then move on to any career that I want to, save for professional occupations (engineering, nursing, etc.)

If you could go back to college/when you went to college/when you go to college, would/did/will you choose something that you enjoyed or something that makes money/security?

what about marketing and psychology

I hear that works pretty good it has nothing to do with my major though so I can't give you concrete proof, just hearsay.

pff marketing majors are business easy mode.

Which brings up another topic. I was a CS major and a lot of my friends are. I am now an accounting and finance major. They always make fun of me for picking an easier major cause they insist the business is a really easy major. While I agree you dont need to put in the study hours that you mgith for engineering, or pre med..its not a piece of cake major if you want to get As. I took a fair amount of CS classes and am getting the minor and those wernt much hard if at all.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

Originally posted by: amish

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
I've taken 2 economics courses involving law (contracts and bankruptcies) as well as a course on energy. I didn't find them hard at all, and I really enjoyed the material. At the same time, my psych classes have me just as pleased.

It seems as though the smart move would be to go after economics, considering that I enjoy both;might as well take advantage of that fact. I'll consider a psych minor but I've researched and it's not proven that a minor will increase chances of admission, employment, higher salary, etc. Unless its a language and they want a multilingual individual.

lol Those aren't econ classes.

JS80 is right, sh!t like econometrics is a true econ course.

Uhh, I was a Math major for the past 2 years, but I got bored of theories and proofs. The probability courses I took are more difficult compared to Econometrics; I looked at my friend's midterm and it was depressing to see how easy it was compared to what I was doing.

That salary list definitely provides insight into how liberal arts majors can do well, but like you said, Ivy League or other top schools. I go to UCSD and it's more known for Biology/Engineering so I'm not too sure of those chances.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: aswedc
Most important factor when making this decision -

What kind of school do you go to?

Percentage of 2005 entry-level hires with degrees in the following areas of study:

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Business: 33
Engineering: 9
Liberal Arts: 32
Other: 26

JP Morgan

Business: 40
Engineering: 10
Liberal Arts: 45
Other: 5

Percentage of new entry-level hires since Jan. 1, 2006, with annual base salary in the following ranges:

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Less than $35,000: 0
$35,000 to $39,999: 0
$40,000 to $44,999: 0
$45,000 to $49,999: 0
$50,000 to $54,999: 12
$55,000 and above: 88

JP Morgan

Less than $35,000: 0
$35,000 to $39,999: 0
$40,000 to $44,999: 0
$45,000 to $49,999: 0
$50,000 to $54,999: 0
$55,000 and above: 100

BUT the above is only for people that go to the Ivy League and other very good schools. Everyone else with a degree like Psychology is in grad school or working fast food.

I work for one of the corporations mentioned and there are very very few psychology majors works in the field. The liberal arts represented are mostly economics, marketing and communications for the lower-comp positions.

Also unless you have good contacts, you won't get hired without a brand name education.

 

[MasterOfKtulu109]

College is not a place to spend $20k a year to learn about hobbies and interests. Unless you have found a way to live without money, you need to study something that will pay.

If companies aren't hiring people with sociology or psychology majors, then studying those probably isn't a good direction to go.

I enjoy listening to music almost all of the time, and it is my passion, but it's a hobby, not a career.

 

[TrevorJ]

My suggestion: Major in both.

It is not unheard of to have a double major. I know of many people who were double-, triple-, or quadruple majors.

Regardless of what you decide to do, find ways to intertwine both fields of study together (e.g., through coursework, internships, research projects, etc.). If you do this, you will be golden, and any business organization would be lucky to have you.