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Finance vs. Engineering vs. Actuarial Science

These are the courses I've been considering lately. I have always loved math, and I'm good at it, so I want to study a subject related to math. I also like physics and astronomy (hence Aerospace engineering in particular being one of my main options)

So here they are:
1) Actuarial Science
2) Aerospace Engineering
3) Finance
a. Banking and Finance
b. Mathematics and Finance

Which degree would you recommend? Please take into consideration about the intensity of the course itself, the skills it gives me (can I transfer to another career easily afterwards), the career outlook - salary, job growth (I have heard that Engineers's salaries don't go up a lot throughout their career).

Also, how easy is it to get into any of the fields (I've heard getting into Finance is a lot harder than Engineering, not sure though)

So, what are your opinions, what would you recommend me?
Thank you

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 1

hamzaahmad786

I do finance, the math is simple, it's very competitive and Brexit has made created a sense of uncertainty. On top of that, financial services is statistically one of the least satisfying careers after accounting. Finance with a combination will be better than finance on its own.

Reply 2

Smack

Volunteer Team

Original post by victor.ddd

These are the courses I've been considering lately. I have always loved math, and I'm good at it, so I want to study a subject related to math. I also like physics and astronomy (hence Aerospace engineering in particular being one of my main options)

So here they are:
1) Actuarial Science
2) Aerospace Engineering
3) Finance
a. Banking and Finance
b. Mathematics and Finance

Which degree would you recommend? Think about the intensity of the course itself, the skills it gives me (can I transfer to another career easily afterwards), the career outlook - salary, job growth (I have heard that Engineers's salaries don't go up a lot throughout their career).

Also, how easy is it to get into any of the fields (I've heard getting into Finance is a lot harder than Engineering, not sure though)

So, what are your opinions, what would you recommend me?
Thank you

It seems your main academic interest is maths, with a strong interest in a career in finance. An interest in physics and astronomy isn't necessarily a great reason to study engineering, though, and if a career in engineering doesn't appeal to you then there is little point in studying it.

Reply 3

victor.ddd

Original post by Smack

I've heard that since engineering is so tough and since there is so much math and quantitative stuff, engineers are regarded by employers as very smart people with transferrable skills.
At least that's the case in the US. But I can't say anything about Europe and the UK.

Reply 4

Et Tu, Brute?

Original post by victor.ddd

The main point he is trying to make is that if you don't want to be an engineer, you might as well just study maths then (or one of the finance ones).

Aerospace certainly sticks out like a sore thumb in your selections, with the rest all related somehow to finance. The maths is quite different (asides from the Maths side of the joint degree), in aerospace you'd expect a lot of applied maths such as fluid mechanics etc. Then if you compare that to Actuarial, it is totally different, it would be made up of statistics and data analysis mostly and you'd expect some computer programming in there also (probably R and possibly Java, MATLAB, Python depending on the uni). Engineering on the other hand will have very limited statistics, certainly not as in depth as the likes of actuarial.

Reply 5

Smack

Volunteer Team

Original post by victor.ddd

A lot of jobs are open to applicants of all disciplines, although some do prefer those from more numerical backgrounds. This allows engineering graduates to seek work in other sectors if they desire.

Engineering is quite tough, but it's probably not any tougher than other STEM disciplines like maths, physics, or even economics or computer science.

The point I was trying to drive home was that if you are not actually interested in a career in engineering then there is little point in studying it.

Reply 6

EngMathsBristol

You could also consider Engineering Mathematics, this field looks at applying maths to solve complex problems that occur in the real world. It could be of interest to you as it draws on many of the fields mentioned in your original post and gives you a great base knowledge in mathematical theory, the practical side of engineering and scientific computing. If you're thinking of a career in finance, it is certainly a degree that would be regarded highly by potential employers in this industry due to the aforementioned skills.