Is an Economics degree hard and is it worth doing

I want to pursue a career as a business analyst / working in firm possibly.
Which degree has more value?
Accounting and Finance or Economics

REGARDS

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Reply 1

Clip

What's a business analyst?

Reply 2

ineedtorevise127

sorry financial analyst, or working in a firm not really sure what I want but something along those lines and possibly working with the council / government wouldn't be bad either I suppose....

Reply 3

RocknRap

Original post by ineedtorevise127

I want to pursue a career as a business analyst / working in firm possibly.
Which degree has more value?
Accounting and Finance or Economics

REGARDS

lol @ 'working in a firm possibly'

If you want decent advice, you need to give decent context.

Give us your grades/predicted grades, career aspirations, potential university destinations etc

Reply 4

HeyyImRyan

I think the generic TSR response would be that uni generally matters more than degree, as long as the degree is quantitative.

If by financial analyst you mean sort of sell-side IBD? Go to Oxbridge, LSE, Imperial, UCL or Warwick. Degree won't matter as much, but I'd say Economics would probably be more beneficial than A&F. Maths or Engineering are two other good options.

'working in a firm' could literally mean anything. A firm is a business, not necessarily finance-based. If you're going to be that vague then people could suggest you go work for a dry-cleaners in your local high street, but assuming you mean as a treasurer, internal auditor etc. then again both Economics and A&F are good degrees.

Of course they are hard degrees though... why would they be easy? The point is, if you want to do this as a career there is no easy way about it - you have to do a hard degree to be recognised as intelligent and hard-working, why would an investment bank hire someone with a degree in Surf Studies?

Edit: I'd also suggest doing some research, no one will hire you based on not really being sure what you want to do. If you aren't dedicated to a career then employers will spot it, it's a hard enough industry for people dedicating their lives to it, let alone for people that aren't really sure what they want to do. :tongue:

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

Jeester

No
Do Maths

Maths will get you anywhere.
Or Engineering.

Reply 6

yothi5

Original post by ineedtorevise127

I want to pursue a career as a business analyst / working in firm possibly.
Which degree has more value?
Accounting and Finance or Economics

REGARDS

Original post by ineedtorevise127

sorry financial analyst, or working in a firm not really sure what I want but something along those lines and possibly working with the council / government wouldn't be bad either I suppose....

Neither of those job titles exist. You're plans are extremely vague. You don't need Economics do work in business/finance however.

Reply 7

ineedtorevise127

what jobs can get you into economics?

Reply 8

RocknRap

Original post by Jeester

No
Do Maths

Maths will get you anywhere.
Or Engineering.

You have listed what you got in Key Stage 2 and 3 in your academic info.

OP, disregard the opinion of this lame-o.

Reply 9

Jeester

Original post by RocknRap

You have listed what you got in Key Stage 2 and 3 in your academic info.

OP, disregard the opinion of this lame-o.

Bit Harsh

People obviously want to know all my academic progress.
You, yourself looked.

Reply 10

kassiopeia

Original post by ineedtorevise127

I want to pursue a career as a business analyst / working in firm possibly.
Which degree has more value?
Accounting and Finance or Economics

REGARDS

If you are talking about working as an analyst in investment banks, then Finance and/or accounting would be very useful, also something along the lines of applied maths/statistics.Keep in mind that some of the big investment banks have graduate schemes that people from any discipline can apply to.Keep in mind that no matter what you study, you should go to a good uni and have 2:1 and above, that;s the most important part.

Reply 11

Id and Ego seek

Original post by yothi5

Neither of those job titles exist. You're plans are extremely vague. You don't need Economics do work in business/finance however.

lolwhat?

Business Analyst is a real job :teehee:

My dad is a business analyst and he makes > 70k doing **** knows what.

He did try explaining to me what he does, but I'm not interested in the world of business, so I struggled understanding anything he said :c

OP, my dad did Applied Mathematics at university, but I'm sure Economics can lead you down the same path.

Reply 12

RocknRap

Original post by Jeester

Bit Harsh

People obviously want to know all my academic progress.
You, yourself looked.

Nah, if you're offering it, people are just interested in your uni and degree or failing that GCSE's/A-levels. By showing your KS2/3 marks it looks like you're trying to compensate for your not-so-stellar achievements later on. Or that you're just being a bit of a ponce.

Original post by Id and Ego seek

lolwhat?

Business Analyst is a real job :teehee:

Business analyst roles do exist but their nature varies according to the industry/firm/postition. 'Business analyst' on its own is extremely general.

And you know your dad's income? Interdasting....
On the whole talking about salaries with friends/family/co-workers is pretty taboo

Reply 13

Id and Ego seek

Original post by RocknRap

And you know your dad's income? Interdasting....
On the whole talking about salaries with friends/family/co-workers is pretty taboo

It's terrible: he uses it as a means of reminding me the importance of a degree's starting graduate salary; i.e. 'study a degree in demand which has a prospective high salary; do not follow your heart' :rolleyes:

Can't say he's too impressed with me wanting to study psychology, linguistics or philosophy.

And, ah right, I didn't know that :wink:

Reply 14

RocknRap

Original post by Id and Ego seek

Can't say he's too impressed with me wanting to study psychology, linguistics or philosophy.

And, ah right, I didn't know that :wink:

Well that's a shortsighted line of thinking because there isn't a perfect correlation between starting salaries and future earnings potential - it does vary.

Reply 15

Pride

Original post by Id and Ego seek

Can't say he's too impressed with me wanting to study psychology, linguistics or philosophy.

And, ah right, I didn't know that :wink:

ahh and your username is very relevant

Reply 16

Blutooth

Don't study economics. It's really boring, and not even relevant to anything in the real world. Beyond the first term, the course just becomes an intellectual masturbation over mathematics and equilibrium concepts. Do something you enjoy, and so long as it's quantitative, it should be as if not more highly regarded than econ when it comes to the financial sector.