Original post by .ACS.Firstly, have a look at the two links in my signature. They're very useful in guiding you on what is covered in economics degrees.
Broadly speaking, though, you'll cover a mix of mathematics, statistics/econometrics, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and then optional modules in say industrial organisation, environmental, health, development, international trade, monetary, etc.
The mathematics modules cover basics of calculus, optimisation, etc. Much of economics boils down to constrained optimisation, whether it be static (as in, for a given time period), or dynamic (spanning over multiple time periods).
Econometrics is essentially mathematical statistics and data analysis. You'll cover a lot of the same topics the mathematics students cover in statistics, but you're restricted to the real space (so no complex numbers), and the assumptions often result in easier proofs, etc. such as assuming the expectation/variance are always bounded (making any measure theoretic probability proof a million times easier than only working under the assumption of a bounded expectation). But then also, you'll look into applying these models etc. to data, and trying to understand when it is best to use certain estimation techniques (ie, ols, mle, gmm, qmle, fe, re, etc.), or when it is appropriate to use certain models (ie, linear or nonlinear, probit/logit, etc.). In essence, it tries to marry mathematical statistics with actually looking at the data and analysing and understanding and modelling the data.
Microeconomics is split into traditional micro, looking at households and firms, and modelling that behaviour, and then also game theory.
Macroeconomics is all about the aggregate economy, either taught in a more old fashioned style or based on micro-foundations, depending on the textbooks used. Essentially here the aim is to look more at the interactions of the economy, and will likely build into how those interactions impact things such as activity (economic growth), the labour market (unemployment), and prices (inflation), and then the possible policy reactions (from government or central banks, ie, primarily fiscal and monetary policy).
Then obviously you have a list of "field" courses, ie, specialisations. One of the links in my signature has an almost exhaustive list of options possible at university and covers the content in each of these in detail.
As for your other questions:
- Everyone will enjoy certain bits and hate other bits. Your like and dislikes change over time. Also, at university, this can be hugely swayed by the lecturer you have.
- I'd say I'm passionate. I did a BSc, MSc, then worked as a professional economist for a number of years, and am now undertakin a PhD in it. Personally, I'm quite into international economics (trade policy, FDI, exchange rates, etc.) and monetary economics (inflation), with a side of applied econometrics (non-linear modelling and spatial modelling).
- Without a doubt I think economics has real-world relevance. Even if you do not become a professional economist, it gives you a better understanding of current affairs, what is going on, when the government lies/misconstrues the truth, when newspapers embellish or exaggerate something, etc. Plus it gives you a great toolkit for a whole host of other careers in finance or related fields (marketing, business management, etc.). Overall, it should make you generally more aware of the world around you.