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Econ/finance

Will I be successful in the economics or finance world without a maths a level ?
Original post by 22Sarah
Will I be successful in the economics or finance world without a maths a level ?

What is this in the context of? Degrees or jobs?

If you want a job in finance, it's more down to the individual qualification and role that you want. Generally speaking, most roles in finance require professional qualifications that do not require A Level Maths e.g. you don't need it for becoming a stockbroker, financial planner, accountant, banker, investment manager, etc. The only job that you would borderline need it is if you intend to become an actuary.
If you want an economist apprenticeship, then you're out of luck. You would very likely need the A Level to even be considered for the apprenticeship with the Bank of England/government.

If you want to do degrees in economics or finance, then it depends on the specific type of degree.
Quantiative economics degrees would require A Level Maths (no way around this). Nonquantiative economics degrees don't require A Level Maths, but they are generally not considered for roles in economics and they are usually terminal degrees.
Straight finance degrees (or anything similar e.g. actuarial science, financial engineering) are usually quantiative, so you would need A Level Maths. Accounting and finance joint degrees are generally not quantiative enough to require A Level maths, but then they are more accounting degrees than finance.

My recommendation is to do A Level Maths if you intend to become an economist or do degrees in economics or finance. If you intend to work in finance, then chances are you're fine without it. If you intend to do a degree in accounting and finance, then chances are you're fine without it.

You would need to be more specific with your question if you want further answers.
Reply 2
Thanks for the quick reply,
I was thinking more along the line of a data analyst or an actuary .
If I were to go for something more to do with of an analyst would maths still be a requirement?
Original post by 22Sarah
Thanks for the quick reply,
I was thinking more along the line of a data analyst or an actuary .
If I were to go for something more to do with of an analyst would maths still be a requirement?

Im currently studying accounting and finance at the University of Liverpool, i just finished my first year. Now i did take a level maths however there was only 1 module from the 8 that required maths skills, however it was focussed on excel which does many of the calculations for you.

The reason they like you taking a maths A-level is so that you have a basic understanding of some of the concepts they teach, however they teach it to you as though you have never heard of it before, in order to cater to the needs of all students.

Data analytics is really fun, i did an entire module and assessment on it and if anything i found that my Business A-level and for others Economics A-level helped out more than Maths as it provides you with an understanding of the financial world.

I hope this helps but if you have any other questions id be happy to help you out :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by tbriscoe
Im currently studying accounting and finance at the University of Liverpool, i just finished my first year. Now i did take a level maths however there was only 1 module from the 8 that required maths skills, however it was focussed on excel which does many of the calculations for you.

The reason they like you taking a maths A-level is so that you have a basic understanding of some of the concepts they teach, however they teach it to you as though you have never heard of it before, in order to cater to the needs of all students.

Data analytics is really fun, i did an entire module and assessment on it and if anything i found that my Business A-level and for others Economics A-level helped out more than Maths as it provides you with an understanding of the financial world.

I hope this helps but if you have any other questions id be happy to help you out :smile:

Thanks for this, was your course requirement maths a level?
Also if you wouldn’t mind could you specify what it economics a level helped?
Original post by 22Sarah
Thanks for this, was your course requirement maths a level?
Also if you wouldn’t mind could you specify what it economics a level helped?

So for my course A-level maths wasn’t necessary but is preferred and i think that will be the case for many degrees surrounding finance. This is mainly like i said before due to the lecturers wanting people to understand the theories before they teach as it makes there job easier.

So i did Business, not economics but a lot of my friends often did atleast one if not both, and it helped significantly.
Below i have copied some of the topics we cover in my module for next year, with the majority covered heavily by both business and/or economics so it might be worth something to consider.

When doing a course at university there is always an expectation that you have some knowledge of the modules they are looking to teach and that basic understanding really does help when writing up reports.

The nature of the market system and the firm
The internal organisation of the firm
Demand and consumer behaviour
Influences on demandand sales
The characteristics approach to demand and implications for product development, market segmentation and advertising
Cost concepts for decision making
Productivity and competitiveness
Profit Maximisation
Competition, firm behaviour and industry dynamics
Strategic competition among the few
Strategic entry deterrence
The structure-conduct-performance model
Pricing strategies
Advertising and product differentiation
Corporate governance
Overseas investment and the multinational corporation
Reply 6
Original post by tbriscoe
So for my course A-level maths wasn’t necessary but is preferred and i think that will be the case for many degrees surrounding finance. This is mainly like i said before due to the lecturers wanting people to understand the theories before they teach as it makes there job easier.

So i did Business, not economics but a lot of my friends often did atleast one if not both, and it helped significantly.
Below i have copied some of the topics we cover in my module for next year, with the majority covered heavily by both business and/or economics so it might be worth something to consider.

When doing a course at university there is always an expectation that you have some knowledge of the modules they are looking to teach and that basic understanding really does help when writing up reports.

The nature of the market system and the firm
The internal organisation of the firm
Demand and consumer behaviour
Influences on demandand sales
The characteristics approach to demand and implications for product development, market segmentation and advertising
Cost concepts for decision making
Productivity and competitiveness
Profit Maximisation
Competition, firm behaviour and industry dynamics
Strategic competition among the few
Strategic entry deterrence
The structure-conduct-performance model
Pricing strategies
Advertising and product differentiation
Corporate governance
Overseas investment and the multinational corporation


Thank you so much this was rlly useful
Original post by 22Sarah
Thanks for the quick reply,
I was thinking more along the line of a data analyst or an actuary .
If I were to go for something more to do with of an analyst would maths still be a requirement?


Actuary is a highly mathematical profession and requires a mathematical type degree. There are a huge range of data analyst jobs. Whist some would not require maths most will.
Original post by 22Sarah
Thanks for the quick reply,
I was thinking more along the line of a data analyst or an actuary .
If I were to go for something more to do with of an analyst would maths still be a requirement?


If you want to do a degree in data analysis or actuarial science, you would need A Level Maths (no UK degree in either subject would ask for anything less to my knowledge).

To work as a data analyst, you don't need A Level Maths per se, because you can always train from the ground up (see: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/data-analyst-statistician).

To work as an actuary, you would need to have the professional qualification for an actuary for the UK (this should be from the IFoA). They would normally expect you to have a background in A Level Maths or equivalent, so there's no way around this. Even if you do an actuarial science degree, you would only be really working towards getting exemptions from modules in the professional qualification. See:
https://actuaries.org.uk/qualify/become-an-actuary/route-to-becoming-an-actuary/
Reply 9
Original post by MindMax2000
If you want to do a degree in data analysis or actuarial science, you would need A Level Maths (no UK degree in either subject would ask for anything less to my knowledge).

To work as a data analyst, you don't need A Level Maths per se, because you can always train from the ground up (see: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/data-analyst-statistician).

To work as an actuary, you would need to have the professional qualification for an actuary for the UK (this should be from the IFoA). They would normally expect you to have a background in A Level Maths or equivalent, so there's no way around this. Even if you do an actuarial science degree, you would only be really working towards getting exemptions from modules in the professional qualification. See:
https://actuaries.org.uk/qualify/become-an-actuary/route-to-becoming-an-actuary/


Ah I see thank you

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