Recently I started a new trimester at my school (like 3 semesters in a year) and started taking a Econ class for my school’s sophomore year requirements. I find the subject interesting, but I’m not sure if it’s what I want to do. From what I’ve read in other places, economics leads the door open for many careers. This is what I really like with the major. I’m really interested in business, mathematics, politics, law, and maybe even computer science (not so sure about the last one, but looks like something I’d like). Careers I’ve looked at in the past would be becoming a lawyer, an actuary, or somewhere in finance. What I’ve seen is that an economics major is a good replacement for the possible dead end of an actuarial science major or a pre-law major. Is this too good to be true, or should I stick to economics to keep my options open. What I’m really wondering is this major dangerous because it lacks specialization.
Economics is not a dangerous major.
I’m not really sure what you are asking. If you like the major - not what the major can do for you, but the actual major and subject matter itself - then it can be a good choice. It involves aspects of business, mathematics, politics, and law. Your marketability increases as you acquire quantitative skills, communication/writing skills, and experience through internships or part-time jobs in school. You can become a lawyer or work in finance with an economics major. (If you are interested in being an actuary, you’d want to pick a more quantitative major like math or statistics, although you could always double major or minor in economics.)
“… the possible dead end of an actuarial science major”? The only actuaries who hit a dead-end are the ones who can’t pass the actuarial exams (thus, aren’t actuaries at all). But the subject matter in an actuarial major is no dead end, I can assure you.
@Omegadoug that wasn’t exactly what I meant. I was rather referring to the possibility of pigeon-holing myself into a career with few options or a degree that lacked other opportunities.
Actuary science is very stat based and has lots of options in tech for working with data mining.