Field of Study Profile | College Scorecard says:
| Major | Median earnings |
|---|---|
| Economics | $96,927 |
| Finance | $131,515 |
Finance is the highest earning business major listed for SMU in College Scorecard.
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I wonder how many of the Econ majors go on for PhDās vs the Finance majors who go right out into the job market.
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It is all well and good to look at career outcomes, but Iād focus on what path is best for YOUR success. You should play to your individual strenghts and interests. Would YOU thrive on a more theoretical path (economics), a more analytical path (ex. finance, data analysis), etc.?
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Not sure. I donāt have enough direct experience to know whether both of those play the same or one is better than the other.
We seem to be in an era where the āplug and playā business admin major who has a fundamental understanding of the basic financial statements and related matters are valued over the classic āsmart but we have to teach you everythingā kids, at least it relates to the non-elites.
Personally, I really respect the econ degree, particularly where the student has gone heavy on econometrics. I also think that there are still a few ālighterā tracks in the business schools. Finance isnāt one of those, and Iām sure there are things you wind up studying in the higher level finance classes that you donāt typically pick up in a classic economics course of study.
Iād say if your son has a real focused end goal in mind, dig into the stats from SMU, maybe the career center, to see where those econ kids wind up. I think econ is an incredibly useful and flexible degree. Since I suspect a lot of SMUās placement success is based on relationships and networks, there is likely a ātypeā that they pull out of there for certain things. They should be able to tell you about that type.
During my time at UW, the business school made the most sense for the accounting kids. Even now, I donāt think Foster is a big feeder into the banks, so IMHO the reason to be in the business school there is accounting. But SMU, as we discussed, is placing kids into banking, so thereās more to think about there.
ETA: the limitation with the median earnings data posted above, as @Bill_Marsh points out, is that you donāt know how many of the econ kids wind up, by choice, going into academia or government, which of course doesnāt pay anywhere near banking. Econ kids also go into (again by choice) economic consulting (e.g., Charles River Associates), which I donāt think necessarily pays as well as banking on the front end, but later on as a partner the pay really picks up.
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How about if kid would thrive more in sales/charisma path and likes the finance world? Trading/Markets, traditional asset mangement?
Thanks! SMU has a Econ/Finance major with a potential business minor in addition to the Cox Finance major. That was my question.
Hi! S is retaking consideration after finishing finals. He asked me to ask you what would a UMiami ādefinite fitā would look like. He chose his current school because he wasnāt sure about business and his school is an LAC with a business major, and he is a varsity athlete. The main challenges are social: complete lack of social connectivity or life outside of team (coach does not allow or leave time for intramurals or many other meaningful activities), overall very liberal drinking and substance culture (reinforced by lax supervision and penalties) in a very small school in a fairly rural location and unwillingness to pursue Greek life in view of hazing recent stories and history. There are further details but they would violate confidentiality. He did not expect any of those realities going in, and they clash with his values. He likes his profs/admin and the business/econ academics, and his varsity team, but seems to have nothing else there.
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He should arrange a visit to U Miami if heās never seen it- and within two hours heāll know if heās part of their āfitā or not. Itās too hard to tease out the relevant elements from what youāve posted- I recognize you are respecting his privacy. But it wonāt take him long to suss out whatās relevant to him in terms of social life, etc.
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In addition to blossomās excellent points, he should join a transfer student instagram page or wherever the transfers are communicating (ask admissions if he canāt find the group.) Connecting with other accepted transfers will help him know if his peeps are there. If he hasnāt done a transfer virtual admission session he should.
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Thanks. Following a transfers account on Instagram will be visible to all his followers, so not viable prior to having committed to leave, which he has not done by any means yet.
I get it. If he does a transfer session, the students typically are exchanging instagram handles real time because they are all feeling pressure to find roommates and find off-campus housing (on campus housing is not guaranteed for transfers and I expect long gone.) Itās late to find off campus housing, perhaps @heavyweightcollege can add some insights.
This could be the school motto for UMiami.
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I had asked a couple clarifying questions earlier in the post, and I do not think @gablesdad wanted to share. On the other hand, he can still PM me and I will answer any question. I know a lot about the program as does my daughter. He should look up Bermont Carlin as a starting point IMO.
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@cinnamon1212 @Mwfan1921 @Publisher @blossom @cquin85
Transfer applications are in!
Is catcher gone?
Will let you know if he needs help deciding or once he decides. Potential paths now are wealth or institutional asset management, investor relations or franchisee/partner development, tech sales maybe; wants to be client-facing from day one.
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Thanks for the update! Looking forward to hearing the thought process as he narrows in on his next steps.
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As the parent of a recent finance grad I was kind of surprised by those numbers so I clicked on the link. Those salary numbers are five years after graduation. GT business undergrad just posted average starting salary was 81k.
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What are folksā thoughts on Northeasternās DāAmore McKim School of Business for Finance, Investments pathway? S happily got accepted a couple of days ago for Spring 2026 (one for one so far). He has dozens friends in Boston, including his closest friend, and some at NEU. Seems really appealing to our family as it stands, especially as investment banking seems not to be primary goal any more; wealth management, asset management, institutional sales, investor/franchisee/partner relations, tech sales and other client facing/service roles are the primary targets.
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I think any school will be fine given those interests - tech sales or franchise sales are far different.
Perhaps he can get a list from career services of co ops in the area to see what matches up.
Congrats to him on the acceptance.
They have a website - when I put in the two finance majors, they said they didnāt have enough data to give outcomes (I just used 2024). But went back to 2020.
So you might ask them about finance majors, etc.
The exact words:
"The major you have chosen to view has too few respondents for us to display the data without compromising privacy. "
If I add business admin as a third major, they show about 2/3 had a coop and the biggest industry is finance & insurance. They list companies but donāt show the roles.
You might play around with it.
As for careers, they donāt seem to allow you to choose the school or major unless Iām missing something.
Given the investment that NU is, Iād reach out to the career office and have them pull info to show you - if itās the right place for you or not.
Obviously, the school has a strong reputation and kids often get roles in areas they choose, which may be different than your sonās areas of interest, but Iād want to know where they are placing people.
That said, for the many areas of interest you describe, I donāt think the where is going to matter too much. Youāll find people in those roles from all āpedigreeā levels of schools.
I found this full report for 2023 grads from a google search. You might call and ask them for a more recent one - it has info that would probably interest you. 84% of grads are included (i.e. provided info). Given itās only two years old, itās likely a good source to answer your questions with specifics.
Good luck.
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Thoughts on Northeastern DāAmore McKim vs Babson vs BU CAS Econ + Questrom Minor vs BC MCAS Econ + Carroll Minor?