I know this is a really vague question, but this is something that has been bothering me for quite a while. So, I’m an international student from Bangladesh, currently studying in 11th grade. I’ll apply for college at the end of this year. I’m caught between economics and electrical engineering. I’d really appreciate some advice regarding which field I should choose, considering factors such as career prospects, job security, salary, and so on. I’m planning on applying to Harvard Economics or Princeton Electrical Engineering, as restricted early action. I understand both these universities are near impossible to get into, so it would be really helpful if I could first decide on what I want to study. Thanks in advance!
Both majors are very heavy in math, so you must be good at math. But your career and life will be very different depending on which of the majors you choose. So, the question seems to be what type of life do you want to lead? There are a great many resources available to help you select a major, including the internet and correspondence with professionals in each field. The professionals are usually happy to talk to students about majors and career choices. My suggestion is that you make a project and a process out of deciding what you want to do. You are wise to make the decision before you go to college.
Thanks for your advice!
Well, at both Harvard and Princeton you don’t apply to a specific major; you apply to the undergrad division and they admit you. You can always pick your major later, although majors like electrical engineering usually go more smoothly if you start your freshman year.
Economics at the undergraduate level - including at Harvard - is not really that heavy in math. Harvard’s economics department requires Math 1A (essentially calculus I) and a statistics course. If you want to do honors, you have to take three semesters of calculus, but even that I wouldn’t call “very heavy.” It’s true that graduate level economics is pretty math heavy, but at the undergrad level economics majors are only required to take a mild to moderate amount of math.
Why would you want a different major at each school - like completely different? Princeton has economics. And Harvard has electrical engineering.