Should I take Calculus II?

[Shi Huangdi]

I am sorry to make another thread on this so soon, but I will be registering for classes tommorow. Based on some of the advice I got on that thread, and from the professors I know here, I probably won't ever try for grad school in econ(well not PHD anyway I may try for a MA in econ some day in the future). But I am not quite sure what I want to do in the future, but probably nothing too math intensive because I really despise Math. Like I said earlier, I have my math requirement fufilled and 4 credits for Calc I based on my placement score on my calculus.

The thing is though, I am worried it might look bad on my transcript if I graduate without taking any math courses here at all besides 1 statistics course. Would it? How much better would my transcript look if I suffered the pain and struggled through Calculus II? Or would it not make any real difference if I took the course or not?

I figured this would be a good place to ask since I know a good number of you are in business(some such as Ming/Rah even seem to know about hiring employees), academia, or are experienced in looking for jobs.

Thanks.

[vovan]

Well, I am a CS major, so I personally had to go through Calc 2, 3 and beyond...

Let me tell you this: IMO, Calc 2 is the worst math course one could ever take. Calc 3 is about the same difficulty level as Calc 1 (and some argue that it's actually easier) - heck, I went far enough as to have fun in it... Imagine. But Calc 2 is just a killer machine.

So, if you despise math, I suggest you don't struggle. After all, a C or a D on a transcript would look worse than no Calc at all, I think. Instead take some other kind of math - logics / discreet (lots of applications in econ), combinatorics, that kind of stuff. Because if you really despise math, you don't want to involve yourself in linear algebra (which is basically the meat and potatoes of Calc 2).

Just my $.02 worth.

(Though note that I haven't seen your previous thread, so I might be reiterating some points that you already went through.)

[Ted Striker]

The only thing an employer cares about is making sure you went to the school you said you did and got the degree you said you did. I've never had one actually look at the classes I took on my transcript.

Secondly, I believe the background check that most employers do now covers degree verification:

http://www.infolinkscreening.com/InfoLink/Background/Searches.aspx#EduVer

I'd say screw Calculus 2 and take something fun. Bone some chicks like Infatplayeration.

[Urban Ranger]

What the heck is in Calc II?

[Shi Huangdi]

"After all, a C or a D on a transcript would look worse than no Calc at all, I think. "

Well I got a B in my Calculus class in high school...

"The only thing an employer cares about is making sure you went to the school you said you did and got the degree you said you did. I've never had one actually look at the classes I took on my transcript."

Really? I have been told it does look better if you take a more rigorous courseload.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
What the heck is in Calc II?

It's usually mostly about integrals.

[Asher]

The only thing an employer cares about is making sure you went to the school you said you did and got the degree you said you did. I've never had one actually look at the classes I took on my transcript.

While applying for summer jobs, two of the applications required I send them a university transcript as well as my resume & cover letter. Most didn't, though.

[Ted Striker]

I really don't think they care how many hours you took or what you took. If you took a class related to the job, that's something you can bring up in the interview. (You can speak the lingo at the very least to show your knowledge).

However, instead of burning yourself out with 18 hour semesters taking hard classes, I'd say spend your energy trying to get in at LEAST 1 internship if you can. (Summer internships when you don't have any classes are the best).

An internship related to your field will beat a transcript hands down every time.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Asher
It's usually mostly about integrals.

Simple integrals I take it? Pretty easy then.

[DinoDoc]

Only if you absolutely have to.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Only if you absolutely have to.

Whuz

[DinoDoc]

Proud of it.

[Ramo]

If you don't want to deal with the math, you probably shoudn't go into economics. IMO, real economics is about mathematical modelling, not spouting silly generalizations about massively nonlinear systems. I don't how it's possible to have any understanding at all about econ without knowing the material in calc 2, which is usually some integration and elementary analysis.

[Shi Huangdi]

Originally posted by Ramo
If you don't want to deal with the math, you probably shoudn't go into economics. IMO, real economics is about mathematical modelling, not spouting silly generalizations about massively nonlinear systems. I don't how it's possible to have any understanding at all about econ without knowing the material in calc 2, which is usually some integration and elementary analysis.

Well your opinion about what real economics is doesn't matter as much as the people who design the BA and MA programs in Econ and deciding how much math you need to take, nor does it matter as much as the people who give econ grads an average of $70,000 a year according to the person in the last thread.

[Static Universe]

I have a degree in Economics, and believe me, you can blow off Calc II. If you ever need it, you can learn it later. With econ, if an employer want math, they want a lot of math. If they don't want math, they probably won't even check your transcripts.