Should I take Calculus II?

[Urban Ranger]

Econ grads making an average of $70K right out of school? Is this a joke or something?

[Ramo]

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.

From a perspective of jobs or diplomas, a good mathematical background probably doesn't matter too much (although I'd be suprised if any decent grad school would let you get away with taking no math). From a perspective of any real understanding, it's vital.

BTW, barring the first two Econ courses at UT (intro micro and macro), calc 2 is a prerequisite.

[Static Universe]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Econ grads making an average of $70K right out of school? Is this a joke or something?

From my experience, this is not generally the case.

And from the
Princeton review, which also matches my experience:

# of people in profession: 72,000
Average hours per week: 40
Average starting salary: $28,500
Average salary after 5 years: $55,000
Average salary after 10 to 15 years: $75,000

[ixnay]

Maybe you should ask Calc II?

[Kramerman]

derivatives

integrals

thats all i have to say about that

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Econ grads making an average of $70K right out of school? Is this a joke or something?

No, it's because most of them go to law school or some other postgraduate.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Static23
From my experience, this is not generally the case.

And from the
Princeton review, which also matches my experience:

# of people in profession: 72,000
Average hours per week: 40
Average starting salary: $28,500
Average salary after 5 years: $55,000
Average salary after 10 to 15 years: $75,000

Okay, that makes more sense.

[DuncanK]

Originally posted by Static23


From my experience, this is not generally the case.

And from the
Princeton review, which also matches my experience:

# of people in profession: 72,000
Average hours per week: 40
Average starting salary: $28,500
Average salary after 5 years: $55,000
Average salary after 10 to 15 years: $75,000

I was talking about an overall average, including people with work experience.

[Static Universe]

An econ degree is just a ticket into an entry-level economics related job. My roommate from college went to work for Federal Reserve after graduation, probably the biggest employer of economists in the U.S., and basically filed paperwork in the check-clearing department when he started.

Most of the real training takes place on the job, and every employer knows this about new college graduates with bachelors degrees. It's a little different coming out of school with a Masters or a PhD. An employer will expect more of you.

[DuncanK]

I wouldn't take it if it's not required. If it isn't a required course no one will look at it.

[Shi Huangdi]

Originally posted by Static23
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.

Ok. So you also think they won't care if you have a BA instead of a BS?


"From a perspective of any real understanding, it's vital."

Says Ramo who isn't even in the field. I trust the departments that award diplomas more then you do, and if Calc II was nessecary for any real understanding of Economics they wouldn't have a degree where you don't need it.

[Ramo]

Degrees don't imply understanding.

[Ramo]

It doesn't really matter either way if all you're looking for is a degree and a job.

[Shi Huangdi]

Originally posted by Ramo
Degrees don't imply understanding.

Just because you know alot about certain things doesn't mean you can assume you know everything. You are not in the field of economics at all, you probably have not taken many upper level economics courses if any. You are not in a qualified position to judge how well you can understand economics without Calculus II. Now if Adam Smith(poly poster) were to make a judgement on how well you can understand econ without Calc II, he is actually a PhD so I would be more inclined to listen to him.

[Ramo]

A little touchy, aren't we? I'm just giving my opinion, based on my experience. You can take it or leave it.

No, I haven't taken any upper division econ classes, and am not very well versed in economics. But I know a fair amount about math. And I can tell you with certainty that it isn't easy to model a system as massive and nonlinear as an economy very well (look at how badly economic models predict reality). You need advanced math to do anywhere near a competent job. Classes like calc 2 are just the beginning in what you'd need to know.