Which B.S. degree is more employable: finance or statistics?

[annoyinggirl]

Which B.S degree is more employable : finance or statistics (Business emphasis)?

 

[DEvens]

Generally speaking, questions of this sort are ill posed.

Don't forget that you will be in the degree program for 4 years. The situation will change quite a bit by the time you finish. Possibly drastically. Consider what the situation would have been like if you had entered the degree in the fall of 2007. By the time you finished the degree the economy is suddenly thrashed.

On the other side, you should be thinking about what you will enjoy more. What will cause you to want to leap out of bed in the morning and rush to class? What will be sufficiently interesting to you in order to cause you to be eager to do the work required to finish the degree? What holds your attention enough that you miss your stop on the bus because you are reading about it?

Being willing to do the work, being interested in the subject, this will cause you to finish higher in your class. This will get you better letters of recommendation. This will cause you to actually pay attention in class. And somebody who knows his subject is more employable than somebody who is just sort of dragging-through in something that is theoretically "higher prestige." Give me a keener in any even vaguely related subject every time. Let the guy who is just passively moving forward get hired by the other company.

 

[Locrian]

Agree with DEvens.

Typical finance BS graduates go on to either lowish paying analyst jobs with little upside potential, or challenging sales jobs with high upsides and high downsides. I would only go that route if you're interested in selling financial instruments. (Many of those sales jobs have titles like "advisor" or "consultant", but your success ultimately depends on your ability to sell)

 

[annoyinggirl]

Agree with DEvens.

Typical finance BS graduates go on to either lowish paying analyst jobs with little upside potential, or challenging sales jobs with high upsides and high downsides. I would only go that route if you're interested in selling financial instruments. (Many of those sales jobs have titles like "advisor" or "consultant", but your success ultimately depends on your ability to sell)

what about BS statistics graduates?

 

[annoyinggirl]

Generally speaking, questions of this sort are ill posed.

Don't forget that you will be in the degree program for 4 years. The situation will change quite a bit by the time you finish. Possibly drastically. Consider what the situation would have been like if you had entered the degree in the fall of 2007. By the time you finished the degree the economy is suddenly thrashed.

On the other side, you should be thinking about what you will enjoy more. What will cause you to want to leap out of bed in the morning and rush to class? What will be sufficiently interesting to you in order to cause you to be eager to do the work required to finish the degree? What holds your attention enough that you miss your stop on the bus because you are reading about it?

Being willing to do the work, being interested in the subject, this will cause you to finish higher in your class. This will get you better letters of recommendation. This will cause you to actually pay attention in class. And somebody who knows his subject is more employable than somebody who is just sort of dragging-through in something that is theoretically "higher prestige." Give me a keener in any even vaguely related subject every time. Let the guy who is just passively moving forward get hired by the other company.

thanks for commenting, and i know you mean well, but i never got that "follow your heart and the money will follow" thing. I mean, think about art majors and their fate post graduation.

i don't really have passion for anything. I guess if i had to choose, it would be like industrial engineering, which at this point, i cannot do. My school also doesn't offer it.

Something that would make me leap out of my bed is the thought of gainful employment and great employment prospects

 

[StatGuy2000]

thanks for commenting, and i know you mean well, but i never got that "follow your heart and the money will follow" thing. I mean, think about art majors and their fate post graduation.

i don't really have passion for anything. I guess if i had to choose, it would be like industrial engineering, which at this point, i cannot do. My school also doesn't offer it.

Something that would make me leap out of my bed is the thought of gainful employment and great employment prospects

If the only thing that you care about is gainful employment, then you could just as easily drop out of university and take up a trade (e.g. electrician, X-ray or MRI technician) since these are in very high demand. Or if you're willing to spend more years in school, you could pursue a degree in medicine or pharmacy.

Ultimately, what you would want is a field that you are at least interested in and which has good employment prospects. In which case, you might as well continue with your statistics degree, as I've posted in the other thread.

 

[annoyinggirl]

If the only thing that you care about is gainful employment, then you could just as easily drop out of university and take up a trade (e.g. electrician, X-ray or MRI technician) since these are in very high demand. Or if you're willing to spend more years in school, you could pursue a degree in medicine or pharmacy.

Ultimately, what you would want is a field that you are at least interested in and which has good employment prospects. In which case, you might as well continue with your statistics degree, as I've posted in the other thread.

i'm equally interested in both finance and statistics. I am interested in the business side of statistics and the business side of finance. My dream job would be something like management analyst. would finance or statistics B.S be better for jobs like this?

 

[StatGuy2000]

i'm equally interested in both finance and statistics. I am interested in the business side of statistics and the business side of finance. My dream job would be something like management analyst. would finance or statistics B.S be better for jobs like this?

If your dream job would be something like a management analyst, then it really wouldn't matter that much whether you have a BS in finance or statistics. Positions like these depend far more on the following:

(1) having internship experience,
(2) great communication skills, and
(3) demonstrated quantitative skills.

A BS in statistics will certainly give you (3) and you should be seeking out (1) while you are in school. My personal opinion is that a BS in statistics is more worthwhile than a BS in finance for the simple reason that a BS in statistics will open up more opportunities in positions that require quantitative analyses, as well as qualify you for graduate studies in statistics, should you decide to take that route (I strongly encourage you to pursue at least a MS in statistics or a related field like operations research, which you can pursue with a BS in statistics, since that would offer you the widest possible opportunities available).