Undergraduate Coursework: Econ vs Math

[Will_Everett]

Hello all,

I'm a sophomore studying Applied Mathematics at a mid tier private school. In my program, we choose a concentration in which we take extra coursework. I am debating between doing a concentration in economics or one in pure math. If I were to do the econ concentration I would take classes in price theory and econometrics and I would end up getting a minor in econ, whereas if I do the math concentration I will take real analysis, algebra, measure theory based probability and PDE.

The classes in my core program move really quickly and cover a lot of topics that are useful in quant finance, especially in my senior year we will learn about random variables, Markov processes, martingales, time series analysis, stochastic PDEs etc. However from what I understand a lot of the stuff is taught fairly superficially with the point being to be able to use it rather than have a really solid rigorous background. I guess the goal is breadth over depth.

Now, my question: what will benefit me most if I want to go on to have a career in quant research, potentially returning eventually to school and earning a doctorate. Is it better for me to have something econ/finance related on my resume(to show potential employers that I am financially literate)? Or would the deeper background in theoretical math benefit me more?

 

[IntoDarkness]

can't do both?

 

[Will_Everett]

Unfortunately no, I changed my major at the beginning of this year from Comp Sci, so I'm already trying to cram 4 years of this major into 3 years. I'm already going to be struggling to keep my GPA high enough to be competitive for grad programs as it is.

 

[TehRaio]

that's interesting, why did you switch from computer science?

 

[Will_Everett]

I took the first couple of Computer Science classes and didn't love it. I felt really drawn towards the theoretical aspects of what we were learning (graph theory, relational algebra, etc.) but the classes tended to skip the proofs and everything was overly focused on just learning how to code. Also the CS program here is weird and half of the instructors aren't even PhDs, which I thought was strange.

I have been coding since I was 8 years old, so there's that too. My programming knowledge is decent, I just feel much more drawn to the Math and Econ/Finance departments where some of the professors are at the top of their fields and I can delve deeper into theory.

 

[TehRaio]

That's great. I just wanted to know if your motivations for switching were aligned with the question you're asking.
A couple things, the courses you listed for the minor in mathematics are essentially Masters/PhD level math courses (well for Real Analysis, but some school double-list it as a Master course), at least at my school they were only offered at that level, and they required PhD level skill but that may not be the case since you said it's more breadth.

So yes, forget the economics minor. All these stats you learn in econometrics, you more or less learn in all your stats courses.
You already know how to code so if your goal is quantitative research, you may want to start learning numerical methods: numerical analysis for ode/pde, numerical optimization, statistical learning (machine learning).

So I wonder what the others on this forum will say but I honestly think you benefit more by taking these than by taking a full blown PDE course when you see how solving these PDEs numerical is relatively easy using finite difference or finite element methods ...
At this stage I think for quant researchers, it's important to figure out how to learn from data, and it's optimization, and statistical learning which teach you that.

 

[bigbadwolf]

The classes in my core program move really quickly and cover a lot of topics that are useful in quant finance, especially in my senior year we will learn about random variables, Markov processes, martingales, time series analysis, stochastic PDEs etc. However from what I understand a lot of the stuff is taught fairly superficially with the point being to be able to use it rather than have a really solid rigorous background. I guess the goal is breadth over depth.

A recipe for disaster. Better to cover a little but to understand it clearly. Breadth over depth means zilch, means the illusion of knowledge, means knowing only the buzzwords. Modern university education ....

 

[TehRaio]

A recipe for disaster. Better to cover a little but to understand it clearly. Breadth over depth means zilch, means the illusion of knowledge, means knowing only the buzzwords. Modern university education ....

the thing is, is that not what's expected from an undergraduate education?
It's like in physics: at the undergraduate level we study multiple levels of mechanics.
You start in 1st year with Newtonian mechanics, then in your second or third year you study classical or analytical mechanics, and in a masters or PhD you tackle Physical mechanics which is an even harder course.

Which comes back to the question I was asking the op. the kind of depth he's is looking for, he will surely get with the minor in math (if I'm right, and these are PhD versions of the courses...)

 

[Will_Everett]

A recipe for disaster. Better to cover a little but to understand it clearly. Breadth over depth means zilch, means the illusion of knowledge, means knowing only the buzzwords. Modern university education ....

I actually strongly agree, this sentiment was the main reason I left the CS department for math.

Update: this week I met with a couple of the professors in the math and finance departments. This was news to me but there is actually an organized pre-phd program in the finance department. The overwhelming signal I got from those professors was to drop the applied math and switch to double major math econ. I'll take a normal undergrad math load plus 2 semesters of grad level probability and normal econ plus grad level micro and econometrics. If I have room in my schedule I will also take a numerical methods class for solving diff eqs.

Apparently this pre-phd program does pretty well at placement. They usually get 1 or two kids into top 5 programs and another couple into top 20 every year.