Econ+Comm Vs Comm+Law (1 Viewer)

[Studentleader]

G'day Boredofstudies,

I have read a few topics posted here regarding this issue but still am unable to see the difference between economics and commerce.

The courses I currently have in mind are:
[I live in Perth so Melbourne is a bit of a pain unless i get good scholarships.]

1. B.Law/B.Comm - UWA - 96.5 TER (77.0% Average)
2. B.Comm - UWA - 80.0 TER (62.5% Average)
3. B.Economics - UWA - 80.0 TER (62.5% Average)
4. B.Comm/B.Econs - UWA - 90.0 TER (70.0% Average) - Unsure on this
5. B.Comm - Melb - 90.0 TER (70.0% Average)

I'm not too sure about other Universities, I know Murdoch's (in Perth) requirements for Law are really easy (80.0 TER) but i won't look down on other oppurtunities.

So does law really make that much difference? As you can see in my signature I am maths/science based, i'd like too see that i can apply a bit of Calculus into what I do, though I really don't mind being a bit of a capitalist. I don't like reading too much, so is law not for me?

My aim of the future? At the moment I have no idea, i haven't looked to well into business and what various terms mean but I am interested in doing a PhD or MBA (not too sure about this.)

Investment banking looks like where i'm aiming for, still not too sure of this though IF I do a business course and don't end up making huge amounts of money, I still want to know that I can still make ~100k a year with some kind of analysis or such.

Thank you for reading

 

[Zarathustra]

If you like science then go with engineering. Also, considering that you're in WA, maybe you could make more money pursuing that career? Btw does the (77% average etc.) mean the average marks of the subjects in those degress, where did you find that info?

 

[Studentleader]

If you like science then go with engineering. Also, considering that you're in WA, maybe you could make more money pursuing that career? Btw does the (77% average etc.) mean the average marks of the subjects in those degress, where did you find that info?

I'm thinking as soon as the mining boom finishes there will be an excess of engineers and W.A may end up deserted by foreign investment.

The 77% Average and etc were calculated on a TER calculator on www.canningcollege.wa.edu.au/ter/ however this is for W.A, is from 2006(wants you to count an english/socials subject) and doesn't allow for school scaling.

The Uni enterance marks were from 2008.

 

[RogueAcademic]

My aim of the future? At the moment I have no idea, i haven't looked to well into business and what various terms mean but I am interested in doing a PhD or MBA (not too sure about this.)

A PhD would be a waste of time and not applicable to the kind of career you've said you're interested in. Generally speaking, PhD is only helpful and relevant if you want a career in academia or government policy making/analysis/advising.

An MBA is more practical, much more favourably looked upon, and much more suited for what you've said you're interested in. Some top commercial/accounting/consulting firms will sponsor you to do an MBA after you've worked for them a couple of years, it's an investment for them and after gaining some experience on the job the MBA allows you to gain further education and expertise required to function your best at upper management level as you move up the corporate ladder.

 

[TBU21]

BCom/BEng sounds the best combo for you, given you're strong at maths and science. From what I've read, IB firms value the time management/work ethic + analytical skills developed from studying a double with Law or Eng.

For more info, search for geetarjoe's posts on here and at the whirlpool forums - he studied BCom (Hons)/Law at UWA offers some very good insight on what's required for IB (he got a graduate IB postion at Macquarie in Sydney).

 

[danielvh]

Hi there. I'm just about to go into my second year of Economics/Commerce at UWA. I actually did Law/Commerce in the first semester but simultaneously decided that law wasn't for me and that I really wanted to do more economics.

BCom/BEco is great in that it allows you to do up to 5 Com/Eco majors. I'm not exactly sure of a couple that I'm going to be doing but it allows me to do Economics/Corporate finance/Management and two more. Being able to do this many majors allows you to develop a very broad knowledge. I'm also told that it looks pretty good on the resume and it's a shorter degree than engineering/commerce or law/commerce too but obviously longer than straight commerce.

 

[Conspirocy]

I don't know how high your level of maths were but if you want to do maths I recomend the following.

Actuarial studies, I'd go to uni of Melbourne for this since it's on your list.

Otherwise if your maths isn't that high you can do econometrics.

Or you can do the com/eng degree as that will be maths intensive, probably the best major to go with that would be finance.

If you end up doing the com/ec degree don't bother with accounting, I did and yeah now im not going to use it. Do something like Economics, Finance, Econometrics.

As for the law thing, if you want to be a lawyer do it. If you want to work as an investment banker, specifically in Mergers and Acquisitions do it. If you want to be a tax accountant do it. Otherwise I don't see much benefit to doing it with the other fields of commerce/eco that are available.

That's my 2 cents.

 

[Studentleader]

Thanks for the replies

RogueAcademic i assumed you needed a PhD to do a MBA? Isn't this the case?
So I should get my B.Comm or w/e, work for a few years (get a house/pay off a bit of the HECs) then get a MBA?

TBU21 so they just value the fact your capable of doing a Law degree while doing economics? So it's pretty useless? I'll check those posts out thanks

Thanks danielvh, I'm not too sure about what i'll be doing aswell and i'd like to make sure I have atleast half a dozen options once i get my B.Comm/MBA.

I had a look at Actuarial studies last night Conspirocy, looks pretty interesting and yeah I am doing the highest maths, I enjoy them and I am doing reasonably well (80%ish.)

I spoke to a guy doing a eng/comm degree last year at UWA and he is just going to work up in the mines, I'm from the country and I know it's not a very thrilling place to be. Chances are either the eng/commerce component would be useless anyway.

The fact that I have around 1-2 dozen peers who want to do engineering puts me off it alot, deviance is important to me: even though i enjoy design and such, the fact that engineering appears so mainstream, I don't want to do it
Yeah its a stupid way of thinking about it, but i enjoy economics at school so I might aswell follow that up.

Back on track, that investment banking with law idea looks pretty fine.

------

Before reading this forum, I assumed that accounting was a TAFE level subject LOL

Thanks so much for the replies, still looking for more

I'll speak to the Dean of studies about this when I can see him

 

[Azamakumar]

All you need for a masters degree is a bachelors. Besides that every school has different requirements regarding majors/experience.

 

[RogueAcademic]

RogueAcademic i assumed you needed a PhD to do a MBA? Isn't this the case?
So I should get my B.Comm or w/e, work for a few years (get a house/pay off a bit of the HECs) then get a MBA?

A requirement for entry into an MBA program at most reputable universities is a Bachelors minimum (any kind of Bachelors actually) and a few years of professional working experience, some universities prefer the professional working experience to involve management-level work but it depends on what area you want to study in the MBA. Generally speaking the MBA is something you do a bit later after gaining experience anyway so the uni requirements are for a reason.

You need a minimum of a Bachelors degree with Honours if you want to do a PhD. The PhD and MBA degrees are very different degrees for different purposes.