Economics at UNSW or USYD? (2 Viewers)

[syslink]

I'm seriously considering a career as an economist and I would like the opinion of BOSers currently doing this course at either university on its difficulty and if they like it or not.

Also, what are the chances of getting hired by major banks?

 

[phrred]

Hi, i duno. they are both pretty good but UNSW is prob slightly better.
U hafta do micro n macro economics in first yr, its ok not that bad

for the big banks, it probably depends on ur self rather htan usyd or unsw, they wont hire sum1 solely bcoz they went to unsw or usyd but my tutorial teacher whos doin PhD worked for the RBA for a while

 

[Sarah168]

U hafta do micro n macro economics in first yr, its ok not that bad

"hafta"??? Errr if you wanna be an economist, you're gonna be doing intro macro/micro, inter macro/micro and adv macro/micro along with a whole bunch of electives and probably honours if you're looking to be an economist...

 

[phrred]

ye i said in first year, i havent done all that advanced crap yet

 

[mr_shittles]

I know there a a couple of USYD BEc students going their PhDs at UNSW. From what they said, at undegrad level, UNSw is only slightly better but at postgrad they are way ahead. And ANU is not that good undergrad, but appently they are really good postgrad.

 

[Sarah168]

maybe you shoudl also take into consideration your additional major if you wantone that is

if eco doesnt work out, people are prepared and take additional majors in acct or finance or whatever.

if you're desired additonal is, say, accounting then UNSW is the way to go but if it were finance, i'd say usyd has the edge from what i hear

but of course, you seem to be heading for the economists route. this is just in case

 

[Raiks]

*cough*UOW*cough*

 

[Sarah168]

maybe the person lives closer to usyd/unsw area. but uow is also an option of course

 

[CrazyMystic]

I'm just a yr 12er (HSC almost over yay!..except eco) ...so keep that in mind but from my little bit of research about each of the unis here's what I've noticed.

ANU: Thier Eco is unique in the way they offer an optional "honours stream" for most of thier eco courses, special additional classes that are designed to challenge students interested and want to learn more of a particular area. Similar to how B Advanced sci is different from normal B Sci

They also allow students to focus on a particular of eco apart from thier eco majors, eg Business Eco, Eco Development, Eco Theory, Eco History, Money and Banking

USYD: The Good Uni Guide 2006 has them having a highest employment and graduating salaries of all unis ($50K as opposed to $40 something thousand for most unis). Apparently they are good, as you would expect

UNSW: I don't know much about them but they let also let you specilaise in a particular area of Eco, (Eco, Econmetrics, Eco History, Financial Eco, and Business Strategy and Eco - the last is only avaliable through B Com though)

USYD and UNSW are more flexbile, especially if you're intending to do a double degree with Eco IMO; ANU forces you to do a Eco major then specialise through additonal courses, while UNSW lets you specialise in a particular area of Eco right away.

 

[sarevok]

I would have to recommend that you dont come to usyd to study economics, from my experiences the standards of teaching are quite poor

 

[Sarah168]

Well, as 1st yr undergrads, its observed like that (atta and de roos anyone?) but on the whole, i think the economics faculty at usyd is high. From what I heard from my micro lecturer in sem 1, the teaching standards and dedication rises once they sort out the students who are doing eco because they have to from the ones who truly have an interest in it.

You can't say it's fun teaching a bunch of people who have no bloody interest in what you're on about and doesnt give a rats arse about an area of study you spent half your life on...

I've only had 2 lecturers in economics at usyd because I'm just a 1st yr myself but my micro lecturer in sem 1 was exceptional.

Edit: on the whole atta is not that bad. His teaching style and expression could improve but I like the way he teaches us to understand economics intuitively. Of course, if you hate economics then intuition or not, you'll just hate it anyway.

 

[§eraphim]

i dont think first yr is a good indication of later yr teaching. many first yr lecturers dont do much research and spend most of their time teaching so they would obviously be good but once u reach 2nd/3rd yr u may encounter some bad lecturers but excellent researchers (and vice versa). so dont let ur 1st yr's limited experience allow u to pass judgement on the teaching quality of a particular school.

 

[Sarah168]

oh yeah. i didnt think of that seraphim (the research and teaching divide)

either way, 1st year experiences arent definitive

 

[Minai]

From a 3rd year perspective, lecturers don't really get any better..

 

[Sarah168]

that's a depressing prospect

 

[stazi]

wanting to become an economist is also a depressing prospect

 

[ND]

You do realise that the people with the most power in the world are economists?

 

[stazi]

You do realise that the people with the most power in the world are economists?

no, its women. without them we'd have to fuck each other up the ass.

 

[ND]

I don't know about you, but i'd rather fuck my hand than fuck an asshole.

edit: fuck a guy's asshole that is, nothing wrong with going a girl up the dirtbox.

 

[stazi]

which is why economists dont really have the most power