Can anyone give me some advice on to whether I should become an economist or and accountant. Im a freshman in college and I am still undeclared. I am looking for a job that will pay the most money and still be decently exciting to go to everyday. Can anyone give me some advice?

Check out:
Accountants- Accountants and auditors
Economists- Economists

Accounting definitely has more job openings for accountants. More companies are in need of people to keep their books and audit their books. To perform audits or become a CPA, you need 150 credit hours (equivalent to a masters) in most states. Most jobs as an economist probably require at least a masters if not a doctorate.

Both degrees could open up several different possibilities. My friend has a degree in accounting and ended up becoming a stock broker and another friend has a degree in economics and ended up going to law school. I would take some basic accounting classes and basic economic classes and try to decide which one you enjoy most. If you still can't decide, major in one subject and get a minor in the other.

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Originally Posted by timzy

can anyone give me some advice on to whether i should become an economist or and accountant. Im a freshman in college and i am still undeclared. I am looking for a job that will pay the most money and still be decently exciting to go to everyday. Can anyone give me some advice?

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I am an auditor for the government - An auditor is the way to go! You have all the power and the work is rewarding! An economist will keep you working alone - unless that is what you want. An auditor ensures interaction with others.

That CPA test is a bear! Not an easy test at all. The other answer is also correct in that you need 150 credits. Most 4 year degrees only produce about 124 credits. No CPA needed to audit though (smiles).

I agree with Kong. Take some classes in both areas, and see which one you like better. You always have the choice of taking classes online later in life if you feel that you made the wrong career choice. I don't know how useful/beneficial it would be, but you could always try and get one of the degrees online over the summers between each semester. Here are two links to check out, one for an accounting degree and the other for an economics degree.

At the very least you should definitely take a few of each type of class to see which one you like better. Also, try talking to other people in the industry and find out what they did with their degrees. :-)

~A