I know this might seem like a stupid question, but I've been thinking about it, and came up with a 50-50 answer. What degree would help me out in my trading career more?: 1. economics 2. finance in economics, i'd learn things about inflation, interest rates, and consumer habits, while finance is more money management related however I hear its also deeply involved in accounting for the most part which I already took and hated it. your thoughts please - nathan
you should probably take both just to get a flavor, but i think you will find that neither is what you think it is. neither is related to trading at all. of the two, finance is more related because it deals with more with investing (present value, cash flow, returns, etc.) econ is like this. you have a piece of paper in front of you. draw a supply curve and a demand curve. then all of macro and micro economics is how these curves and related curves change when certain situations arise (e.g., monopolies, policies, etc.)
I have an accounting degree but took finance theory based subjects (I graduated 15 years ago). Take finance over economics as you will study concepts such as portfolio diversification, risk/return etc. which will have practical use once you finish your studies. Economics is a bit too abstract to be of practical value if you have ambitions of being a trader. No doubt most people will tell you that a degree is useless in the REAL world and to some extent that is true. But then I have never heard of a University offering a Bachelor of Trading, I wonder why?? ?? I can see it now, a young horney dude having the hots for a chick in a swing trading 101 class. "Joanna, wanna have lunch", "Na sorry, I've got to go to a scalping 102 lecture"
I got a double major in economics and finance. Both can be useful to trading, but only to a limited extent. Finance will give you a solid foundation on various instruments, how they are priced, how markets work and etc. Economics will give you a foundation on how the economy works, the effect of interest rates, exchange rates and etc. Basically, it'll give you a more broad look on the economy. Either one or both can be useful/useless in trading depending on your style of trading and the instruments you trade.
Mathematics, statistics and accounting would help you more than either finance or economics. Also history, because it always repeats itself...
yes this is what i meant. you benefit from the breadth of knowledge and build a foundation, but it won't be directly related to trading.
Discretionary: Scalping or Short Term Trading: -Rugby -Martial Arts -Football etc. Swing Trading: -Swimming -Track -Crew etc. Systematic: -Computer Science -Engineering -Math -Physics etc. General: -Philosophy -History -Psychology -Econ/Finance/your preference -any humanitarian related extra-curricular activites
Exactly what MTE said. I have the same back ground. If you are going to bother with either one of them, then might as well take both. Trading is definitely a learn by doing skill though, especially in the really short time frames which has nothing to do with any econ or finance.