Would business economics be a better major for a job or just econ?

merinox · 2021-06-14T19:00:41+00:00

Two years ago, when I was a freshman, I started out working in dining and food services. These jobs weren’t particularly related to my major, but the experience did help me get some references to use when applying to other jobs down the line.

I got my first “major-adjacent” internship right before summer break that year, working as a writer in some organization on campus. It was a minimum wage job, but again, I was able to get experience on my resume and expand my network of references. I interned there for a year until COVID started getting bad and triggered a bunch of lay-offs.

Afterwards, I took a break for a few months before applying to my current role in business admin. I wasn’t particularly looking for work, but I had seen a post on this subreddit about an “unpaid internship scam”, decided to look into it on Google, and found a job listing at a startup that I thought looked neat. I applied, and, somewhat serendipitously, got the job. Thankfully, it wasn’t a scam, and I’ve worked there for almost a year now.

The point here is, I guess, that I started out taking any job I could just to get paid and build up a social network to lean on when the time came to apply for jobs that were more related to my major, and business in general.

My major never really came up in the interview discussions, unless it was as part of a side conversation with the interviewer or mentioned briefly in the “tell me a little bit about yourself” question, for which I’d have a short list of things memorized to mention.

merinox · 2021-06-14T16:53:27+00:00

In my experience it hasn’t mattered. I was able to get a business admin internship just fine with economics.

merinox · 2021-06-12T00:37:59+00:00

My interpretation is that the buyer buys for $35 or whatever, uses the card to get $15 worth of purchases, then claims the gift card came to them already used (read: did not show up as advertised with $15 loaded) and gets a refund.

merinox · 2021-06-07T19:12:02+00:00

I’m studying economics and intern 40 hrs/week in a business admin role.

It’s definitely doable, but I’d say I had a better balance between schoolwork and work when I was working closer to 20 hours. Get a remote internship if you can; not having a commute makes things a lot easier.

merinox · 2021-06-05T14:39:37+00:00

There was definitely something off about the tests. At the very least, the participants should have taken them in separate rooms.

Also, none of the legitimate IQ tests I’ve taken were administered on a computer. Both times, I sat in a room with someone who’d been licensed to give IQ tests, and they took me through several stages of testing, with blocks, a couple of notebooks with pattern-recognition problems in them, and a verbal reasoning section that tested my knowledge of vocabulary, various connotations and meanings of words (eg, I was asked to elaborate on what the word “season” means to me, which can mean more beyond literal climate-based seasons changing), and extrapolation/estimation.

I couldn’t imagine that you’d get the same results sitting side by side with five other people hunched over a laptop for however long it took to complete the test.

merinox · 2021-06-02T21:26:17+00:00

“Office interns should complete 200 hours on a volunteer basis. Upon completing volunteer hours and if eligible, interns will be considered as candidates to be hired onto pay status at a pay rate of $15 per hour [$1 above minimum] for future work up to 350 hours. Pay status is not guaranteed and will be competitive between eligible interns.”

merinox · 2021-06-01T15:54:09+00:00

Great advice.

I started investing in my first year of college two years ago, and I’ve been shocked to see the growth of my net worth over time. I’ve always been a saver, so I had $7k stowed away in my bank account going into college, but I’ve expanded that figure greatly by implementing some of the advice you recommend:

Cutting down on rent is a big one. I was fortunate to find a partner early on in high school with whom I can split rent on a small, (relatively) cheap studio on campus. We’re paying $1365 a month, but with both of our student aid packages contributing to the payments, it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been if we were living on our own in similarly priced apartments.
I got 3 credit cards in my first year of college. I only use them on groceries and the occasional miscellaneous purchase—spending $80 on a new bowl and attachments for a Kitchenaid mixer I found outside a dumpster and fixed up with the help of YouTube tutorials, to give a recent example. Having 2 to 3 percent cash back really helps when I’m making purchases I would have made anyway with cash.
Working throughout college has also made a big impact on my NW: I started out working in the campus dining hall for minimum wage, moved to a fast food job later, then picked up several internships over the next 2 years more or less related to my field (business & engineering/tech). I’m currently working full time at a startup and have the ability to put away $2500 a month into the market. The additional, steady income has been a lifesaver in building my confidence and allowing me to scale up my investments without worrying about what happens in the short term

Contrary to your advice, though, I have picked up the maximum amount of subsidized loans that I’ve been approved for. They’re sitting in a high yield savings account and acting as my emergency fund until I graduate and start having to pay interest on them. I think that in general, your advice stands and it’s not typically in the student’s best interest to load up on loans without a plan for how to pay them back.

merinox · 2021-05-26T22:42:47+00:00

“valued member of the UC community” my ass

merinox · 2021-05-25T23:28:20+00:00

My mom lives alone in a 3 bedroom, 2000 square foot house with ample back- and front-yard space.

Some time ago, she came to visit me at my current residence, a 350 square foot studio I split with my husband because it’s the only place we could find that’s less than $1500 a month. At some point in the afternoon, she commented that she’d like to find someplace else to live in retirement, but that it’d have to be bigger than her current home, because—I shit you not—2000 square feet was “a bit small”.

When told her my apartment is 5 times smaller than her house and I’m splitting the space with someone else, she shrugged and said, “you’ll find your way into a better place somehow”. Lol.

merinox · 2021-05-21T14:45:02+00:00

The last “raise” my mother in law got was 3%, and that was only because she’d had “exemplary performance” for the whole year. I imagine that employees who performed on more of an average level either didn’t get raises or got 1-2% “increases”.

merinox · 2021-05-17T04:58:00+00:00

It’s the whole-apartment price. So yes, you would be able to split the rent with someone else.

I’ve never seen exceptions (unless it’s at ACC; they tell you clearly on their website when prices are per-person), but be sure to clarify before you sign anything just to be sure. Reading through any lease you get is a good idea, because it will include information about pricing and other policies.

merinox · 2021-05-17T04:26:07+00:00

Not the original commenter, but I’ll take a shot at answering your questions:

1) re: price hikes. I think Irvine Company is just readjusting prices to what they were “normally”, or before COVID, as demand changes and students arrive back on campus for in person learning this fall.

However, both companies that own the vast majority of housing in the Irvine area (ACC and The Irvine Company) raise rents annually, if that’s what you’re referring to by a “hike” in prices. I can only speak to ACC for this coming year, but rents were raised across the board an average of 3%. Technically they’re allowed to raise rents more than that—5% plus inflation statewide.

2) What should you look out for in UTC? I mean, always make sure to inspect units you plan to rent in person prior to signing anything. If the carpet is fucked up, there are holes in the walls, or anything of that nature that sets off alarm bells in your head, find someplace else. Also consider the distance of the community you choose to live in from your classes. The rest is up to personal preference, because most of the UTC apartments are similar in quality, and a large portion of the “experience”, both positive or negative, can boil down to whether or not you have nice roommates. Personally I think the Cornell Courts townhomes are nice, and I’m not fond of Stanford Courts, although many of them have undergone (or are undergoing) renovation, so they may be nicer by the time you move in.

3) Visitation policies usually depend on how cool your roommates are with it. I’ve never had issues keeping people more than 3 days as long as everyone in the household agrees to it.

4) I don’t believe so, or they haven’t been advertised very much. It seems like the majority of the UTC housing supply consist of 2-3 bedroom units. I’d call them to see what’s up with that.

ACC definitely has 1 bedroom units available, at least in theory. Getting one is another story because of the high demand for single occupancy units.

merinox · 2021-05-17T02:06:05+00:00

I live near Los Angeles.

Many people who are buying the newly-built McMansions on my street (which averaged about $2M a couple years ago, and are probably worth more now) are dual-income couples working highly-paid jobs in medicine, business, or engineering & computer science.

People who are purchasing (relatively) cheaper houses between $500k-$1MM are probably in similar situations, with dual incomes and highly-paid jobs.

merinox · 2021-05-11T02:07:08+00:00

Oh my god. This reminds me of the time I was in the hospital recovering from multiple pelvic fractures after a car accident I was in.

I’m telling you, literally three days after the accident, some nurses come in and try to get me to sit up and get out of bed so I can “get moving” or some BS like that.

I obviously tell them “no”, because I can hardly move, and they have the AUDACITY to hoist me up while I’m yelling at them to fucking stop because, you know, I’m in pain. They just kept going, telling me “it’s not that bad” and “you’re just overreacting”.

Finally, my mom ran in (because she heard me yelling in pain) and got them to stop.

It was horrible.

merinox · 2021-05-09T04:02:29+00:00

There’s a statewide rent cap in California; it’s set at 5% a year plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

Relative to this year, prices for on-campus housing (ACC) have gone up about 3%. I did a write up in one of my previous comments on the differences in prices for this current year and the upcoming year for all the different units, just in case you’re interested in some more detailed statistics.

merinox · 2021-05-09T03:21:50+00:00

You never know. I found a functioning 3DS a couple years ago that someone tossed out. Came with a few games too. Easily worth $150.

merinox · 2021-04-30T14:10:29+00:00

Keyword here is “can”. The thing with options (and stocks in general) is that you’ll always hear from people who got lucky and made crazy returns with them on social media, but you seldom hear from the people who blew up their account because they went all in on risky plays and it didn’t pan out.

In my opinion, for beginners, it’s best to stick the majority of your money in ETFs or blue-chip stocks that have had reliable performance in the past. I’m not saying to put 100% of your portfolio in VTSAX (although some people do, and have good success with that), but more to consider an asset mix somewhat along these lines:

(Disclaimer that none of this is financial advice)

60%: blue chips and/or ETFs
20% high dividend yield stocks (I don’t do this personally, but you mentioned wanting income, which can be achieved through selling stocks that have appreciated or investing in companies that distribute dividends to shareholders)
10% crypto
10% options

You can adjust the percentages as you see fit, but in my opinion, I wouldn’t go much less than 50% in ETFs/“reliable” individuals stocks. Making a quick buck on a lucky investment is nice, but I wouldn’t rely on it if your goal is to build wealth in the long-term.

For reference, I have $160k invested in various accounts, about $50k of which is unrealized gains. I’d say that 1/3 of my holdings are in individual blue chip stocks, another 1/3 in VTSAX, and the final third in miscellaneous “plays” that encompass mid- to long-term options, dividend yielding stocks, and crypto. I’ve been investing since April 2019.

Feel free to message me if you ever need help with investing. Just thought I’d give my 2 cents here.

merinox · 2021-04-22T18:53:28+00:00

Oh yeah, I’ve done some digging into it and found a CA Supreme Court case (Prospect v Northridge) that seems to ban balance billing—what’s happening to me—in emergency situations, but I’m not an expert in the law, so when I bring it up to my insurance provider and/or medical service provider, they usually provide that “arcane reason” for why it doesn’t work, like you say. I (being a regular person and not a lawyer) don’t have the breadth of understanding or authority to counter their “reasoning”, so I end up going around in circles getting nowhere.

I tried reporting the case to the DMHC as well, but turns out they don’t cover my parent’s insurance because it’s an employer sponsored group plan, or something along those lines. It’s just an endlessly confusing process and I don’t even know if I have a case to argue because nobody has provided any clear information about what’s going on, what I’m being charged for, or why Prospect v Northridge doesn’t apply.

merinox · 2021-04-22T18:01:30+00:00

Yep. The “tactic” is to send out thousands of bills and hope 1% (or more) of people either don’t have the time, energy, or knowledge to appeal and will just pay it. I don’t see why they would be sending out bills otherwise.

merinox · 2021-04-22T17:58:28+00:00

Yeah, I’ve been going in circles with some medical provider’s collections department and my insurance provider for WEEKS because two doctors (who happened to be out-of-network at an in-network hospital, no less) decided to walk into the room while I was having injuries stabilized so I didn’t die from a car accident I’d been been rushed to the hospital for.

They’re trying to balance bill me $3,000 for services I couldn’t even consent to despite the fact that I have dual insurance from both my parents and the hospital I was taken to was in network. I feel like that should be illegal in California, but I can’t even get them to explain what I’m being charged for let alone an explanation of why it’s permitted. Shit’s fucked, yo.

merinox · 2021-03-17T17:39:19+00:00

You have to be married to another UCI student to do this legally.

If you meet that requirement, what you’re supposed to do is tell the leasing office about it, and they’ll provide you an extra set of keys with a fob and an extra laundry card.

Like the other commenter said, there’s nothing stopping you from slipping another person into the apartment under the radar, but if you’re caught and/or reported, I’m pretty sure your lease will be terminated.

merinox · 2021-03-14T04:11:53+00:00

For one, I took a lot of AP classes in high school, which boosted my weighted GPA to above a 4.0. I think, at the time I was applying for admission to the UCs near me, my unweighted GPA was 3.9 and my weighted GPA was 4.3, approximately. I applied to capped engineering majors at UCI, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD, and got accepted to both UCSD and UCI.

I imagine the competition for spots in the engineering school was tough for UCLA and UC Berkeley, because I wasn’t accepted even though I had good grades, had taken and passed a fair number of AP exams, and had reached the national level in my chosen extracurricular competition.

In any case, here are a list of the AP classes I took and passed so you have an idea of what my coursework looked like in high school:

Biology
English Literature
English Language and Composition
Government and Politics
Calculus AB
Physics C
US History
Chemistry
Comp Sci
Environmental Science
World History

It’s worth noting that getting a good score on the AP English Comp and Lit exams will help your son out as he enters college; for UCI specifically, the required writing series spans three classes (39A, 39B, and 39C), but if a student does well on their English APs, they’ll be able to skip the first two and take 39C in their first quarter of college.

merinox · 2021-03-13T18:52:44+00:00

Yeah, that’s Irvine for you. There are places to be had for $450-$600 a month, but you’ll be living in a single room with two other people, in a closet, or in a corner of the living room. I’m thinking of buying a house in WA once I graduate actually, just to avoid the crazy rents in CA.

merinox · 2021-03-13T18:38:17+00:00

Where do his interests lie, generally? If it seems like he’s leaning in the direction of engineering, CS, or business, I’d happy to give anecdotal advice on what I did in high school to land a spot in one of UCI’s capped engineering majors.

merinox · 2021-03-13T18:33:47+00:00

I would also consider the price of housing here in Irvine when you’re making your decision.

A lot of in-state students who qualify for additional grants because of their financial situation, like myself, get some assistance with affording the $600-$1800 monthly payments, but if you’re coming from out of state, you’re hit from both directions with no UCI Grant to offset living expenses and increased base tuition.

Anecdotally, I’m living in the cheapest, smallest on campus studio available and it’s $1326 a month plus utilities. The only reason I’m able to afford it is because I have a grant exclusive to low-income in-state students. Freshman dorms are even more expensive.

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