I'm wondering which one is more helpful to a commerce student as well as which one is more work.

It all depends in what you like. A lot of people find the workload in econ easy, but if you don't like the stuff you'll get bored of it pretty quickly.

I would go for the math minor. In my opinion it's really much more helpful in terms of teaching you critical thinking and problem solving skills. You may find that by being in commerce, going for a minor in econ may become somewhat redundant, and eventually you may get bored. Unless you like econ. I would say they're kind of equal in work. Upper year math will be hard, but I'm sure upper year econ will be hard as well. So it's a matter of what you want.

are you just starting your first year?

- the first year economics courses are the easiest at mcmaster regardless of program, same can't be said for math 1A03 and Math 1AA3 (you'll have to take math 1B03, and even though it's easy that still 3 more units than the econ minor, so factually speaking it is more work), altough you can take the commerce version, which i suspect is a bit easier.

-Also, why do they limit you to 2 courses from some second year econ courses? It's probably that a lot of the information overlaps, but it could also be that they're really really easy (Can someone familiar with these courses give me the answer it would be appreciated)

-There seems to be a great variety of Econ courses offered, some are going to be a lot harder than others (ie. econometrics vs anything else) so pick wisely.

my verdict: econ minor seems easier. which is better? Im a math major so my opinion would be biased.

Math will most probably be more work. However, a math minor (or upper year math courses generally) will give you a rationality that you will then be able to apply to any discipline - you'll learn to think mathematically. This makes understanding pretty much anything academic easier (including that which cannot be described logically - it's hard to appreciate this distinction without a background in mathematics)

EDIT: Also, don't go by your impressions from first year. You'll find that only 1-2 courses are an 'expected continuation' of the first-year style (i.e. the techniques that worked in first year will only work as well in 1 or 2 courses in 2nd year, and none afterwards). The main focus of upper year mathematics is understanding. In first-year, one can easily get by in 1A,1AA,1B without understanding anything at all - first-year mathematics follows the same paradigm as your high school courses, or an engineer's math courses, etc. You're expected to know how to do stuff, but you don't even need to understand what the stuff is, let alone why you're doing what you are at a fundamental level. Upper-year mathematics is completely different. You will need to know how to compute, of course, but it's not the focus at all.

In my opinion, economics is much more applicable to everyday life and therefore you end up getting more out of it than a math minor. I've only taken first year Econ, but I've also taken Math 1A03 and Math 1AA3 and what I learned in Econ was more valuable in terms of knowledge you can take away after the exam and apply. I will never again (after Math 1AA3) have to know how the polar coordinate system works

Can you fit a math minor in the commerce program without summer school?

Originally Posted by wesiscool

Can you fit a math minor in the commerce program without summer school?

You definately could im done my minor in econ and about halfway done one in Psychology. I do overload during the year, I take 6 courses each term.

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. I just finished first year, and I was able to take all the math classes offered (1A, 1AA, and 1B) as well as both Econs. I was originally planning on doing a math minor, but I did really well in economics and the workload wasn't near as much as math. I did really well in both econ and math, so I'm not that concerned about difficulty, but what i don't know is whether the added workload in math is worth the upside of adding a math minor to the resume, when I can have an economics minor for less work. Right now I'm planning on going into accounting, not sure if that affects which minor I should take.

In the end, a minor will almost rarely affect you getting a job. A minor does not show up on your degree, and from what I've heard, most employers will not necessarily favour you over somebody else just because you have a minor. It may be used to your advantage in a very tight situation if an employer does not know who to pick for a job, but other than that it will not increase your chances. I would say don't stress about which one will have a lighter workload or which one will be more useful, but instead just pick something that you think you will enjoy.

6 courses a term is too much for me :(