Arts vs Commerce - Melbourne

[brokeman888]

I completed VCE this year and am tossing up between Arts or Commerce (at Melbourne) next year as a first preference.

My clear strengths in VCE were Philosophy and English (high 40s in both), however I thoroughly enjoyed Spec (3/4) and Methods even though they were lower scores. I am ultimately interested in a career in either Finance / Banking, or I might go for a JD at Melbourne.

In terms of the JD at Melbourne, and how interested I would probably be in my subjects, I guess in that respect, Arts is the better option. However, I can still do my alternate option of JD having completed Commerce, and I figure the Commerce degree helps my Finance career?

Does anyone have some insight that could be useful? Can I still gain employment/find employment in the field of Finance/Banking with a Bachelor of Arts, or would I need to do Commerce?

Thanks

[RKTR]

i don't do either but if i were you i would go for commerce and take some subjects under the law faculty as breadths

[Alter]

I agree with RKTR. If you're interested in a job in finance/banking, Commerce seems like the better pick overall. It's not uncommon at all for students to have done Commerce instead of Arts if they're in the JD, so you shouldn't see that as a reason against. Similarly, my brother who is doing the JD knows people who have gone into finance careers after having done Commerce who have then come back to do the JD at Melb in order to move higher up at the company they work at. If you enjoyed your maths subjects in school, your actual scores don't mean a whole lot, because everything is a fresh slate at uni.

Best of luck.

[jameshalo22]

IMO do Commerce and major in Accounting. I am personally doing this atm and if you are interested in the JD, the accounting major requires you to complete 3 law units so you'll get a taste for it.
The law units you will do in the Accounting major include: Business Law, Corporate Law and Tax Law.

[brenden]

Yeah it seems pretty rational to do Commerce, given that it keeps JD as an option.

But like... You could also double major in Philosophy and Economics through Arts (I think) and then like, y'know, get hired by the type of insightful finance firm that exists in cool movies and provide employees with free food and motorised scooters to get around the office.

(Also, Monash Arts/Comm -> JD or nah?)

[extremeftw]

 Why not do an Arts/Commerce double degree at Monash? Could be a good option for you.

[jammin]

Just my two cents, but rumours are comm at monash is less employable than melb and has a lot of less opportunities for personal growth

[Joseph41]

Just my two cents, but rumours are comm at monash is less employable than melb and has a lot of less opportunities for personal growth

Where did you hear the rumours, out of interest?

[appleandbee]

Just my two cents, but rumours are comm at monash is less employable than melb and ha5s a lot of less opportunities for personal growth

Orb's propaganda 

[Orb]

Orb's propaganda 

Objectively speaking though, if Melb didn't somehow (the degree of difference is definitely up for debate) contain some extra competitive advantage than Monash, whether it's employability, enrichment aspects, campus facilities, teaching, commerce faculty-wise why would I give up $8000 a year that Monash was offering? It's quite a lot of money, and whether the 8k is worth the difference is definitely up for debate.

I think a major tangible benefit that Monash offers is the bonus of a double degree which does ultimately enhance your career prospects, but if you were going single-degree wise, I can't think of any large enough reason to favour Monash comm > Melb.

Anyway i've listed out my reasons in another thread and every year we have 10+ scholarship awardees who spurn it in favour of UoM.

Again i'm not having a go at Monash I thoroughly enjoyed my Uni Maths subject over there and I think there are many perks to studying at Monash (Ancora Imparo sounds pretty fab Joseph!)


P.S For a personal example, I secured an internship purely from a program I was selected to at Melb. That program doesn't exist at Monash.

[EvangelionZeta]

If your goal is banking or finance, definitely do commerce, and do it at Melbourne to maximize prestige so you can get an early advantage in the rat race. As an Arts graduate, I honestly think you probably can at least enjoy literature and philosophy in your own time (even if you won't have the same depth of understanding, at least you'll have an appreciation for it just by reading and discussing).

With that said, are you <sure> Finance/Banking is what you want to do? There is not a lot of freedom or individuality in either field, and the hours can be ridiculous (as can be the uni experience - you'll need to not only do well at Uni, but also probably do lots of co curricular things, get internships, etc). If you're sure then power to you - but I'd just be wary if you want to do this mostly for money, because by many accounts I've heard it can be utterly soul destroying.