Questions about Econ, MSS & Engineering Majors

[wtayroy]

Hi everyone, I had a couple questions about the Econ major as well as the MSS Major.

My first question is about the Econ major. Does this focus on Economic philosophy and theory or are there some more classes that are focused on math-based economics? I'm not particularly interested in the historical/philosophical side of economics and I am more interested in Econometrics and the like. Are their classes or specializations for this?

Secondly, I was also interested in the Military & Strategic Studies major. Does anyone have any experience with this major? I know I can go to the website or curriculum handbook but I would prefer someone who has majored/is majoring in MSS to kind of go into further detail as to what this major entails.

Furthermore, again for people with experience with the MSS major or something similar, what jobs can I expect to find with such a major in the civilian world? While ideally I'd like to pursue careers within the military even after the required active duty time, if I find that such a thing isn't for me, I'd like to at least know what I can do with that major particularly in the civilian side of the DOD.

Along with this, would it be possible to dual major in Econ & MSS? I'm not sure of the course load on either so I'm not sure if it would be feasible or even possible to do this along with enjoying the summer airmanship courses as well as life at USAFA. If it really isn't feasible, no worries.

My last question is about the engineering majors, Aero in particular. I really struggle in AP Physics 1, not because of the math (I'm great at doing the math and trig portion) and more of the concepts and the sort of critical thinking that is involved with remembering the various laws and equations as well as substituting them in for particular variables. I wanted to hear from current or past engineering majors if you struggled with physics and if that played a role in your later engineering courses. Other than the two majors above, I'd love to do some type of engineering but I'm not sure if it is right for me due to how much I struggle with the physics concepts.

Thanks all

 

[AFrpaso]

From the Curriculum Handbook's Economics section: "Program electives allow cadets to focus on business, finance, international economics, public policy, or quantitative economics." A bit further down you can find an econ course list which includes econometrics.

I don't have much experience with MSS so I'll let someone else speak to that. I also can't comment on the feasibility of a dual MSS & Econ major. From what I've seen, double majors are typical with two adjacent disciplines (i.e. applied math & engineering or economics & operations research).

Physics is tough. I actually took the intro physics course twice. Intro courses can be difficult because sometimes the major topics can be pretty disjointed. Engineering absolutely requires the type of critical thinking you've described. The ability to do the math is necessary, but not sufficient to get through an engineering curriculum. That being said, that critical thinking mindset can certainly be developed by a motivated learner. The fact you're asking these questions is itself a sign that you're motivated.

Remember, you don't need to declare a major right away. You will have a lot of time, and core courses, to explore your interests. I highly recommend you talk to as many upperclassmen, instructors, and permanent party as you can while you grind through freshman year. There should be at least two mandatory "Major's Nights" where all academic departments set up informational booths for the freshman to tour.

I believe @USAFA10s is experienced with double majoring. Perhaps they can chime in with some words of wisdom.

 

[Thunder]

2 Deg/Econ major here. Really the only class that focuses on theory of economics is intermediate macroeconomics. The microeconomics class is more math based focusing on graphs/derivatives/firms/consumption. The major requires you to take a techy statistics class that you code in and serves as a prerequisite to Econometrics 1 and 2. As you go deeper in the major you get to pursue whatever you want in economics such as defense/labor/sports economics. DM me if you want more info on it!

 

[NinoBaldacci]

I was an MSS major back in the day (username does not check out), so things may have changed a little, but I did enjoy it. MSS is really a hybrid of a history and political science degree. A lot of your classes will be looking at historical data/strategy and looking at it through a modern/futuristic lens to critically think about how war will be shaped and fought in the future. There is a lot of writing in this major program so be prepared for that. Most classes will not have a final test, but they will have a final paper. The capstone course is a 2 year long research thesis. My favorite classes were surface warfare and air warfare. In both of these, as a a class we were able to use software that the MSS department has to plan a land and air attack respectively against a modern enemy.

As far as the degree goes after the Academy, most of my classmates in my major went on to fly. A couple of them went into different battlefield airmen programs. As for using the degree after the military, I can't really say. You would probably need to get a graduate degree in international politics/strategy. Personally, I used the soft skills that the degree and the military taught me (effective communication being a big one) and was able to pivot it into a project management job.

Hope this answers some of your questions. If you have anything more specific, feel free to PM me.

 

[BuckeyeDad20]

Physic I is the easiest physics you will see in an engineering degree. Think about your struggles and whether or not you think you can overcome them if you apply yourself, but more importantly, are you passionate about it. After your Physics classes, an Aero major is basically a lot more applied physics classes.

As far as careers go, if you stay in the USAF, your degree won't matter much, unless you really want to be a test pilot, or scientist. If there is a role that really requires a certain background, USAF may let you/send you to grad school for it. On the civilian side, after serving 5 years, your degree won't matter much either. I had a EE degree which I never really used in USAF and back then they used to say that a EE degree was obsolete in 9 months if you were not practicing. After 5 years in USAF, companies will look at you for your brains, experience and leadership training. It is also a time that if you want or need to, you can get a graduate degree. I got my MBA after separating so I could pivot from engineering to finance. A lot of folks will go to grad school after 5 years and go from there. Common sense applies though, trying to get a Masters in Aero Engineering with an undergrad in MSS would be a challenge to say the least, but Law, MBA or similar programs would be completely doable.