What's the difference between commerce, economics, business and finance? (1 Viewer)

[planino]

^. Not too familiar the differences between those, or the business world in general (it's interesting though). Also, what are the differences in the uni degrees of those 4 areas (are there more?)? Which ones would you guys recommend?

 

[planino]

Not an enormous grammar Nazi myself, but that thread title should read "What are the differences between commerce, economics, business and finance?"

 

[Shadowdude]

^. Not too familiar the differences between those, or the business world in general (it's interesting though). Also, what are the differences in the uni degrees of those 4 areas (are there more?)? Which ones would you guys recommend?

Commerce and Business degrees I'd say are pretty much the same. They are broader, and you can major in Finance in them along with other things.

Economics is based on Economics.

Finance is based on Finance.


Really, this is a... not that great question to ask because unis have different degree structures. So your best bet is to pick a uni for your business/commerce-related degree and then look at the options available.

 

[Absolutezero]

Commerce is broad, you generally choose a major from it such as Accounting, Marketing, Management, HR etc.

Finance is Finance Management

Economics is Micro/Macro Economics

Business is generally either the same as Commerce, or places more focus on starting/running businesses (depending on the place running it).

 

[OzKo]

^. Not too familiar the differences between those, or the business world in general (it's interesting though). Also, what are the differences in the uni degrees of those 4 areas (are there more?)? Which ones would you guys recommend?

Perhaps you could list the specific degrees you are interested in and we could help you discern the differences between them.

 

[Azure]

^. Not too familiar the differences between those, or the business world in general (it's interesting though). Also, what are the differences in the uni degrees of those 4 areas (are there more?)? Which ones would you guys recommend?

A commerce degree allows you to specialise in a business related major (usually two). Commerce and Business degrees (such as that offered by UTS) are very similar and essentially will assist you in making a break into the business world. Under these degrees, you are able to choose various majors. I'll run through some of the more popular ones below, however as others have mentioned, you're going to need to be a little more specific in your question.

Accounting: The study of gathering and interpreting information that is used in making business decisions. You'll learn about the various accounting standards, the nuts and bolts in regards to creating and interpreting financial statements and you'll also get the chance to touch on some business law (such as the law surrounding corporations and revenue law).

Economics: Economics is a little harder to explain because unlike areas such as accounting and law, there's no body that sets a curriculum that would qualify one to become an "economist". Different universities place emphasis on different things and some economics degrees are "applied" in nature, while others adopt a more theoretical approach. In a nutshell though, economics basically explores how and why decisions are made in an economy. OzKo made a fantastic post about his degree here (he's studying an applied economics degree).

Finance: Similar to economics in the sense that different universities offer different things. Macquarie offers a finance major within the Bachelor of Commerce and also a Bachelor of Applied Finance (which, as I'm sure you've guessed, is another example of a degree that is applied in nature). Finance basically is the study of money. You get to explore how the financial markets operate, investments and usually a little bit of economics (since it can be strongly argued that an understanding of the economy is crucial in some finance roles).

You've also got other majors such as Human Resources and Marketing which are pretty self explanatory.

In regards to what you should choose - choose what interests you the most. Don't make the mistake of blindly selecting a major or degree based on what other people tell you. Make sure you have a passion for what it is you study.

Note: My explanation of the majors listed above are from the perspective of a Macquarie University student. I'm sure things are similar across most/all Australian universities, but some differences will naturally exist.

 

[planino]

Wow, thanks guys! Finance sounds quite interesting based on your clarifications (+ we're doing financial markets in eco now and I'm loving it, although it's kinda hard).

Out of the business related fields of study, I'm interested in commerce/science or a science/arts (economics). Right now, commerce/science with a finance major on the commerce side of things sounds quite attractive.

Once again, thanks

Edit: That post of yours was very insightful, OzKo. Admittedly, my growing interest vapourised when I saw "25000 words", ah well. The rest of the degree seems quite decent, I love eco and geo (earth science component). Meh, I'll continue browsing through the tertiary education section at this ungodly hour