>We were told in my econ class how difficult the math was and I always struggle with core math classes like calculus and differential equations, so I was worried. I spoke to the professor and he asked my major. When I replied with "engineering", he asked my GPA, to which I replied 3.6. He then laughed and said I'd be fine
Was this in the US? Undergrad econ is very watered down compared to Europe. A common lament here is that people who get their undergrad in econ in the US are woefully unprepared for the math they'll need in grad school.
Econometrics uses as much calculus as engineering does (PDE's, etc). In other countries, they do this at the undergrad level.
Oddly, economics is one of the fields where you're probably better prepared for graduate work in economics if you major in something other than economics. Math, physics, or engineering may be better prep.
Of course, one solution is to just major in Econ and make sure you take those classes. The US undergrad path is very different, it's not as specialized as it is overseas. There's flexibility - well, use that flexibility to take math through diff eq, linear algebra, some proof based stuff, and perhaps some numerical analysis or computing.
Also - some universities essentially offer two tracks. My alma mater, UCSD, does this. When I was there, you could major in Econ or "QEDS" - quantitative economics and decision science. I think they've changed the name and modified the curriculum since then but it's a similar track - it requires that you sit with the engineering, math, and hard science majors for the first couple years of calc, linear algebra, and DE's, and offers upper division work that draws on this background. The basic Econ major required very minimal calculus from a shorter and less rigorous sequence.
This split is present in a lot of US universities, as far as I understand. You really can't know just by looking at the name of the degree, because a "BA" in economics at some universities actually does reflect a mathematically rigorous program.
Yes in the U.S. If econometrics in Europe actually goes over partial differential equations, then it is an order of magnitude more complex than schools in the U.S. If they do cover that in the U.S. it would only be done at a glance as they don't take a real calculus or differential equations or other mid-advanced math classes. They do have business calculus, but that is a joke.
Was this in the US? Undergrad econ is very watered down compared to Europe. A common lament here is that people who get their undergrad in econ in the US are woefully unprepared for the math they'll need in grad school.
Econometrics uses as much calculus as engineering does (PDE's, etc). In other countries, they do this at the undergrad level.