What can you do w/ an Economics Major?

[FLY]

maybe be wrong ask this question at a Pre-Med/Science place; but what do PEOPLE do w/ an ECON degree?

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[Amy B]

They apply to medical school

 

[Amy B]

Oh you were serious... sorry.

I am only guessing but they might go get MBA's, or MS's and teach school

 

[kreno]

Good question. I'm a physiology and economics double major - long story! But I'm so glad I'm doubling in economics. There are LOTS of ways it can help.

First and foremost... it drastically opens you up to the world outside of the science major types out there. And, economics is a practical major - i mean... economics is one of the fundimental challenges civilization.

With that in mind... I think my economics training will come into play as I pursue my MD/MPH (masters in health). Especially, of course, if I specialize in Public Policy or related fields.

Of course, if you don't get into med school... an economics major is a lot more practical than a science major to get a job out of high school (usually).

 

[Random Access]

All these Ivy kids want to go into I-banking and maybe consulting.

 

[crazyA]

back in the boom time of the year 2000, it was still very feasible to get good business jobs with an econ degree...but from my observations, only people with finance or accountancy degrees could get the really lucrative I-banking jobs...

so everyone i know with an econ degree is either right now in med school, wokring in the business World, or in grad school

but it really is a fascinating field

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by crazyA
back in the boom time of the year 2000, it was still very feasible to get good business jobs with an econ degree...but from my observations, only people with finance or accountancy degrees could get the really lucrative I-banking jobs...

so everyone i know with an econ degree is either right now in med school, wokring in the business World, or in grad school

but it really is a fascinating field

I don't think we even have finance or accounting as a major here, but plenty of I-bankers (roommate has interviews at Morgan Stanley, Solomon, JPMorgan, etc). There's only one accounting class, and only seniors get in.

 

[Iain]

Right now very few I-Banks are hiring; most of them have laid off quite a number of staff.

My advice is to find a job that you can gain some decent experience (if there is a specific feild/industry taylor your search towards networking and experience in that) as right now finding a decent job is tough!

Best of luck!!!

 

[kito]

with all due respect to those who love the field (and i know i'm going to take flak on this one), unless one wants to be an academic practitioner or a policy maker, it is the among the more mundane and rewardless fields of endeavor. in other words, you can't make any real money learning or doing it, at least not in a realistic market.

 

[kreno]

As a "PLAIN" econ major, I agree. You have to keep going to get an MBA/MASTERS to do anything productive... unless you are a 4.0 student from a good schoool then you can get a respectable job somewhere - but that's it.

I was talking more about the people who are economics majors planning on going into medicine. For those people, the economics background is invaluable.

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by kreno
As a "PLAIN" econ major, I agree. You have to keep going to get an MBA/MASTERS to do anything productive... unless you are a 4.0 student from a good schoool then you can get a respectable job somewhere - but that's it.

If you're Ivy, you don't need a 4.0 at all...I don't know about other places.

 

[abw]

Hi everyone,
I decided to major in econ because the field interested me even though i was going to apply to medical school. My whole four years, my dad wanted me to follow in his footsteps into the financial world (he's a stockbroker). He didn't care if i was a stockbroker as long as i did something business-related. While he was trying to influence me towards that career, though, he always told me NOT to major in business or econ. In fact, he said he was the only person in his office (Merrill Lynch) who had a business-related degree. Everyone else ranged from Shakespeare to art history. All they're looking for in the business world is your sales/managing/etc. raw talent - they want to be able to train you from scratch.
As for what you can do with an econ degree, I'm now getting my m.p.h., which complements an m.d. (cross my fingers i get accepted to med school). But i also my resume into a job search for the fun of it, and was offered teaching jobs, banking jobs, and government jobs (finance through f.b.i). Pretty much anything that's business or social science related.
Just my $.02 - hope it helps!

 

[saiyagirl]

from a fellow economics major, there are a billion things you can do. if you sell it right, you can do ANYTHING with an econ major...econ is about allocating scarce resources, whether money, healthcare, edcuation, etc. for most of these you only need a bachelor's degree (unless you want to teach at a college level or want a raise)

here is a small list.

1. finance (i-banking, consulting)
2. trading
3. policy (private or public)
4. law (the possibilities are endless here)
5. medicine (like me!)
6. teaching
7. pubilc health/MPH (econ is esp useful here)
8. ethics (concerning the allocation of recources, such as healthcare, public goods, etc)
9. other business related fields
10. non-profit
11. grad school
12. journalism
13. MBA
14. entreprenurial (small business)
15. other business type things

econ is the most popular major at my school. note for #1,2, you need an AWESOME gpa, awesome work experience, and an awesome undergrad helps too. it's a tough economy.