Glut of Econ majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from another NESCAC school 30 years ago also and Econ was definitely one of the most popular majors. Nothing new.

Nah. The proportion is now different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a strange post. I was an Econ major at Williams almost 30 years ago, and my year it was the most popular major. It’s popularity at certain schools is nothing new

If only you were a Philosophy major. Because logic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is a junior at Williams, and it is shocking to see how many peers are majoring in Economics. I understand the cost of college has soured, but how does economics, at all, give you any skills needed for jobs? And if anyone can enter business careers, what's the point of business majors? It just seems very confusing.

OP are we to assume your kid is not an Econ major and you are wondering why so many are?
Or your kid is one, and doesnt have a general plan?

Econ majors at ivies and Williams/Amherst/Swat, and T10 non-ivies have many opportunities: top consultants, quant assuming enough math(williams Econ is well regarded), top banking, other big company recruiters seek it(Fanng etc), top law, startups if they partner with tech peers, and on and on.

Williams grads do very well across the board. Econ is popular because of all of the above.

[Anonymous]

Econ.was the road to my making millions.

[Anonymous]

Money makes the world go round.

[Anonymous]

OP, the truth really is that being an Econ major is a social signal, just like going to Williams, or even going to any college at all.

Any major that feeds to the Street means a chance at some of the highest paid entry level jobs in America.

What else do you really want to know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a junior at Williams, and it is shocking to see how many peers are majoring in Economics. I understand the cost of college has soured, but how does economics, at all, give you any skills needed for jobs? And if anyone can enter business careers, what's the point of business majors? It just seems very confusing.

There is a difference in a BA and a BS in Economics. A BS is much harder and regarded more highly. So, they aren't all going for the BS, I assure you!

Also, there are comparatively fewer kids who major in econ (or finance, or accounting, or anything specific), as opposed to just "business." Those (business administration type) are the degrees I would be concerned about. They mean little in the competitive marketplace.

Not OP. How do you find out which schools have a good BS in Econ? With a stats minor or similar as another PP mentioned?

Can anyone recommend any schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, the truth really is that being an Econ major is a social signal, just like going to Williams, or even going to any college at all.

Any major that feeds to the Street means a chance at some of the highest paid entry level jobs in America.

What else do you really want to know?

A chance at some of the most miserable soul-destroying jobs in America…

[Anonymous]

OP is just mad that her kid has actual competition for recruiting from their own school. OP thought her kid would be the only kid at Williams who was “good enough” for Econ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an Econ minor and gained so much skills. If someone majored in Econ especially doing the BS instead of BA it is instrumental in the job market. Then to be a math, statistics, or computer science minor would be even better. Actuary, Data Analyst, Research Analyst, Investment Banker, Quant, and so much more

So then what's the reasoning for a liberal arts BA in econ? The most they're doing is intro stats...

Because not every econ-related job is a quant one. Particularly at the undergrad level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an Econ minor and gained so much skills. If someone majored in Econ especially doing the BS instead of BA it is instrumental in the job market. Then to be a math, statistics, or computer science minor would be even better. Actuary, Data Analyst, Research Analyst, Investment Banker, Quant, and so much more

So then what's the reasoning for a liberal arts BA in econ? The most they're doing is intro stats...

Someone has to be a policy analyst

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is a junior at Williams, and it is shocking to see how many peers are majoring in Economics. I understand the cost of college has soured, but how does economics, at all, give you any skills needed for jobs? And if anyone can enter business careers, what's the point of business majors? It just seems very confusing.

This is a rather odd post. A lot of employers are prioritizing these types of degrees, rightly or wrongly. The econ kids are familiar with the basic concepts underpinning a number of fields and the quantitative side of it demonstrates at least some rigor. The business kids usually have some skill-based classes or seminars which gives them a leg up (in the eyes of the employers) over the liberal arts kids that will need more training. It’s not that confusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is a junior at Williams, and it is shocking to see how many peers are majoring in Economics. I understand the cost of college has soured, but how does economics, at all, give you any skills needed for jobs? And if anyone can enter business careers, what's the point of business majors? It just seems very confusing.

Beautiful Freudian slip/autocorrect error.

“As the cost of college has soared, Americans have soured on college.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is a junior at Williams, and it is shocking to see how many peers are majoring in Economics. I understand the cost of college has soured, but how does economics, at all, give you any skills needed for jobs? And if anyone can enter business careers, what's the point of business majors? It just seems very confusing.

There is a difference in a BA and a BS in Economics. A BS is much harder and regarded more highly. So, they aren't all going for the BS, I assure you!

Also, there are comparatively fewer kids who major in econ (or finance, or accounting, or anything specific), as opposed to just "business." Those (business administration type) are the degrees I would be concerned about. They mean little in the competitive marketplace.

Not OP. How do you find out which schools have a good BS in Econ? With a stats minor or similar as another PP mentioned?

Can anyone recommend any schools?

OP's kid is at Williams. A BA in economics at Williams is going to be more valuable than just about and BS in economics that PP is talking about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Supply and demand.

Underappreciated post.