Econ majors- is it easy to find a job?
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Anonymous
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Econ is more of a generalist major. We advised our kid that until/unless she determines what her passion is, that she can be undecided and a prospective Econ major. It doesn’t close any doors for her in the meantime. Her school offers about 40 classes she can choose from for her degree. She only needs to take 12.
They have classes in micro, macro, econometrics, public policy, finance, behavioral economics, mathematical economics, human capital, environmental economics, sustainability, etc. Depending on interests, an Economics education can prepare a person for careers in law, banking, investment, finance, data science, education, HR, technology, strategy, marketing, UX, etc. You can Google a school’s career center for info on what companies/jobs most graduates from that school end up - first destination or years out. I’ve searched on LinkedIn too 
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Anonymous
| They'll need a PhD in Econ if they want to become an Economist. |
Anonymous
A PhD is helpful in research or consulting or authoring papers. But to be employed an “economist” or expert in economics for a corporation, financial institution or the government, a PhD is definitely not required. |
Anonymous
This, absolutely. Make sure he gets a BS in economics, not a BA. Big difference in starting and projected salaries. |
Anonymous
| Well, FWIW when I was in law school I thought that econ majors had a much easier time than I did as a history major.... |
Anonymous
History is probably the best major for law school. Not sure why you thought econ majors had an easier time. Econ is a fine major but the history skills are a direct transfer. |
Anonymous
Big difference is where you get the degree not BS/BA. Top school is matters not. Many top 20 schools only have the BA. Still get those jobs. The 100k jobs are going for the smarts not the expertise. |
Anonymous
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Can be hard to get a job especially if not from a top school. Take the math version of Econ plus some accounting and finance. There is huge supply of Econ majors and a lot of mediocre undergrad Econ programs.
What is the math version? ————- Look for programs that require Econ majors to take calculus and that require both statistics and econometrics. Linear algebra and some programming are good. Many Econ programs require only the bare minimum. |
Anonymous
Unless, like me, you go to a federal agency. The federal government hires Bachelor's level graduates and Master's graduates. I started as a GS-7 Economist with a BA. Many of the bachelor-level economists work on data analysis and tracking projects (Bureau of Labor Statistics and IRS Statistics of Income divisions are two that I recall). My position was a bit more creative and interesting than that. But those roles may be easier to get. I'm in F500 corporate America now. We have a business economics team. Master's is acceptable for positions with the economist title, although the Chief Economist is a PhD role. (I personally transitioned from economics into other areas through getting an MBA and have not held the economist title at this employer.) |
Anonymous
Is it because there is tons of reading in law school? |
Anonymous
+1. There are a lot of career paths for econ majors. Only the most quantitative really care about the BS/BA distinction, for the rest it is much less important. |
Anonymous
Aren’t data analysts of every stripe ripe for AI replacement? |
Anonymous
| Much easier than humanities at least. |
Anonymous
Not yet, maybe later. Someone savvy needs to use the AI as tools. |
Anonymous
Yes and the critical thinking involved. Law school is mostly about reading. |