Glut of Econ majors
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Anonymous
This is it. Economics is the closest thing to a Finance degree at schools that don't have an undergraduate business program. It's the "practical" major if you aren't STEM. Interestingly enough...I think Moneyball (another Michael Lewis book who wrote Liar's Poker) and Freakonomics have spurred an interest in Economics with sports kids (at least my sports kid). Many Freakonomics episodes explain professional sports and how the leagues were constructed as legal monopolies, how pro drafts were created, how certain positions gained certain value, etc. |
Anonymous
| Econ majors do better on the LSAT due to how they are taught to think in undergrad. That carries over to Law School. Econ is also a solid basis for non-business careers - like foreign service, analyst careers. I think it's a great path for a quant kid that can do that kind of thinking but doesn't want to be an engineer. |
Anonymous
I appreciated it as well. |
Anonymous
| I guess the invisible hand will decide. |
Anonymous
| It's Williams. Every one of those econ majors will end up on The Street. If my kid were doing a BA in econ at some no-name regional school, then I'd be concerned. |
Anonymous
That’s great. Thanks. My student will not be at Williams. Where would they look for a good Econ BS program with minors in stats or other quant areas? |
Anonymous
Villanova, Lehigh |
Anonymous
| These posts are hilarious. Someone needs to run and start the businesses for which computer science and engineers work. It's the econ and business majors who do that. Also a much larger human element involved in those majors, a.k.a., networking. That will never be replaced by AI and is still how the world operates. Sitting in a lab for years does nothing for building a career outside of being a widget maker/order taker. |
Anonymous
Its an interesting and relevant field of study and at undergrad level more beneficial to develop analytical skills than a business major ever can be. Most business majors aren't there to learn and study but just to grab an easy degree to get a lucrative job. |
Anonymous
| Williams has a business major? |
Anonymous
Bucknell has almost as strong a pipeline to The Street as Williams but is an easier admit. |
Anonymous
They can't do something difficult as applied math and don't want to say they are doing something as vanilla as a business major? |
Anonymous
It's just like any job. You may have to learn a few new things to do your job. CS majors learn to code. But not in every damn language. They learn the thought processes behind it and can easily pick up whatever they need. It doesn't take a "ton of time" to learn a new language. Most jobs are an "on the job learning experience". you use the critical thinking skills you developed in college and apply them as needed. But yes, it is easier to get a job with a Econ BS (vs BA) or a Accounting/Finance degree (versus a general Business Admin or Marketing or advertising degree). Because those are "harder majors" and companies know you are more likely to be able to think outside the box and problem solve |
Anonymous
Slightly "easier" major for someone who doesn't think they can hack the BS? Or someone who wants to take a few less Econ courses and instead have a broader background (like a foreign language requirement or strong minor). Same as BA vs BS in CS---the BA will have less "technical courses" and more Foreign language reqs and more general LA course options |
Anonymous
Any job can be. Unlikely to be the view for most at least from econ majors coming out of Williams. |