Glut of Econ majors

[Anonymous]

I thought econ is a good major, I know someone got a job as an Analyst at Goldman Sachs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Business undergrad is a networking and professional training program. Not a lot of deep thinking about why things are the way they are.

Economics encompasses sociology, psychology, math, history, etc. It is a well-rounded liberal arts degree.

This^ is why kids want to learn analytical skills not spend college years learning trade tricks. They can do it on job or in MBA.

[Anonymous]

When kids pick their majors, they are 17-18 years old, not the right time to lock themselves in a trade.

[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.

Williams doesn’t have a business major. Surprised you don’t know this as a parent of a Williams student.

They never said it does have a business major. They are talking in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these hoity-toity econ majors. The reality is that econ is the easy degree for mediocre/students without any passions to find jobs. That's it. It could've been stats or cs, but those require the scary word-MATH-so, instead, people major in Econ. Any liberal arts college grad has the social skills to get through a finance position. These are all students smart enough to get through the wacky college admissions process and land on top; that's hard to do without persuasive qualities.

Tell me more about these mediocre students getting into Williams

Sure. They have no passions or real drive beyond the push from their parents. Some of them are recruited and got a massive boost to get into the college. They never actually had to think for themselves, so they need to make the cushy decision of a medium-difficulty major, so they don't need to work much at anything. It's a sellout major for a reason. It's lazy.

So the kids who spend enough time playing their sport to get recruited to a NESAC and managed to get near perfect grades? Sounds like a lazy kid to me

[Anonymous]

Recently graduated econ major from Brown and unemployed, still looking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these hoity-toity econ majors. The reality is that econ is the easy degree for mediocre/students without any passions to find jobs. That's it. It could've been stats or cs, but those require the scary word-MATH-so, instead, people major in Econ. Any liberal arts college grad has the social skills to get through a finance position. These are all students smart enough to get through the wacky college admissions process and land on top; that's hard to do without persuasive qualities.

Tell me more about these mediocre students getting into Williams

Sure. They have no passions or real drive beyond the push from their parents. Some of them are recruited and got a massive boost to get into the college. They never actually had to think for themselves, so they need to make the cushy decision of a medium-difficulty major, so they don't need to work much at anything. It's a sellout major for a reason. It's lazy.

So the kids who spend enough time playing their sport to get recruited to a NESAC and managed to get near perfect grades? Sounds like a lazy kid to me

You definitely don't need near perfect grades to get recruited. That's what the official blurb states to make athletes feel good about themselves and cover schools' asses, but it is just not true. Reminds me of an athlete on campus, who made the same argument and touted his high scores. Turns out, his high school is one of those snobby schools with 0 grades and only "evaluations."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All these hoity-toity econ majors. The reality is that econ is the easy degree for mediocre/students without any passions to find jobs. That's it. It could've been stats or cs, but those require the scary word-MATH-so, instead, people major in Econ. Any liberal arts college grad has the social skills to get through a finance position. These are all students smart enough to get through the wacky college admissions process and land on top; that's hard to do without persuasive qualities.

60% of econ programs require calculus. 80% of the econ programs at top schools do. Usually also probability and statistics. It's not an easy degree for mediocre students, especially at places like Williams, idiot.

[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.

What is the purpose of college? There are many. Some think it is to get a job. Real purpose of college is to train and grow the mind. Job is less important. From Williams you could be almost any major and with solid grades be fine in almost any field.

Williams parent here. If you paid $90k a year for Williams you for damn sure think a job is VERY VERY important after graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these hoity-toity econ majors. The reality is that econ is the easy degree for mediocre/students without any passions to find jobs. That's it. It could've been stats or cs, but those require the scary word-MATH-so, instead, people major in Econ. Any liberal arts college grad has the social skills to get through a finance position. These are all students smart enough to get through the wacky college admissions process and land on top; that's hard to do without persuasive qualities.

Tell me more about these mediocre students getting into Williams

Sure. They have no passions or real drive beyond the push from their parents. Some of them are recruited and got a massive boost to get into the college. They never actually had to think for themselves, so they need to make the cushy decision of a medium-difficulty major, so they don't need to work much at anything. It's a sellout major for a reason. It's lazy.

So the kids who spend enough time playing their sport to get recruited to a NESAC and managed to get near perfect grades? Sounds like a lazy kid to me

You definitely don't need near perfect grades to get recruited. That's what the official blurb states to make athletes feel good about themselves and cover schools' asses, but it is just not true. Reminds me of an athlete on campus, who made the same argument and touted his high scores. Turns out, his high school is one of those snobby schools with 0 grades and only "evaluations."

I have yet to meet a single kid going to Williams or Williams grad who remotely fits that description

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I have yet to meet a single kid going to Williams or Williams grad who remotely fits that description

Why would this at all matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these hoity-toity econ majors. The reality is that econ is the easy degree for mediocre/students without any passions to find jobs. That's it. It could've been stats or cs, but those require the scary word-MATH-so, instead, people major in Econ. Any liberal arts college grad has the social skills to get through a finance position. These are all students smart enough to get through the wacky college admissions process and land on top; that's hard to do without persuasive qualities.

Tell me more about these mediocre students getting into Williams

Sure. They have no passions or real drive beyond the push from their parents. Some of them are recruited and got a massive boost to get into the college. They never actually had to think for themselves, so they need to make the cushy decision of a medium-difficulty major, so they don't need to work much at anything. It's a sellout major for a reason. It's lazy.

So the kids who spend enough time playing their sport to get recruited to a NESAC and managed to get near perfect grades? Sounds like a lazy kid to me

You definitely don't need near perfect grades to get recruited. That's what the official blurb states to make athletes feel good about themselves and cover schools' asses, but it is just not true. Reminds me of an athlete on campus, who made the same argument and touted his high scores. Turns out, his high school is one of those snobby schools with 0 grades and only "evaluations."

I have yet to meet a single kid going to Williams or Williams grad who remotely fits that description

I dont think I KNOW a single Williams student or grad. Maybe just because I live in podunk Fairfax.

[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.

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.

Actually, as a former econ major and MBA, I think you're being too generous to econ majors and too dismissive of undergrad business majors. Many econ majors are also just looking for that lucrative job. A lot depends on the matriculating institution.

In general, in college, I found a surprising number of people who didn't really need or want to be at college for traditional deep-thinking, love of major academic reasons. Maybe business majors are just a little more open about it.

[Anonymous]

Getting As in economics at Williams shows you’re good at math and can think quantitatively and logically. It probably means your quantitative iq is at least 130. It also probably means you can code. Those are all marketable skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All these hoity-toity econ majors. The reality is that econ is the easy degree for mediocre/students without any passions to find jobs. That's it. It could've been stats or cs, but those require the scary word-MATH-so, instead, people major in Econ. Any liberal arts college grad has the social skills to get through a finance position. These are all students smart enough to get through the wacky college admissions process and land on top; that's hard to do without persuasive qualities.

60% of econ programs require calculus. 80% of the econ programs at top schools do. Usually also probability and statistics. It's not an easy degree for mediocre students, especially at places like Williams, idiot.

Oh how scary, CALCULUS! And 1 stats class...You know who does a similar amount of math? Psych majors, Political Science majors...This is not at all impressive and just shows how little quantitative skills you need for an econ major. The serious ones all have to major in Math, because you don't learn any skills.