Is economics a useless major?

[jds2006]

So I'm kinda interested in majoring in economics since I find it interesting but a lot of my friends have been telling me that it's a useless major because so many people major in econ because it's easy. But I remember reading somewhere that people with econ degrees are one of the most employed in the US currently.. so I'm not sure what to believe. I want to major in what interests me, but I also don't want to waste my money and time on an econ degree if it won't help me find a decent job when I graduate. So what are your thoughts on this?

 

[RaistlinZ]

What do you want to do with your degree once you graduate? There are many careers you could, especially with the government with an advanced degree in Econ. I wouldn't major in it unless you plan to get at least a Master's though.

 

[LegendKiller]

You can go into finance with it quite easily.

 

[Savij]

Check on the programs/focus areas offered by your college's econ dept. some of them lead directly into careers with lots of money and others to nothing but grad school. Ask around and see what jobs econ majors at your college are getting at graduation. Talk to your professors and see what advice they can offer.

 

[Goosemaster]

It's marginal utility is relative...

 

[Rogodin2]

You will have to pursue a master's degree to earn a decent income. My economy professor was amazing and elucidated many aspects of your economy (way of life) that weren't/aren't tenable.

Gooduck!

Rogo

 

[Finalnight]

Econ is good for directly entering workforce if you have natural business acumen or a decent amount of business related work experience. Gives a good all around knowledge of how money works, etc. But econ is best when combined with a graduate degree.

If you want to be an analyst or an economist, recommend the PhD (my school doesn't offer standalone masters), that is if you want to be anything but a $50-60k number cruncher.

If you want to get an MBA, BA/BS alone is fine.

If you want to get a JD, BA alone is fine, and I recommend a combined JD/MBA program.

If you want to get an MD, why the hell did you choose econ????

 

[Parasitic]

Get a minor or double major in statistics and shoot for actuary positions?

 

[Saint Nick]

:barf;

I hate economics. I have test in macro tomorrow. I'm going to get dominated.

 

[thegimp03]

It's not useless. Usually you can pick up a variety of different jobs with it, but nothing really directly related to "Economics" unless you have your Ph.D.

 

[GenHoth]

I'm at the University of Chicago (which as an econ major you should know of) It is far from useless. Just be prepared for major competition. Work your ass off during college and after it.

 

[blinky8225]

If you go to a good school, it's probably one of most lucrative majors. At my school, Economics major go right to Wall Street after graduation--no graduate school needed--and make big money in i-banking, etc.

I might add that it's not exactly an easy major here. I don't know if the same applies to other schools. My one friend at NYU tells me Economics is a joke there.

 

[JS80]

I am Econ with Accounting Minor UCLA 2004. Now an accounting manager for an internet co.

Make sure you double or minor in finance or accounting. Econ definitely helps you think at the macro level and makes you more analytical (along with business acumen). Minor something technical so you can be useful in the workforce.

 

[Farang]

Your job prospects are exactly the same as a business or finance major.

 

[potoba]

easy? my roomie works his ass off and still failed his candidacy exam...

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'm a little biased, but I think Econ is actually one of the best majors you can get into. You can spin it into a variety of fields pretty easily and you can do everything from number crunching to philosophy to research. Understanding economics opens many doors, and since its actually still pretty young compared to a lot of fields, you can actually have a big impact on the future understanding (as in you can become someone famous for figuring out something new).

Its the same as anything though, it all comes down to how much you learn and how hard you work to reach whatever you want to achieve. Even if you half-ass it though, you should be as well off as a business major, with a lot of potential room for growth.

What school do you go to that there are a lot of people majoring in it? Here its a small amount, but its one of the more well off programs. Are the people there doing actual economics or are they doing more business oriented stuff? The business school here is possibly the biggest and its considered to be pretty easy but you can still get an ok job because of it.

 

[intogamer]

so econ is a hit or a miss?

 

[WildHorse]

economics will take you on a nice tour through very fancy math, (been there done that)

but you'd have more fun leading groups of young women on bicycle tours through europe.

 

[Nerva]

econ was a pretty simple major, but had its share of tough classes. but it is my understanding that the classes don't really become really hard until the grad level. with that said, i think you gain some pretty good analytical skills to go into finance or consulting. get an mba from there on and you should be pretty set.

 

[Juno]

Originally posted by: JS80
I am Econ with Accounting Minor UCLA 2004. Now an accounting manager for an internet co.

Make sure you double or minor in finance or accounting. Econ definitely helps you think at the macro level and makes you more analytical (along with business acumen). Minor something technical so you can be useful in the workforce.

my bro is an econ major with finance minor at binghamton university. i'm pretty sure he loves number crunching.

 

[illusion88]

Its more useful than a degree in history and a minor is latin

 

[tokie]

Originally posted by: 3cho
econ was a pretty simple major, but had its share of tough classes. but it is my understanding that the classes don't really become really hard until the grad level.

You must have gone to an easy school then, or you be a genius at many things. My school's econ program it pretty damn rigorous, ranging from the number of math courses we have to take to the huge essays to the thesis (in order to grad).

Also, to the person who said an Econ major has the exact same prospects as a business degree, that is only if the student comes out and markets themselves in that way. Personally, I'm sick of people saying that Econ is "just like business", and the people who can't get into business school so they go into econ thinking it's the same anyways (adding a whole bunch of tards to the program).

 

[PepePeru]

i think it depends on where you attain your economics degree.

 

[Daishiki]

My coworker who stopped at a bachelor's from UC Irvine does our time sheets would say so. My other friend from UCI landed a cost analysis gig at Boeing, so he's happy with that. On the other hand, my sister went for her masters in accounting after her econ bachelors from UCLA and she's doing well at Ernst & Young. Supplement econ with a focus like accounting or finance and it will open up some more options.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: blinky8225
If you go to a good school, it's probably one of most lucrative majors. At my school, Economics major go right to Wall Street after graduation--no graduate school needed--and make big money in i-banking, etc.

I might add that it's not exactly an easy major here. I don't know if the same applies to other schools. My one friend at NYU tells me Economics is a joke there.

Just a word of warning, i-banking will burn you out unless you're absolutely sure that it's what you want to do. The hours are insane and you'll spend a lot of time doing pretty much only what the computer models tell you to do.

ZV