Beginning to worry that I won't be able to get a job

Career Opportunities & Internships
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<p>So I'm into my 1st semester of my Junior year of college at SUNY Buffalo, majoring in Economics and I already have a minor in Spanish. Yesterday I attended the tech fair to see what a lot of employers were looking for, and it seemed that pretty much all employers are looking for engineers and scientists. The only prospect that I had was Bloomberg LP, who said they were looking for economics majors (among many others) who had programming experience with Javascript and C++. Google searches also show that a lot of people with my major are having quite a bit of difficulty finding jobs.</p>

<p>So my question is this. Should I be worried? I am already looking into internships for next semesters and/or this summer. My GPA hovers around 3.5. Any suggestions on what types of internships to go for?</p>

<p>I also have zero programming experience, however I am thinking about going for a minor in computer science, even if it requires me to graduate a semester late. This is mainly because a lot of the firms that were at the tech fair were looking for at least a minimum of 2 courses worth of programming experience. Do you think getting a minor in CS would be worth my time? I would have to take 6 courses, and CS is always something that has interested me. I feel this would look good on a resume.</p>

<p>I also have spent a year abroad in Spain so I am close to fluent in Spanish, although I doubt that really matters in today's market.</p>

<p>Thanks for your insight on this, please give me any suggestions/heads ups/knowledge on the subject.</p>

<p>Regards,
Alex</p>

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<p>Let me help you out:</p>

<p>I have similar qualifications to you and I’m barely applying to any jobs related to an Economics degree.</p>

<p>What can you do with a bachelors in economics? Go to graduate school and get a MA or higher and then you can do a lot more. Unless you go to a very highly ranked school then you can get hired as an consultant or similar positions(I think).</p>

<p>If someone can refute the last paragraph please do so.</p>

<p>There was a forum on this site in which students in a T-25 school got a lot of good offers…but my school isn’t a T-25.</p>

<p>I go to an average ranked school.</p>

<p>I have:</p>

<p>Around a 3.4 GPA, Member of the Economics Honor Society(Omicron Delta Epsilon)
1 internship in IT
1 internship in strategic planning
5 months on study abroad(In an English speaking language)
4 months in web design working for my university
4 to 5 years working in the construction industry.</p>

<p>I majored in Economics for all the wrong reasons(I wanted to go to Law School). I liked dealing with computers much more than I like Economics so I am adjusting my skill set as follows:</p>

<p>I am going to study and take the CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) and then work up from entry level IT.</p>

<p>Why? </p>

<p>Because I much rather work in an industry in which I like than one which I don’t find interesting.</p>

<p>I graduate in December and so far have had 5 interviews. Although I have applied to easily 200-300 positions. </p>

<p>Your odds are not very high with just a Bachelor’s in Economics(Which I assume is a BA) because it is really more of a set up degree to go into law school or go into a masters program. But some students on here got jobs right out of college with just a BA in Economics… probably because of networking and/or going to a T-50 or T-25.</p>

<p>If you want to learn computer science then learn computer science. I started soft programming when I was twelve although I never got very involved with it.</p>

<p>I don’t think the employer will care so much about a minor in computer science- Usually they just want you to be efficient in a certain language such as Java, Flash, Python, C, or similar. I think it is best that you just get very good at one of these languages(Although once again, this may get refuted).</p>

<p>I did notice that some insurance companies did look into Economics majors.</p>

<p>Also, you went to a tech fair. At a tech fair they want to hire Engineers, Computer Science, IT, and such because it is a Tech Fair. At a liberal arts and business fair they would want other majors. Although most seem to want Accounting and Finance over Economics(Which one again, can be rebutted).</p>

<p>I will send you a pm with my email address. You can see my resume then compare to your own and you can see your chances.</p>

<p>FYI, It is good that you are thinking about this right now.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the response. I think the minor in comp. sci would come into handy, for example if i wanted to get a M.S. in computer science or something of the sort, it would set me up with the pre-reqs to do so. </p>

<p>I talked a lot with a Bloomberg rep at the tech fair (since I actually met his criteria), and this is the job we were discussing: [About</a> Bloomberg: - 2011 Financial Software Developer - 26603 - United States - New York - NY](<a href=“http://careers.bloomberg.com/hire/jobs/job26603.html]About”>2011 Financial Software Developer | New York, NY | Bloomberg Careers)</p>

<p>-Strong technical skills and/or a strong interest in programming
-Problem solving skills
-Strong interpersonal and communication skills
-Self-motivated and detail-oriented with a desire to design and develop financial software applications
-Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts/Master of Science, PhD or equivalent experience in one of the following disciplines:
*Computer Science
*Accounting
*Economics
*Engineering (Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical, etc.)
*Finance
*Mathematics
*Physics
*Statistics
-Minor in Computer Science OR work experience in a related field, with two programming classes</p>

<p>The minor in comp sci would make me eligible for that job, and there are other, non-programming specific jobs that they offer where econ majors are in their target zone. This being said though, I’m sure that they would definitely go for the engineering, science, and accounting majors before they would go for the economics majors (even though they told me that the company tries to diversify their employee’s fields of study).</p>

<p>However I agree with you. I kind of chose economics as a major because it was my only choice. I basically messed around freshman year with no aim, so I took a bunch of BS liberal arts classes, and then only took Spanish classes in Spain. Fall 2010 came around and I realized I had to choose a major quick, and Economics was what I chose because I can’t really choose anything else (that would be more marketable career-wise, such as English or political science), and still graduate on time. I figured it was better to major in Economics than English for the job market. So far I find the major to be semi-interesting, however It’s definitely way too easy for my taste. I would prefer something that’s actually challenging.</p>

<p>Overall I kind of just feel like I majorly screwed up and that I wasted a whole bunch of time the past 2 years. If I could go back I would have majored in mechanical engineering, physics, or computer science. I guess I’ll just have to graduate, get that minor in comp. sci, see if I can get a job, and go from there. </p>

<p>And yeah, I figure that at least I’m thinking about this now as opposed to next year.</p>

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<p>Just a question…what sort of jobs were you expecting to find at a TECH fair? Am I not understanding what sort of job fair this was? Finding a job is hard, don’t get me wrong, but you might not be looking in the right place or have a good picture of your prospects at the moment.</p>