econ grad school?

I would like to pursue a graduate program in econ but had a few questions. My stats probably aren’t good enough to get into a top 10 program. I know that in law schools, anything below a top 20 school makes it almost impossible to find a job. Anyway, I was wondering if the same thing applies to econ grad schools. I’m looking at programs like UCD or UCI. What kind of GPA is the average? Does the government hire from schools with lesser prestige? What can I expect to do if I actually go to such a school (and earn?)

Thanks for responding, anyone!

There definitely are jobs for PhDs in econ from outside of the top 10. Davis is considered much better than Irvine. You would be abe to get information on employment from the various departments. The PhD placements often are online but you could ask the DGS for info on employment of masters students. Yes, both state and federal governments hire MA and PhD economists and coming from outside of the top 10 will probably help you there. Econ departments care about the quantitative GRE score and about how many math courses you have taken.

Thanks for the reply! I’m terribly average in math. I might have a 3.0 math GPA which I think automatically puts me in the reject pile. Anyway, i guess I might have to look into something else.