<p>Can someone tell me the average pay for a person graduating with a bachelors in economics.. and how much money will they be able to make later on in life. and what are the top 20 schools for an economic major...thank you so much for your help.</p>
<p>It depends on what job you get when you graduate. There will be a big difference between econ majors who end up working in finance vs. those who end up in academia. Usually a good school in general will have a good econ program because econ is a liberal arts degree. You will want to pay particular attention to Chicago, MIT, Stanford, the ivies, and the top LACs.</p>
<p>is it better to go all the way and get a PhD instead?</p>
<p>The average pay for an Econ major is roughly $35,000/year to start and not much more at the peak of their career. Of course, I am assuming a person has an average undergraduate Econ degree with an average GPA, from an average university etc... </p>
<p>An Econ major with a near perfect GPA from a top university like MIT or Chicago or any other respected university will likely start off with a $60,000+ salary and will probably have hit six figure pay rather quickly. Such a candidate will also have a good shot at top MBA/Law/Graduate programs that could also lead to even more highly lucrative futures.</p>
<p>I agree with Redhare's analysis that it is more important to go to a top university when considering Economics as a major, but I would add a few schools to her list of universities, like Cal, Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Michigan, Northwestern and UVa.</p>
<p>*The average pay for an Econ major is roughly $35,000/year to start and not much more at the peak of their career. Of course, I am assuming a person has an average undergraduate Econ degree with an average GPA, from an average university etc... *</p>
<p>link? (tenchar)</p>
<p>what about from a top 10 econ school and graduating at top 5-10% of class?</p>
<p>That would definitely do it. Such a student should have many options upon graduation. Actually, students in the top third (in the case of Cal or Michigan) to top half (in the case of the smaller elite private universities) of their class at top 10 Econ programs pretty much have their pick of options coming out of college.</p>
<p><a href="http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Econ.stm%5B/url%5D">http://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Econ.stm</a></p>
<p>This is the data from UC Berkeley that tells what kind of job each major get after they graduate and the average salary.</p>
<p>According to the data, the reported average salary for econ majors was $50,000 and 75th percential earning around $55,000.</p>
<p>Considering the fact that Berkeley is not in top 20 (according to US Newsweek), expect a higher salary for top 10 schools. I heard many econ majors go into I-banking and make well over $75,000 as starting salary + Bonus, especially if you have graduated from top calibre schools such as Penn, Harvard, MIT, etc.</p>
<p>Overall, Econ is one of the highest paying majors, along with Computer Science, Engineering, Business, and Mathematics.</p>
<p>dhl3, I think he meant top 10 by department.</p>
<p>I meant both, but Cal happens to be top 10 overall and top 10 in Econ, so it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>See, as opposed to the typical i-banking jobs; I would think working as an advisor/consultant at a thinktank econ. firm (i.e. working as an economist) would be really cool.</p>
<p>One grad student in econ. told me that generally students have to get at least a Masters before getting these jobs.</p>
<p>These are the main "think - tank" consulting firms in the US that one could work for.</p>
<pre><code>* Acton Institute
* Alexis de Tocqueville Institution
* American Enterprise Institute
* American Foreign Policy Council
* Analysis Group
* Battelle Memorial Institute
* Bradley Foundation
* Brookings Institution
* Cato Institute
* Center for American Progress
* Center for Economic and Policy Research
* Center for Global Development
* Center for Media and Democracy
* SunKosi Capital Research and Reporting
* Center for Strategic and International Studies
* Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
* Center for the Advancement of Capitalism
* Coalition for a New American Society
* Council on Foreign Relations
* Discovery Institute
* Employment Policies Institute
* Economic Policy Institute
* Economic Opportunity Institute
* Economic Research Institute
* Global Trade Watch
* Heartland Institute
* Heritage Foundation
* Hoover Institution
* Hudson Institute
* Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
* Independent Institute
* Institute for Collaborative Engagement
* Institute for Policy Studies
* Inter-American Economic Council
* ISA (International Strategic Analysis)
* John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy
* Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
* Justice Research Association
* Ludwig von Mises Institute
* Manhattan Institute
* Mackinac Center for Public Policy
* MITRE
* National Bureau of Asian Research
* National Endowment for Democracy
* New America Foundation
* Peterson Institute
* Pioneer Institute
* Policy Matters Ohio
* Progressive Policy Institute
* Project for the New American Century
* RAND Corporation
* Reason Foundation
* Research Triangle Institute
* Ripon Society
* Rockridge Institute
* Roosevelt Institution
* Santa Fe Institute
* Tax Foundation
* Urban Institute
* U.S. Institute of Peace
* W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
* Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
* Xerox PARC
* Milken Institute
</code></pre>
<p>One grad student in econ. told me that generally students have to get at least a Masters before getting these jobs.</p>
<p>Yep, that's quite true. The chances of being employed as an economist straight from undergrad are slim to none. The education at the undergraduate level is hardly rigorous enough, and not deep.</p>
<p>If you really want to pursue economics, make sure to at least minor in math. A double major with math would be even better.</p>
<p>A math major will be much better prepared for econ graduate school than an econ major would be.</p>
<p>are you serious that even after going to a top LAC or university with a good econ program it will be difficult to land a good paying job? Im not trying to argue, just a little surprised....</p>
<p>For example, i go to Williams, Amherst, University of Chicago, Northwestern, or Stanford and i get my Bachelors in economics (graduating top 10-15% of class). How much money do you think i will be able to make right after graduation?</p>
<p>Sheed, grades and the quality of the university will help...a lot. However, other things will come into play. You must take the initiative. Most Econ programs are part of a college of Arts and Sciences. Colleges of A&S do not have aggressive career centers that chase after recruiters, so it is usually up to the students to go to on-campus career fairs, surf corporate websites, go to the university jobtrack (or whatever it is called at that particular university) to see what companies will be interviewing on campus and hand submit their CVs for consideration and approach recruiters in whatever way possible. Business schools do much of that work for the students and students themselves are coached on how to search for a job and are pushed to be active in their search. Econ majors (like most other students in a college of A&S) aren't pushed or coached. </p>
<p>There is also an element of luck. I have known very presentable and articulate undergrads from top universties like Yale who did not manage to land jobs with any company after graduating with a 3.5+ GPA. It wasn't for a lack of trying mind you, they just weren't lucky.</p>
<p>Padres, there are plenty of jobs availlable to Econ majors. Only jobs at research think tanks and government agencies require graduate degrees. I personally graduated with a BS in Economics with a 3.45 GPA (top 30% of my class) and I had offers from two major financial institutions before commencement. Many of my fellow Econ majors were in a similar situation.</p>
<p>For example, i go to Williams, Amherst, University of Chicago, Northwestern, or Stanford and i get my Bachelors in economics (graduating top 10-15% of class). How much money do you think i will be able to make right after graduation?</p>
<p>Expected salary from majoring in econ/finance for the class of 2006 was $44,588, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. So...</p>
<p>You'll make a lot more than the average in the top 10% of a top 10 school however, so I'd say 50-60k base in a good job or if you go IB or Consulting possibly 70K+. Note: IB Analysts are said to make around 130-150k first year out of college.</p>
<p>Thanks for Help peeps.</p>