<p>I'm a third year undergrad student that decided on Economics & Math during this year. I did this because I felt that going to grad school for Economics would lead me to a career where I can look at issues holistically and become a problem solver. I am really interested in economic analysis. My ideal career would allow me to work in different parts of the world with organizations that are trying to build self-sustaining communities or trying to accomplish a similar goal. </p>
<p>I keep hearing that a degree in Economics might not give me the best job prospects and that my ideal career would fit well with an engineering degree which would allow me to apply skills directly and hands-on. I like the idea of doing hands-on projects but I've never considered engineering before and don't feel like I would love it or fit in as well as some people in the programs at school.</p>
<p>I don't know who to talk to about this because I feel like both engineering majors and economics majors would prefer their own course of study and not be objective. </p>
<p>Does anyone have advice on what I should do or whom I should speak with? I'd appreciate any kind of help-- I'm desperate!</p>
<p>A couple questions:</p>
<p>Are you at a top-ish school? Your Econ job prospects honestly depend a lot more on that.
Are you going for MS or PhD?</p>
<p>For Engineering, do you have a remote idea of the field you would enter?
Also, why would you not fit in?</p>
<p>The only Econ majors I know (who graduated from UNC) are doing very well for themselves. We graduated in 07 together and she just bought a $600k pad in San Fran and is working her way up the ladder quick. Personally I think it is a great degree, but to each their own. </p>
<p>Not really, I decided to stick in my home state for in state tuition and we don’t have very many options so I’m going to Portland State. In Oregon, Portland is the largest city with the largest internship opportunities as well, which seems very important. </p>
<p>I was planning on an MS because PhD seems geared toward research more than I’d like. I understand that Economics will require a lot of research but at some point, I’d like to do applied analysis in a microeconomic level that impacts people directly. </p>
<p>For Engineering, there’s an Environmental Engineering degree offered at PSU that seems very interesting. A college nearby offers Renewable Energy Engineering and that seems interesting as well, but I’ve heard from REE grads that it’s hard to convince employers of its usefulness because it’s a new, unestablished field. I was thinking Environmental Engineering with maybe an Econ minor.</p>
<p>The reason I say I might not fit in is because during my physics classes, I’ve never been the kind of student that just ‘gets’ things as some do. It seems like it would be incredibly intimidating to be in the same program as them. I guess the biggest obstacle might be my own outlook now that I think about what I just wrote.</p>
<p>As I read your posts, I see some reluctance to change majors. If you want to do applied research in economics, then keep studying econ. You can augment your econ studies with a minor in sustainability, which you say is your interest and appears to have classes, i.e. resource econ, in common with your econ major, or environmental engineering.</p>
<p>Yeah, honestly, if you really love Econ I would keep doing it. We can all say in the beginning that one major is going to lead to so much more, but drive and passion are catalysts that can’t be measured.</p>
<p>@avawho49 </p>
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<p>That’s the majority of people in the first course of physics for engineers. Physics is a difficult class, largely so because its so much difficult from other classes. You have to be analytic. Derive a general formula into something and see how the pieces work together.</p>
<p>Since your doing applied economics, you should be using the same skills so it might not be that much of a jump </p>
<p>I have a B.S in Economics and now I am doing a 2nd B.S in Industrial Engineering. </p>
<p>Econ classes were a lot easier, they were more “fun” and I was able to finish with an average GPA while working 40 hours a week.</p>
<p>Engineering is way more challenging but I think both are great degrees.</p>
<p>Econ taught me more about looking at everything in terms of cost/benefit and that is extremely helpful but if you want to become a problem solver, I would say, change to Engineering. </p>
<p>“Econ taught me more about looking at everything in terms of cost/benefit and that is extremely helpful but if you want to become a problem solver, I would say, change to Engineering.”</p>
<p>It really depends on the type of problem you want to solve.</p>
<p>Combine the two. I did some IE courses in decision analysis and it was beyond fun. If you combine the engineering parts with the economics parts you get some interesting synergies. At Purdue we had a program for IE + Finance: <a href=“https://engineering.purdue.edu/IE/Academics/Undergrad/Financial%20Engineering”>https://engineering.purdue.edu/IE/Academics/Undergrad/Financial%20Engineering</a></p>
<p>Perhaps you could do something similar?</p>
<p>I agree that if I love something I should keep doing it but I haven’t gotten very far into economics yet because I spent the first two years fulfilling my gen ed requirements. Thus, I’m not sure how I’ll feel when I get deeper into an economics degree. </p>
<p>I spent some time thinking about my lack of confidence in physics… and I realized something. Literally, the students who’ve done the best are music, english, philosophy, and environmental studies minors that have come back to school more determined than ever. I think my mindset is the bigger issue and that’s what I need to change.</p>
<p>I’m left thinking that I should get an Engineering BS and a minor or major in Economics, and then go to grad school for an MA in Economics. I can actually do something with an engineering bachelors, whereas I’d need a Masters to start a career as an Economist. Plus, I think both perspectives and problem-solving methods should go hand-in-hand. Engineers need economic analysis and Economists need to know how the implementation of their analysis works. </p>
<p>Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Don’t be surprised if you need to spend an extra year or so to get the engineering degree. Make sure you map out the courses needed. My guess is that you will have to make up sophomore-level (and perhaps freshman-level too) prerequisites before moving into junior year classes.</p>
<p>Also, you mentioned your career goal of developing self-sustaining communities. I would seek out people who have experience in that endeavor. Talk with faculty members and organizations. Gather all the info you can. Who know (and I am just tossing this out there), you might find out they need natural resource economist. I mean seriously, a kid who grew up on a farm in New Jersey (it’s called the Garden State for a reason and I know some of those guys) knows more about sustainability than a bright-eyed environmental engineering graduate.</p>
<p>DH and I are Mech Eng, with one kid Elec/Comp eng and one kid Econ. I see advantages to both choices, but in your case you do have some good momentum down the Econ path. Is there an adviser on campus that can help lay out the pros/cons ? </p>