<p>I have been posting here throughout the summer. Some of you know me, some of you don't. For those that don't, here is a little bit of background information:</p>
<p>I am one semester (or, as we call it, trimester) away from graduating from a highly ranked liberal arts school with a degree in History and a 3.3 g.p.a. I have all the drive in the world, but in the last few years, I have lacked direction. Recently, however, I have decided that I want to go into the business world, and ever since, I have been seeking the best route.</p>
<p>So, in getting back to the point, I met with the chair of my school's economic and business department today to discuss what would be the best route for me (btw, a sincere thank you to all of you here that have helped me in gathering the necessary information to devise a plan). He explained to me that my best bet would be to get a MASTERS DEGREE IN ECONOMICS.</p>
<p>I have taken micro, macro, statistics and calculus...and recieved A's in all four courses...so I meet the minimum requirements for most masters programs. From looking into some of the top programs (as rated by US News), it also appears that the minimum gpa and gre requirements are not all that high. It all sounds good. Though I have a somewhat sketchy undergraduate background, three semesters from now, I could be recieving a masters degree in economics from a prestigious Ivy league school (and...if I am able to do well, a HIGH GPA!!!). That would make me pretty attractive to many firms, right?</p>
<p>But is this too good to be true, I wonder? It seems almost as though it is TOO SIMPLE, and TOO PERFECT a solution. I just wanted to see what some of you intelligent individuals thought about this.</p>
<p>What type of work experience do you have?
As you know, degrees don’t guarantee employment. There are many MBAs from Harvard, Wharton, Columba (you get the picture) who have significant pre MBA work experience and looking for work now.</p>
<p>I personally think you don’t have sufficient preparation for a Master’s in Economics. Of course you can make up the courses if you get in, but you have to get in.</p>
<p>
I think you need an upper division class in both micro and macro, along with more math (at least up to real analysis), at the least. Even though it’s only a Master’s program, the coursework is still heavily math based.</p>
<p>What IVY league schools offer a Masters in Economics? I haven’t looked recently but my memory tells me that most only offer PhDs</p>
<p>if you’re graduating from a truly stellar undergraduate program, a “highly ranked liberal arts school”, as a senior, with a half-decent GPA, you should be able to get a job in “business” just recruited or something.</p>
<p>join a top accounting firm and do auditing or tax. join a media firm and do marketing. there are tons in lots of cities. join a pharma company and do sales - one of the girls on my study group in business school came from pharma sales and there are many like her. start your own company. maybe you’ll want an internship first.</p>
<p>there are lots of paths. but there is no need to get an additional “certification” if you’re coming from a good undergrad program (by good i mean like top 20, or maybe a top 10 liberal arts school). you should get the attention of good employers just with that on your resume and a strong personal story for why you want to work there.</p>