Yes, an Econ major is useful. I was an Econ major, DH was an Econ major. Every Econ major that I know is employed. Actually, that’s not really fair because everyone that I know from college is employed regardless of what their major was.
As for if the Econ major was at a non elite school, it depends on what your cutoff is. My DH Econ degree is from a USNWR top 50-75 range, so I would call that non elite
@Marian an economics degree from an elite school doesn’t guarantee you a job either - it’s a combination of the individual person, the opportunities available at the time, the student’s record, what type of opportunity is being sought, a whole host of factors. This forum is great at assuring that any scion of an elite college is set for life, but those kids often have to work just as hard as the kid graduating from USNWR #70. The other thing often lost on this forum is that at elite schools, half the class is, well, in the lower half of the class. Those kids will have to work harder to get jobs, because the phi beta kappas from state u will certainly be more attractive to grad schools where GPA matters more, but even employers might rather have the 3.9 GPA kid from the #50 school, than the 3.2 kid from elite U.
However, as stated in prior posts, economics provides a sound background for many careers and grad school opportunities, which I think is what the OP was interested in hearing about.
Another thing I wanted to know is I plan on going to an “elite” grad school/law school one day and was wondering will being at a community college put me at a disadvantage or can it be made up by having a strong gpa, test scores, resume, etc?
For law school, GPA and LSAT score are highly important for admissions. See http://lawschoolnumbers.com .
For PhD programs, it is likely that your recommendations, undergraduate research, and in-major courses and grades have the biggest effect. For economics, expected preparation for PhD study involves lots of advanced math, as well as choosing the higher math versions of economics courses if such are available.
What about for masters programs?
For an MBA, your undergraduate GPA is of some significance. I don’t know whether the name of your college matters, and your undergraduate major is not important. People come into MBA programs from all types of backgrounds.
For admission to an MBA program, what came after college is also very important. The current expectation is that people will work for several years after receiving their undergraduate degrees before they enter an MBA program. The applications for MBA programs are full of essays that require you to draw on experiences you’ve had on the job, and you’re expected to have recommendations from people who have known you in a work context, as well as (or instead of) recommendations from college professors.
There’s also a standardized test for admission to MBA programs, called the GMAT. Your score on that matters, too.
Not an MBA program, but just a masters in economics. Isn’t an MBA only required if you plan on going for a higher corporate position?
Your grades, math preparation, and GRE will be important for masters programs in econ as well. However, many of the top research universities do not have terminal masters programs so you don’t need to focus on elite schools as much. Wisconsin is an example of a university that has a fairly new masters program but it is intended to be a money maker for the department serving students who feel they would need more preparation for a good PhD program. Not sure if they really focus on preparing students for non-academic employment or if regular faculty are involved with teaching. Many schools without PhD programs in econ have decent masters programs. You would not need as much math for many masters programs- real analysis, for example, would be more important for a PhD program.
OP we have been advising you based on your desire to work in various prestigious fields that you mentioned, not go on to graduate work in Economics. While a BA/BS in Econ is great training for many types of jobs and careers, a Masters in Economics is not going to raise your stock for career advancement or assist you any more in the workforce unless you want to be a professor/researcher.
just asking if I want to get an advanced degree one day that’s all.
I know this thread hasn’t been active in the last few weeks, but from what I’ve read it sounds like a Phd in Economics is the only one worth getting besides a master’s degree?
Economics majors from top 10 schools get hired as analysts by Wall Street banks. Economics majors from 2nd tier or public schools get to ask “you want fries with that?” If the school you plan on transferring to has a business degree for undergrads, you’re better off majoring in finance or accounting.
Economics majors from 2nd tier or public schools get to ask “you want fries with that?”<
This is just not true in the current economy. There are many mundane entry-level jobs currently available at the banks, insurance companies, etc.
History majors from top 10 schools get hired as analysts by Wall Street banks too.
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Sure you can go be a bank teller, so can any high school kid. You don’t need an economics degree for that. Per Payscale.com the median pay for a bank teller is $10/hr, or below $20k/yr, barely above minimum wage.
https://exploredata.utsystem.edu/seekUT/
Data for UT Austin economics grads.
Median 1st Year Earning
$46,004
Median 5th Year Earning
$66,342
Median 10th Year Earning
$87,568
"Economics majors from top 10 schools get hired as analysts by Wall Street banks. Economics majors from 2nd tier or public schools get to ask “you want fries with that?” "
Why do you just make up stuff like that? Are you new to the US perhaps?
Economis is probably the most versatile major there is.
Also the reason why I want to go into economics is because I want to go into corporate law. Isn’t a degree like economics or any business related major good for that?
For law school admission, probably the most important things are undergraduate GPA and LSAT score. Next would be good writing skills, which you’ll be able to hone in classes that require lots of writing.
So I can study any major in college still possibly go into corporate law.