Starting Over: U Chicago Econ vs. Northwestern CS

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm an adult student, returning to finish my undergraduate degree after years of being a computer programmer (and regretting not having a CS degree). I'm torn: I really like U. Chicago and I'm very excited about the prospect of studying Econ there. I have also just been accepted to Northwestern's McCormick school to major in CS (and am excited about that too). I believe their financial aid packages will be comparable, although I have not yet heard from Northwestern. Whichever I choose, I'm pretty sure I will enjoy it.</p>

<p>Since I have been an engineer for many years, I think it's time to grow beyond that and start moving closer to the business and/or management side of things once I graduate. This doesn't have to be in the software industry; I would like management consulting or perhaps some of the other options that come after an undergrad econ degree at U. Chicago.</p>

<p>If I had my druthers, I would double major in Econ and CS at Chicago, but I only have two years of financial aid and no time to do two majors without taking an absurd courseload. So I can only pick one, and I imagine the situation will be similar at NWU.</p>

<p>CS at Northwestern is the "safe" option. Econ at U. Chicago is risky, because I don't know if I have the right aptitudes to succeed in mgmt consulting or business; I can be "spacy" at times, and anecdotal evidence tells me this can be a liability, more so than in computer programming. But my math is reasonably strong, and I think I have good Econ intuition - I've got quite a few grad students friends in Chicago's Econ department.</p>

<p>I <em>want</em> to think that getting an Econ degree after years of CS experience can be sort of like getting an MBA. But I will probably no longer be in the software industry, at least initially.</p>

<p>After my undergraduate, I might go on to try doing an MBA, or graduate school. Which is a smoother transition: CS undergrad to Econ grad school, or Econ undergrad to CS grad school?</p>

<p>So I guess the core of my question is: to what extent am I "starting over" if I take Econ? Will my CS experience help me at all when I am searching for Econ jobs? What kinds of job prospects can I expect to have after an Econ degree, with the added fact that I have years of experience as a programmer? Will the fact that that I'm about 8 years older than my peers have an effect on my job prospects in Econ?</p>

<p>Sorry it's so long,</p>

<p>-Lost.</p>

2

<p>Chicago's econ is excellent.</p>

<p>However, I personally don't see how computer science will benefit you.</p>

<p>Therefore, I believe it will be a completely fresh start.</p>

<p>You've started computer science, so why not just finish it?</p>

<p>I think CS under to econ grad would be a better choice.</p>

3

<p>If I were you (I have an MBA from a top school) I would get a CS undergrad degree then work maybe a year then apply to top MBA programs. Or if you are very quantitative get a CS degree then a grad degree in financial math at a place like Stanford. Hedge funds and banks eat up people with that background. I wouldn't major in Econ. In terms of school, I don't see a big difference between Northwestern and Chicago.</p>

4

<p>My impression has been that the CS program at Northwestern is much better than at U Chicago. You seem to be suggesting otherwise - this may be because I was looking at "Engineering" programs - and U Chicago is not an engineering program. Should I look at CS as being separate from engineering?</p>

<p>If I were to decide to definitely do CS, is one school significantly better than the other, or are they comparable?</p>

5

<p>It is a misconception to think of Econ as necessarily being business and something like an MBA (I was an econ major). Econ is a science with a lot of theory. It teaches a lot about how economic systems work but it does not teach you how to manage a business or do marketing, finance or accounting. Economics majors can get jobs in consulting and other business oriented jobs but to really go far in economics you need a graduate degree. Also, many of your top economists are on the spacy side and many are really economics/math wizards who could not walk into a business and know how to run it.</p>

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<p>If you want to go CS, Northwestern is the clear choice. In addition to majoring in CS, you can double major in economics (which is top 10) by fulfilling departmental requirements.</p>

7

<p>I would say that unless you are looking to further your already well established computer career, do something in another field to "broaden your horizons"...Economics at UChicago would definately fit this bill. Besides Economics is a degree that strengthens your thinking in ways that will help you become the manager/businessman you strive for (and there are multitudes of career paths for economics majors, it's a good one for business)...OTOH, studying computer science, IMO, would be a little bit of back tracking in your case. To put it another way, all you'd be doing is getting the paper... why not add some skills, perspectives to that equation? Just a thought.</p>

8

<p>The Computer Science program at Chicago is not very strong. Go with Northwestern's but also look into Carnegie Mellon and Stanford.</p>

9

<p>CS Northwestern, then MBA sounds like the most practical option. You could get the MBA at Chicago. I have a friend in the financial field who encountered really bad ageism- switched from physics to finance. But he was about 44, not your age. I doubt that CS experience and an Econ B.S. would be given as much credibility as an MBA. Nonstandard things just don't seem to work in the career world.</p>