<p>How good are the non-engineering STEM/more technical majors of VTech? Especially in comparison to UVA/UMich/UChicago/Columbia?</p>
<p>To be specific, Im talking about Statistics, Economics, and Chemistry (not chemical engineering, just general/organic chemistry).</p>
<p>The U of Chicago is certainly well known for Economics but keep in mind that if you want to pursue a career in Economics you are likely going to need to have a PhD. Economics at VT, UVA and Michigan are probably fairly similar. Your Stats classes and Chemistry should be similar at all of the universities. I’d take a look at undergrad placement for each of these majors to see where they take you, i.e., specific graduate schools or employers. </p>
<p>The bigger question IMO is whether you want to do the Econ/Stats path or Chemistry.</p>
<p>Need a Phd in economics to get a career? That’s flat out wrong. Economics is one of the few majors getting jobs out of undergrad. Economics is commonly employed in analyst positions at large corporations and government organizations as well as consulting firms. </p>
<p>For an approximate ranking of program strength…</p>
<p>Economics</p>
<p>UChicago > Columbia > UMich > UVA > VT</p>
<p>Statistics</p>
<p>UChicago > UMich > Columbia > VT > UVA</p>
<p>Chemistry</p>
<p>Columbia > Chicago >UMich > UVA > VT</p>
<p>110percentwahoo “Need a Phd in economics to get a career? That’s flat out wrong. Economics is one of the few majors getting jobs out of undergrad. Economics is commonly employed in analyst positions at large corporations and government organizations as well as consulting firms.”</p>
<p>Those analyst positions tend to be entry level jobs that could be performed by any business major IMO. If you want higher level positions doing economic research or in-depth policy then you need at least a masters if not a PHD (at least I’ve never seen anyone without those degrees in those positions and the PHDs have said it was required).</p>
<p>I’m not sure why you say that Economics majors are one of the few getting jobs out of undergrad. Are you comparing Econ majors with other liberal arts majors? For business majors I’d guess that Accounting and BIS are recruited more heavily.</p>
<p>I am comparing Economics to other undergraduate majors. Engineering, Business, CS, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics are the degrees that tend to be winning in the job market right now.</p>
<p>Furthermore, depending on the slant you take on Economics (whether or consider any field that requires public policy decision making as “Economics”, etc.) there are jobs available out of undergrad if you attend a strong enough undergrad (aka Ivies, UChicago, MIT, the like, not UVA or Tech).</p>