<p>Okay, so at some point I decided that I could change the world through economics. Poverty, political strife, even what look on the surface as ethnic or religious tensions, it seems, often have economic problems at their foundations. I thought that by studying development economics or sustainable development, I could then effectively address such problems and their solutions. I was thrilled when I was accepted to Chicago because it seemed the perfect place, with the intellectual wealth of its economics department, to concentrate on this. But I have the impression that the majority of undergraduate econ students are geared towards business and finance, looking toward careers in banking or consulting. Also, I heard that Chicago is not as oriented towards development economics as MIT for example. I am interested in two things. First of all, are most economics majors at Chicago planning on going into business later? Also, given my interests, would economics be a suitable subject, or would sociology, for example, be more appropriate? Thanks all.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Many economics majors at Chicago are looking to go into business. Many are looking to go to grad school. The number of students looking toward grad school is probably larger at Chicago than at many other econ departments at other schools.</p></li>
<li><p>It's natural for people studying economics to want to go into business/finance after graduation. It's a very normal, clear transition from major to career, which is something many students are looking for. It's not inherently good or bad. </p></li>
<li><p>The University of Chicago has a conservative economics program. The teaching will be largely tilted toward conservative economics. You will not be studying Marxian economics, which is what you would see at Notre Dame and UC Riverside and a few other schools. This conservative teaching means that there is an emphasis on the good of business in a relatively free, capitalist economy. Business is encouraged in conservative economics, and it is not looked at as "bad"--which is a common liberal view among many college students.</p></li>
<li><p>There is no need for you to think about this right now. You may decide that you hate economics. Or you may find that you absolutely love linguistics or Law, Letters, Society, or chemistry. You've probably never taken a real economics course or a real sociology course. You can't really judge what you'll like. College study of a subject is much different than high school study of the same topic. Take the core, take econ 198 in the fall, and then re-evaluate around Spring Break and again before you register for second year classes.</p></li>
<li><p>You can have an impact on the world in almost any area. You can never really change the world (Jesus, Pythagorus, Darwin, popes, and presidents/dictators of influencial areas excluded), but you can impact your own world. You can have a large impact on a particular area of work or study by developing some new technique or theory. You can work in small ways to better your community. You can raise a family.</p></li>
<li><p>It's useless to think about this. You applied, you got in, and you accepted. You're going to spend the next nine months at Chicago, so instead of questioning whether you should have gone to a different school, think about what you're going to do to address your concerns while at Chicago. I suspect that it will turn out fine. If not, you can always look to transfer.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Upon searching for econ majors through the alumni network, I saw about as many people in business as I did grad students and professors in economics. There are some students who may be looking for econ to have practical applications, but there are many who are interested in the discipline itself.</p>
<p>The core curriculum also helps to dissipate some of the econ-ness you might feel if you're spending too much time on facebook or CC. I have friends who started out in econ and are now in religious studies, and I have friends who wanted to be history or biology majors and are now in econ. Most Chicagoans have some idea of what they want to major in, and even though they might broadcast it on their facebook profile, it's bound to change a few times before it's final.</p>
<p>Coming strictly from a personal standpoint, economics as far as most people define it is much broader and all-encompassing than most people see it. Its not only career defining but it allows for a greater personal understanding of the world. You asked if perhaps Sociology could be a supplemental replacement or alternative but the reality is that Economics, in the aggregate, incorporates all of those sciences. Economics is both an art and a science and its true repurcussions are as intricatley interwoven into society and life as the multiplicity of misunderstandings there are about the preverbial Econ major.</p>
<p>As a general matter, economics departments tend to appear politically conservative in the overal spectrum of political opinion. With the exception of true Marxian economists -- and there have never been so many of those around -- even politically "liberal" economists (e.g., Sachs, Thurow) are much more conservative than many of the people who run around cherrypicking their ideas. And almost all of the "liberal" economists -- I keep using quotes because "liberal" in economics terms has a fairly precise meaning which has nothing to do with the political label I'm referring to here -- have a thorough command of conventional, neoclassical economics, and received their educations in "conservative" economics departments. Indeed, if that were not the case, if they did not know how to marshall and to use the tools of conventional economics in making their arguments, they would be much, much less effective, and much, much less respected.</p>
<p>Economics is a great way to study how the world works. It is not a perfect discipline, and it does not anticipate and describe everything accurately. But it is a powerful analytic tool, and always an important moral policy consideration: Much more often than not, making people better off economically, if you really do that, is what people would choose if there were an effective way to implement direct democratic decisionmaking on any particular issue. </p>
<p>Studying "development economics" without understanding economics-economics would be kind of useless. If you are interested in development, take advantage of the opportunities you have to get a really solid grounding in the basic tools of economic analysis. You will then have plenty of opportunities -- as an undergraduate, in graduate school, or out in the world -- to focus your use of those tools on the problems that engage you the most.</p>
<p>Economics is one of the most applicable majors and is a solid degree going into grad school or a career, which is where you'll do most of your specialization. </p>
<p>Undergrad major is hardly a limiting factor in terms of what you want to do later. Colin Powell majored in geology. </p>
<p>If you're interested in developmental economics, combating poverty, etc., an econ degree from Chicago would make you very attractive to an organization like the UNDP or other developmental NGO's. Although most of the economists at Chicago are going to argue that you'd actually be of much better benefit to society by simply getting a high-paying job :)</p>