<p>"What happens when capitalism finally falls?</p>
<p>I prefer to major in something that will always be around like the sciences and humanities."</p>
<p>Economics will persist as long as humans persist as it has to do with the utilization of finite resources for infinite human wants/needs.</p>
<p>
Not unless you want a job at starbucks. Comments like this exude so much ignorance I find it rather difficult to believe that you’re in college. You’re probably not you should out grow thinking like this by the time you are 13. Besides, let’s remember the whole point of college is not to get a job but to LEARN.</p>
<p>
What are you even saying. That made no sense at all.</p>
<p>
This is true. However, I imagine a college education in economics as of right now is largely revolving around the working of capitalism and would probably lose most of it’s usefulness in another economic structure.</p>
<p>Also what makes you think human wants will always be infinite? Human needs are certainly finite enough.</p>
<p>iamsounsure, i’ll let have another crack at it…</p>
<p>go on take your time…</p>
<p>I read it. It doesn’t make any sense. You’re comparing Karl Marx to Obama? That’s stupid.</p>
<p>like i said, take your time…</p>
<p>“Ambition. Drive. Cream of the Crop. CEO. Senior Manager. Investment Banker. CFO. Partner. Promotion. Hard work. This is what the Econ major think of when he thinks career.”</p>
<p>I totally agree with you!!! Thanks so much for the post. It really assures me that I made a right choice :)</p>
<p>I really like econ a lot. But it seems that econ is a very good major in U.S. but not as good in Canada. I’m accepted to U of Toronto. Many people say that in Canada if your major is econ you may not end up with a good job after you graduate, even though U of T has the best econ program in Canada. Do you have any advice? Is it possible for me to take econ in Canada and go to U.S to find jobs?</p>
<p>Wait, both LA and SD are ranked the same for Econ? I’ve been searching the rankings and almost every freakinnnnn site gives me different numbers. SOMEONE TELL MEEE NOW. also, for political science too. Becausee i can’t seem to find anything accurate >[</p>
<p>Btw, I just want to say that. . . economics changed my life. Sooo, yep. But in all honesty, engineering and anything math and science related is probably a better major. . . IF you’re really good at it.</p>
<p>I thought this is a very good resource, which would be appropriate for this forum: [Undergraduate</a> Economics](<a href=“American Economic Association”>American Economic Association)</p>
<p>“Wait, both LA and SD are ranked the same for Econ? I’ve been searching the rankings and almost every freakinnnnn site gives me different numbers. SOMEONE TELL MEEE NOW.”</p>
<p>They are ranked the same at the Graduate level. This probably because as I mentioned a little earlier in the thread, that SD has a very good Econometrics division. And Econ Grad schools are extremely mathematical, so that probably gave the boost. You won’t find any reliable rankings for undergrad Econ because there are none.</p>
<p>“Many people say that in Canada if your major is econ you may not end up with a good job after you graduate, even though U of T has the best econ program in Canada. Do you have any advice? Is it possible for me to take econ in Canada and go to U.S to find jobs?”</p>
<p>Sorry, I don’t feel qualified to give any type of advice on this because I don’t know anything about Canada and how Canadian Universities are. Although I think it’s reasonable to assume that employers in the US would hold your UofT degree to the same respect as here.</p>
<p>Econ is indeed a fascinating major. Good writeup, but you’re not doing the future econ transfers any favors by trying to further crowd the applicant pool.</p>
<p>Haha. Imagine a world where you are the only Economics degree holder. You would either be considered the world’s smartest man… or the world’s dumbest man.</p>
<p>Some of the nation’s brightest economists failed to predict the foreclosure crisis and economic recession that followed. Paul Solman asks them why no one connected the dots in time to warn the public…</p>
<p>The joke in Econ is that “Economists have successfully predicted 9 of the last 5 recessions.” Haha well I don’t disagree or agree with you on this one, because in Econ there are Microeconomists and Macroeconomists. The two disciplines disagree with each other on a lot of things. My micro professor always cracks jokes about macroeconomists because they are notoriously wrong. That said… I’m a Micro student and I think a lot of Macro theories are flawed and underdeveloped. Except for Keynes, who I believe we should try to clone and have him fix our current economy because he was a baller.</p>
<p>your links arent too convincing. comp sci/engineering are ranked higher than econ in all your links.
sure econ is great… but its not the best.</p>
<p>Yup you’re right about engineering. I don’t think anyone disagrees that Engineering is a practical and respected major. However, Econ comes in at #2 and the purpose of the thread was that a lot of people falsely discredit Econ despite its high rankings. I also think I would have a hard time convincing anyone to go into Engineering if they weren’t inclined to it in the first place. You kinda have to love Engineering to not get eaten alive by the rigorous workload…</p>
<p>*What happens when capitalism finally falls?</p>
<p>I prefer to major in something that will always be around like the sciences and humanities.*</p>
<p>You realize that Economics is a SOCIAL SCIENCE right?</p>
<p>Also, your first statement is correct. I myself have been preparing for the past 3 years for the eventual rise of the Soviet Union. Capitalism really has no place in our future just like widespread literacy and the refrigeration of food.</p>
<p>Also… you are an idiot. Sorry.</p>
<p>In the end I felt I glimpsed a brief snapshot of what the discipline was about, but was nowhere near to ever understanding it in its entirety.</p>
<p>I can’t name you a single Economist alive who understands the entirety and can solve that puzzle. Don’t feel bad about that. Most Economists specialize and just become experts on their own certain models anyways.</p>
<p>This is true. However, I imagine a college education in economics as of right now is largely revolving around the working of capitalism and would probably lose most of it’s usefulness in another economic structure.</p>
<p>How is life in Cuba going?</p>
<p>Also what makes you think human wants will always be infinite? Human needs are certainly finite enough.</p>
<p>I think you have a gross misunderstanding of Economic principles here.</p>
<p>Economics and business are two of THE most boring subjects ever.</p>
<p>In Econ we always use the notation “Good x, Good y”. Fill it in with whatever you find interesting. You wouldn’t believe how interesting class is when I just picture “Firm A” as being a drug cartel… which is not an unreasonable assumption. Once my professor described the diminishing marginal returns curve in terms of how many beers you drink.</p>
<p>“Stringer Bell is actually taking an economics class in the show, in order to figure out how to boost the profits of his drug organization (gets an A- on his paper).”</p>
<p>*[YouNotSneaky!:</a> The Economics of The Wire](<a href=“http://notsneaky.blogspot.com/2007/05/economics-of-wire.html]YouNotSneaky!:”>http://notsneaky.blogspot.com/2007/05/economics-of-wire.html)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>On average how many hit it that big? And if you go to low-tier schools will you have do you still have the same shot at it? Not everyone makes it to the ivy’s, la, or berk. If I went to a CSU graduated in economics as a real hard worker, will I make it? Or will I end up with an average joe job? And also why do professors even bother teaching economics when they can hit it bigger in the business world? </p>
<p>Just wondering. Gimme your thoughts/answers. Lets not argue.</p>
<p>^ my former boss graduated from CSULB in accounting. His title was Chief Administrative Officer. Granted, he had an MBA too (from USC)</p>
<p>And I’ve also thought about the economics professors situation. I’m thinking that most econ professors have side projects that they tend to while teaching simply for enjoyment…</p>
<p>Accounting = business </p>
<p>not economics.</p>
<p>“On average how many hit it that big?”</p>
<p>I don’t know how it would even be possible to come up with that number. What Econ does, however, is that it gives you a great likelihood of hitting it big. This is statistically proven.</p>
<p>When adjusting for size of the pool of graduates, those with undergraduate degrees in Economics are shown to have had a greater likelihood of becoming an S&P 500 CEO than any other major.</p>
<ul>
<li>Bently Uni</li>
<li>SSRN-Economics: A Good Choice of Major for Future CEOs by Patricia M. Flynn, Michael Quinn</li>
</ul>
<p>And if you go to low-tier schools will you have do you still have the same shot at it? Not everyone makes it to the ivy’s, la, or berk. If I went to a CSU graduated in economics as a real hard worker, will I make it? Or will I end up with an average joe job?</p>
<p>I can’t argue with you here on this one, but I make point out something very important. You need to consider what your school is GOOD at also, certain schools have better programs in certain areas, would you not agree? CSUs are generally known to have good business/vocational programs while their liberal arts would probably be weaker than UCs. Remember that the strength of your major is heavily dependent on what your school is good at. If we’re talking about CSUs, then yes something like Accounting would be good. However, this thread is referring to the AVERAGE across all schools. My thread would have to be 30 pages long for me to break it down by school…</p>
<p>And also why do professors even bother teaching economics when they can hit it bigger in the business world?</p>
<p>My econ professor at community college makes 100k a year. Since when is being a professor not a good profession? It is one of the most respected and is considered comparable to being a doctor or a lawyer. Not only that, why would you assume that everyone in Econ wants to make it big in the business world? Maybe some like Econ for Econ? Maybe they like to teach in Academia? hmmm</p>
<p>Just wondering. Gimme your thoughts/answers. Lets not argue.</p>
<p>Yeah sorry about this one. I’m a very competitive person. Type A personality. I apologize.</p>
<p>And I’ve also thought about the economics professors situation. I’m thinking that most econ professors have side projects that they tend to while teaching simply for enjoyment…</p>
<p>Many Econ professors do consulting on the side. Being a big time Econ professor is a sweet gig… I would go for it if getting an Econ PhD wasn’t so insanely hard.</p>
<p>*"Accounting = business</p>
<p>not economics."*</p>
<p>Yup true. However, Econ is the most versatile of the business-like majors. That said, I assure you that at least 50% of my classmates in Econ and Bus Econ at UCLA are going into accounting. My friend is a Bus Econ 3rd year at UCSB and he just got an internship with Ernst and Young. The Big Four regularly recruit from Econ majors here, so it’s definitely not a big stretch. I’ve been offered an referral/interview for PwC here and I don’t even wanna work in Accounting.</p>
<p>hey 2 questions
1.Will it be smart choice to major in accounting and minor in econ?
2.Slaries…you gave us starting salaries.What im interested in is 10-15 year after graduation salaries and the highest position which econ can get(example-CFO,COO,Controller etc.)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Future13,</p>
<ol>
<li>Everyone will give you a different answer on this and there’s no right answer. Any combination of those, however, would not be a bad idea. In my personal opinion I would say it would be better to major in Econ and minor in Accounting. The main thing about accounting is that you need to get your CPA, and to take the CPA exam you need to have a certain amount of accounting units. So as long as you have the required amount of units to sit for the exam, it won’t matter what your major/minor is. I don’t know what school you go to, but at UCLA and UCSB all the Bus Econ majors get an accounting minor and then go on to take the CPA exam.</li>
</ol>
<p>2.
Take a look at this, which was in my original post:
*[Best</a> Undergrad College Degrees By Salary](<a href=“2024 College Rankings by Salary Potential | Payscale”>2024 College Rankings by Salary Potential | Payscale)</p>
<p>This has both the median starting salary AND the median mid-career salary. As you can see, Econ has not only a good starting salary, it actually beats out several Engineering majors (Comp Sci, Industrial, Mechanical) in mid-career salary. Econ has proven potential for growth, most likely due to the way of thinking it teaches you.</p>
<p>And what is the highest position that an Econ can get? Well, CEO is the highest position in a company (besides big time share holders with a lot of leverage), so lets look at that:</p>
<p>Famous CEOs with an Econ Major:</p>
<p>Ted Turner, CEO CNN, Atlanta Braves/Hawks (Brown)
Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft (Harvard)
Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems (Harvard)
Meg Whitman, CEO, Ebay Technologies (Princeton)
William Harrison, Jr., CEO, JP Morgan Chase (UNC-Chapel Hill)
John Sweeny, President, AFL-CIO (Iona College)
Kenneth Lay, CEO of Enron (University of Houston, PhD)
Donald Trump, Real Estate/TV Mogul (University of Pennsylvania- Wharton)
Warren Buffet, Financier (Columbia School of Business, Master’s in Economics)
Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart, (University of Missouri)</p>
<p>All of these people, however, have exceptional abilities (Warren Buffet especially), and of course correlation does not imply causation. But still the signs are clear that Econ can only help and not hurt your chance to climb the corporate ladder. Also consider this:</p>
<p>*“A few years ago BusinessWeek magazine asked the chief executive officers (CEOs) of major companies what they thought was the best undergraduate degree. Their first choice was engineering. Their second choice was economics. Economics scored higher than business administration.”
<p>Why do so many CEOs say that Engineering and Economics are the two best undergraduate degrees? We don’t know for sure their individual reasons, but we do know that they all have mutual respect for it.</p>
<p>To sum this all up, Economics is very well respected in the business world and provides not only opportunities at the entry level, but also through your career. I don’t make this **** up. You can see the facts right in front of you.</p>
<p>I’m going to add more on the topic of Economics Professors since there is a misconception about that also:</p>
<p>The Commission on Professionals in Science Technology (mentioned above, page 8) reports starting salaries for assistant professors by field. At $78,567, economics is well above the average of $65,205 of all fields in 2006-07. The table below reports average salary offers to newly hired economists at each academic rank by type of institution.</p>
<p>Average Academic Salary Offers for Senior Level Economists by Rank and Type of Institution, 2006-07
Rank of Academic Economist<br>
All PhD Granting Institutions</p>
<p>BA & MA Institutions
Senior Assistant Professor $95,995 $80,167
Associate Professor with Tenure $128,600 $82,333
Full Professor $204,800 $97,500</p>
<p>Source: Nathan E. Bell, Nicole M. Di Fabio, and Lisa M. Frehill, Salaries of Scientists, Engineers and Technicians: A Summary of Salary Surveys. The Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST: Washington, DC 2007) selected curricula from page 268.</p>
<p>So… Econ professors make more money than the average for all professors in general. The average full time Economics professor at a University with PhD programs makes $204,800 a year. I don’t know what you guys are smoking, but numbers don’t lie. Unless 200 mother****ing grand a year is not a lot of money to you (maybe for some of you).</p>
<p>Econ pays far above the average salary than most majors at entry level, mid-career level, and even the higher education teaching level. This is a fact.</p>
<p>I’m also going to add more to the mid-career salary for Econ majors misconception because I’m on a ****ing roll here:</p>
<p>Mid-Career Earnings</p>
<p>PayScale, Inc. reported starting salaries and earnings at mid-career about 15 years after the BA for many college majors in 2007-2008. (Sarah E. Needleman, Ivy Leaguers Big Edge: Starting Pay, Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2008) The earnings are for those who hold only a baccalaureate degree. Graduates with the economics major show median starting salaries less than engineers but a higher growth rate to mid-career. Evidently, students who are attracted to the economics major and the skills learned are associated with significant earnings potentials.</p>
<p>Undergraduate Major, Starting Median Salary, Mid-Career Median Salary, Ratio of Starting to Mid-Career Salary:</p>
<p>Accounting: $46,000.00, $77,100.00, 1.68
Business Management: $43,000.00, $72,100.00, 1.68
Economics: $50,100.00, $98,600.00, 1.97
Finance: $47,900.00, $88,300.00, 1.84
Industrial Engineering: $57,700.00, $94,700.00, 1.64
Marketing: $40,800.00, $79,600.00, 1.95
Math: $45,400.00, $92,400.00, 2.04
Mechanical Engineering: $57,900.00, $93,600.00, 1.62</p>
<p>*[url=<a href=“American Economic Association”>American Economic Association]Careers[/url</a>]</p>
<p>As you can see Econ majors have a lower starting pay than Mechanical Engineering, but actually surpasses it by mid-career (15 years after BA). In fact, at mid-career median salary, Economics is the HIGHEST implying that, in general, Econ majors tend to move up quickly in terms of raises and promotions in the corporate world. The only major with a higher ratio of starting to mid-career salary than Econ is Math. And even then, Math is still paid lower from starting salary and mid-career salary. Although I’m not discrediting Math as it is a great major and many people do Math/Econ and go on to become Actuaries, which is technically the fastest growing profession.</p>
<p>Conclusion: Why are you worried about money… when you are in the study of money…</p>
<p>I’m gonna finish off this roll with one more factual post and address an important question. So we now conclude that Econ pays well at all levels, but what about the variety and range of jobs an Econ major can get? And more importantly, do employers look for Econ majors? I point you to:</p>
<p>V. Versatility</p>
<p>Portland State University
*[Portland</a> State Career Center | What Can I do With a Degree in Economics?](<a href=“http://www.pdx.edu/careers/what-can-i-do-degree-economics/]Portland”>What Can I do With a Degree in Economics? | Portland State University)</p>
<p>The following list of employers and job titles was derived from the Career Center’s jobs database where the employer specifically requested economic majors. This list does not reflect all potential places of employment or kinds of jobs for economics majors. This list does not reflect current openings.
*
* Anvil Media, Inc. — Account Coordinator
* Beck Group, The — Consultant/Analyst
* Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) — Industry Economist
* Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Department of the Interior — Economist
* Bureau of Economic Analysis
* Calypte Biomedical Corporation — Business Development Analyst
* Capital One — Analyst, Data Analyst
* Campbell Group, The — Forestry Planning Analysts
* City of Beaverton — Economic Development (CDBG) Project Coordinator
* City of Hillsboro — Development Project Coordinator, Financial Analyst
* City of Portland — Economic Opportunity Program Specialist, Senior Financial Analyst
* City of Redmond — Budget Analyst
* City of Salem — Labor Relations Administrator, Treasury Officer
* Columbia Sportswear — Buyer 1
* Columbia Grain International — Management Trainee
* Cornerstone Revolutions, Inc. — Professional Services Associate/Technical Support Analyst
* Cowlitz County — Chief Business-Industrial Appraiser
* Contra Costa County — Junior Appraiser
* Database Marketing Agency, Inc.(DMA) — Market Research Analyst
* Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture — Economist
* Economic Insight - Economic Analysis, Litigation Support and Energy Experts
* Enterprise Rent-A-Car — Sales/Management Trainee
* EPIS, Inc. — Energy Data Analyst, Energy Modeling Support Analyst
* Farr Financial — Trade Desk Account Executive
* Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — Financial Institution Specialists through the Corporate Employee Program, a three-year career internship program where participants learn about all aspects of the FDIC’s financial institution regulatory program.
* Federal Reserve Board — Economist, Research Assistant
* Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco: Employment Opportunities
* Fisher Investments — Investments Associate, Account Executive, Financial Services Representative
* GE Interlogix — Sales Analyst
* Genesis Financial Solutions — Reporting Analyst, Risk Analyst
* GTS Services, LLC — Finance Manager
* Heestand Company, The —Benefits Specialist
* Hobson Ferrarini Associates — Real Estate Development Analyst
* Hollywood Entertainment — Director of Cash Management; Director of Merchandising, Games; Senior Games Buyer, Manager of Customer Analytics, Procurement Data Analayst
* Household International — Senior Credit Risk Analyst
* HSBC Card Services — Senior Financial/Business Analyst
* ICW Group — Surety Underwriter Trainee
* Intel — Finance Analyst; Operations Finance
* Internal Revenue Service — Economist, Internal Revenue Officer, Operations Research Analysts
* Kaiser Permanente — Senior Analyst, Technical Support Analyst
* Kumar & Associates — Senior Analyst, Senior Manager
* Lynx Capital Partners, LLC — Equities Trader
* McCullough Research — Energy Associate
* McKinsey & Company — Organization Survey Analyst
* Mercy Corps International — Agriculture Project Officer, Small Business Loan Officer
* Microsoft Corporation — Test Apprentice Program
* Moss Adams LLP — Financial Analyst
* Metro/MERC — Assistant, Associate and/or Senior Transportation Modeler, Assistant Regional Planner
* Microsoft — Test Apprentice Program (9-month, paid, full-time employment and training for non CS/CE majors desiring to become software developers)
* Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort — Vault/Audit Staff
* NACCO Materials Handling Group — Sr. Financial Analyst
* National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) — Credit Union Examiner
* Nike — Capital Planning Analyst, Logistics Analyst
* Oregon Department of Environmental Quality — Fiscal Analyst 2 - Budget Analyst
* Oregon Department of Revenue
* Oregon Department of Transportation, Financial Services, Financial and Economic Analysis Unit — State Transportation Economist/Chief Analyst
* Oregon Department of Transportation, Transportation Development Division — Planner 3 (Transportation Economist)
* Oregon Economic and Community Development Department
* Oregon Employment Department — Employment Economist 1, Employment Economist 2
* Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) — Accounting Technician
* Oregon Legislative Administration Committee — Economist
* Oregon Lottery — Research Analyst 1
* Oregon Office of Economic Analysis
* Oregon Public Utility Commission, Economic Research and Financial Analysis Division — Utility Analyst (Utility Economist)
* Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division — State Auditor 1
* Paccess — Regional Market Manager, Latin America
* PacifiCorp — Energy Market Trader, Risk Management Analyst, Lead Energy Market Analyst, Trader — Energy Transaction, Risk Analyst, Regulatory Consultant, Energy Portfolio Analyst, Business System Analyst
* Pension Consulting Alliance, Inc. — Financial Analyst
* Port of Portland — Senior Research Analyst, Financial Analyst III
* Portland Development Commission (PDC) — Economic Development Director, Senior Project/Program Coordinator, Senior Budget Analyst, Principal Debt Analyst, Team Division Manager, Principal Budget Analyst
* Portland General Electric (PGE) — Business Analyst, Power Analyst
* PPM Energy, Inc. — Structuring Analyst
* Precision Castparts Corp — Senior Buyer, Purchasing Analyst
* Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) — Internal Auditor 3
* Regence Group, The — Healthcare Informatics Analyst
* R.V. Kuhns & Associates — Associate Consultant
* Seattle City Light — Strategic Advisor for Integrated Resource Planning
* Seattle-Northwest Securities — Public Finance Associate
* St. Paul Travelers Companies, The — Underwriter Insurance Associate
* State of Oregon — Fiscal Analyst 2 - Budget Analyst, Operations & Policy Analyst 3, Procurement & contract Specialist 3, Internal Auditor 1, Government Auditor 2
* TransCanada — Business Analyst
* Travelers Insurance — Underwriting Trainee
* Tri-Met — Executive Director, Government Affairs, Maintenance Analyst
* Umatilla County — Director of Economic Development
* US Department of Agriculture — Auditor (requires 15 credit hours of accounting)
* US District Court - Oregon — Finance Support Specialist
* US Postal Service — Marketing Specialist
* Waddell & Reed — Financial Planner/Advisor
* Washington Mutual Bank — Credit Examiner
* Worksystems, Inc. — Director of Community Investments
* World Cancer Research Fund International — Management Development Program
*</p>
<p>Keep in mind that this is just from Portland State’s career center database. At larger schools, one can only assume more employers… I personally don’t pay attention to those over-idealistic career/major websites that list what jobs you can do with certain degrees. This list is a much more accurate representation of the REAL WORLD which gives specific companies, specific job titles, and more importantly was derived from the Career Center’s jobs database where the employer specifically requested economic majors</p>
<p>Econ being a flexible major is a proven fact backed by employers. I cannot say the same for many other majors.</p>
<p>What if your math/econ ^ ^ ?? even better =D im assuming…</p>