School of Economics
There are a lot of economic schools out there. Just about every university has classes or a degree in economics. When you look at the number of graduates, it is astounding. There are thousands of graduates for every position available. If you want to work in the field of economics, you will face keen competition and must follow some basic rules to get anywhere.
Graduate Degrees
You will need a graduate degree – preferable a Phd. The school you choose should be an ivy league university. The London School of Economics, Harvard, Yale, University of Chicago, and MIT would be good choices. If you can not get into one of these universities, or something of the same equivalency, you should think seriously about finding another major. The reason is that you will probably not be working in the field anyway.
Consider applicants to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. There are over 7,000 applicants for every 200 positions. The average person hired has 20 years of experience and an advanced degree from an ivy league university.
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics is the best choice for someone wanting to be a serious economist. The research coming out of the London School of Economics is the best in the world. Many students have become heads of state and Nobel Laureates. The school is extremely hard to get into. There are approximately 15 people declined for every person accepted. If you can't get into the London School of Economics, you may consider Harvard, Yale, University of Cambridge, and Oxford.
Another great thing about the London School of Economics is that it has a wide global base of students. The best students come from all over the world. For an economist, understanding globally how things work is extremely important. The London School of Economics is one of the best chances a person can get to come across such a wide and diverse group of intelligent students.
People that graduate from The London School of Economics report higher salaries than other universities in the UK. The lionshare of the students will work in banking and consulting.
Statistics and Economics
Economics is based on many statistics. For example, unemployment, interest rates, and the consumer price index are all statistics. A good economist will be able to put these factors into a computer model that explains the world.
As a side, legendary investor Warren Buffet said, “ Computer models in the hands of analysts is the scariest thing in the world.” In other words, computer models have historically been way wrong.
In spite of this, corporations and governments will want to see a computer model of the data. A good economist will be able to use the computer data, but also do their own simple mathematical calculations.
A student that gets a masters degree or an undergraduate degree in statistics will be much more highly valued than someone without a great statistical background. The reason is that half of understanding economics is to understand the statistics.
Computer Science and Economics
When you want to plug the statistical data into the computer model, it will be a good idea to know computer science. Many of the best economists actually started out as programmers and later found out they love economics. It rarely works the other way around.
Suppose you want to change a computer model. Maybe you want to monitor dynamic data and have it constantly fed into your computer model. How are you going to do this kind of work without knowing any programming? The competition for jobs, in the field, is especially keen. How are can you get that great job, when a lot of the guys already know how to program? Maybe you know the bosses daughter?
Economic Schools
Economic schools have different personalities. For example, some schools will get really angry at someone that is pro capitalist. Other schools will only like people that are pro labor. If you try and tell a pro labor professor about how great capitalism works for everyone, there is about a 99% chance you will fail the class. You should do research on each school you are thinking about attending. Are the school views integrated with yours?
Final Tips
Economics schools are numerous and jobs in the field are scarce. Most students do not plan to work in the field. Instead, most students want to go on to law school, get an M.B.A. or want to get a masters degree in computer science.
All students should have an internship, in their field, by their junior year of college. Students without work experience will be at a great disadvantage and will probably not get employed.
Many students have problems finding internships that are related to their course of study. When they can't find something, they often continue school in hopes that somehow it will all work out in the end. The inability to find meaningful internships is a red flag to students. If students can't get in the door at this stage, they will most likely not be able to get into the right places when they graduate. Students that can't get good work experience should probably change their major to something more marketable or drop out of school.
There are ways to get the experience. Instead of focusing on money, focus on the important work you will be doing. A motivated person would network with as many people as possible and show potential employers what they have to offer. Publishing papers in prestigious journals is always a good way to get your name out there and gain some credibility.
The elite students, at the school, will often already be working at top firms. It is a good idea to stay networked with students to find out who is hiring and what it is the best students are doing.
Finally, if you do the wrong things it only gets harder. Suppose you have been out of school for five years and not done anything meaningful. If you ever have a change at the dream job, the employer will red flag you as a loser. Why? If you have been out of school this long and not done anything important, then what is wrong with you?
Employers rarely understand what economics is. If you love business, major in accounting and do a minor in economics. Many economics majors want to do their own business and so they want to learn the science of business. However, in the real world you might want a real job and some real tangible business experience instead of writing up statistical computer models you don't understand. Accounting is the language of business and will provide you with more opportunities and knowledge for those interested in business economics.
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