I’m curious what your perspective is on the value of economics as a major for those who don’t wish to pursue a PhD? In particular I’m curious about the following excerpt on choosing a major from https://80000hours.org/articles/college-advice/
“Putting all this together, and holding all else equal:
We think it’s reasonable to aim for the most fundamental, quantitative option you can do, i.e. one of these in the following order: mathematics, economics, computer science, physics, engineering, political science/chemistry/biology (the last three are roughly equal).”
Personally I would’ve considered computer science, physics and engineering to be more quantitive than economics. Also in my experience these are considered harder majors as well, thus sending a stronger signal to employers.
(Disclaimer: I am studying economics myself, so perhaps I’m looking for some reassurance :))
Studying economics opens up different doors than studying computer science. I think econ is pretty cool; our world is incredibly complicated, but economic forces shape our lives. Economic forces inform global power conflict, the different aims and outcomes of similar sounding social movements in different countries, and often the complex incentive structures behind our world’s most pressing problems. So studying economics can really help you understand why the world is the way it is, and potentially give you insights into effective solutions. It’s often a good background for entering policy careers, which can be really broadly impactful, though you may benefit from additional credentials, like a master’s. It also opens up some earning to give opportunities that let you stay neutral and dynamically direct your annual donations to whatever cause you find most pressing or opportunities you see as most promising. So I think you can do cool research at a think tank and/or standard E2G stuff in finance with just a bachelors in economics.
Hi, and thanks for doing this!
I’m curious what your perspective is on the value of economics as a major for those who don’t wish to pursue a PhD? In particular I’m curious about the following excerpt on choosing a major from https://80000hours.org/articles/college-advice/
“Putting all this together, and holding all else equal:
We think it’s reasonable to aim for the most fundamental, quantitative option you can do, i.e. one of these in the following order: mathematics, economics, computer science, physics, engineering, political science/chemistry/biology (the last three are roughly equal).”
Personally I would’ve considered computer science, physics and engineering to be more quantitive than economics. Also in my experience these are considered harder majors as well, thus sending a stronger signal to employers.
(Disclaimer: I am studying economics myself, so perhaps I’m looking for some reassurance :))
Studying economics opens up different doors than studying computer science. I think econ is pretty cool; our world is incredibly complicated, but economic forces shape our lives. Economic forces inform global power conflict, the different aims and outcomes of similar sounding social movements in different countries, and often the complex incentive structures behind our world’s most pressing problems. So studying economics can really help you understand why the world is the way it is, and potentially give you insights into effective solutions. It’s often a good background for entering policy careers, which can be really broadly impactful, though you may benefit from additional credentials, like a master’s. It also opens up some earning to give opportunities that let you stay neutral and dynamically direct your annual donations to whatever cause you find most pressing or opportunities you see as most promising. So I think you can do cool research at a think tank and/or standard E2G stuff in finance with just a bachelors in economics.