Hi Vasco, thanks for reading. And thanks for your dedication to animals :) I’ve seen a few of your posts on this topic.
If you think you’ll be interested in economics PhD programs, I would encourage you to aim to apply for the next cycle (Dec ’24/Jan ’25). There’s a lot of randomness in the process, and your grades will matter more than RA-experience, so I’d say go for it as soon as you can, given how long these programs are. If you don’t get in anywhere, you can be applying for RA-ships in the meantime, and take one if that’s your best option before trying again the following cycle. You should be able to determine within the next 10 months whether you’re interested in the material enough to set off on the PhD, and I wouldn’t waste any time applying if you decide you are.
However, I might recommend engaging with economics research directly, rather than Marginal Revolution courses. That will be a better flavor of what you’ll do in a PhD. Even if don’t understand everything in cutting edge research articles, you’ll be able to get a sense for how problems are discussed and debated, which will be a clue as to whether or not its a field you’re excited by. (Maybe start here, or here)
Hi Vasco, thanks for reading. And thanks for your dedication to animals :) I’ve seen a few of your posts on this topic.
If you think you’ll be interested in economics PhD programs, I would encourage you to aim to apply for the next cycle (Dec ’24/Jan ’25). There’s a lot of randomness in the process, and your grades will matter more than RA-experience, so I’d say go for it as soon as you can, given how long these programs are. If you don’t get in anywhere, you can be applying for RA-ships in the meantime, and take one if that’s your best option before trying again the following cycle. You should be able to determine within the next 10 months whether you’re interested in the material enough to set off on the PhD, and I wouldn’t waste any time applying if you decide you are.
However, I might recommend engaging with economics research directly, rather than Marginal Revolution courses. That will be a better flavor of what you’ll do in a PhD. Even if don’t understand everything in cutting edge research articles, you’ll be able to get a sense for how problems are discussed and debated, which will be a clue as to whether or not its a field you’re excited by. (Maybe start here, or here)
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice, Kevin!