[aznndave]

So I'm getting BA in Economics next year but I feel like I didn't learn anything at all.. and Economics isn't really a specialized field, at least in BA level. I'm seriously worried about getting a job in the future. I want either change major to accounting or finish this then go on another major in another school or something.. What are my options here? My cumulative GPA is under 3.0, but I still have one year to go, and I will do everything in my power to push it over... what should I do?!! Are any of you in the same boat?

[aznndave]

no one wants to help??
I GUESS I AM HOPELESS!!!! AHHH

[cavil.]

I'm an Economics major, but I'm double majoring with a Political Science.

Economics has a broad influence on many fields, but it ultimately depends on the internships you get and the motivation you have. My friend recently got a top knotch internship with a good company as an analyst being an economics major. He was really good in the interview process. His resume wasn't too shabby as well.

But in all due seriousness, how come you haven't figured out yourself? That's pretty much irresponsible on your part. You should get going on that. Start finding things you want to do. If you want to go to accounting, then stay extra two years to finish off the credits then go for your CPA and etc. I'm going to law school so I just picked two useless majors that interested me.

[mahcivicslow]

You could work for the federal reserve IF you could get in.... Most of whom I know became financial analysts. Alot of companies consider an Economics degree equivalent to a Finance degree so keep that in mind. Hope you took at least some finance related courses in Econ.

[D_K]

So I'm getting BA in Economics next year but I feel like I didn't learn anything at all.. and Economics isn't really a specialized field, at least in BA level. I'm seriously worried about getting a job in the future. I want either change major to accounting or finish this then go on another major in another school or something.. What are my options here? My cumulative GPA is under 3.0, but I still have one year to go, and I will do everything in my power to push it over... what should I do?!! Are any of you in the same boat?

With your GPA, pretty much nothing remotely related to economics. Professions that use economic theories/methodologies are pretty much limited to banking (research), public sector (research), consulting (research). So my advice would be to seriously put your effort into making the most out of your current internship (you are working currently right?), and do your best to look for a job (any job) starting from the first week of September.

[D_K]

You could work for the federal reserve IF you could get in.... Most of whom I know became financial analysts. Alot of companies consider an Economics degree equivalent to a Finance degree so keep that in mind. Hope you took at least some finance related courses in Econ.

The Federal REserve? The U.S. Central Bank? With a Bachelor's degree?

[mahcivicslow]

The Federal REserve? The U.S. Central Bank? With a Bachelor's degree?

Maybe after graduate school?

[spicyspaghetti6]

demand for economists is down for the next decade last time i checked bls.gov. most econ majors can't even consider themselves economists anyhow imo. if you want to get a nice job with an econ degree you better know your econometrics/statistics.

econ is way too broad and way too conceptual/theory/assumptions. you need to specialize and go into a more practical branch like stats, accounting, or business admin etc. if you suck at econometrics then you really have slim chances of finding a good job unless you're coming from a good school or you can handle the interview well.

---
response to an earlier post: people with undergraduate degrees don't work at the fed... PHDs work at the fed... and if you work at the fed you have a very strong command of statistical methods/forecasting... (an undergraduate degree simply does not provide this).

[delightful123]

i have a question~

i thought economics was a really good, versatile major, especially for prospective businessmen/women.... if even economics is a "useless major"... what's a good, useful major??? haha~

[gemrism]

Awwww i was thinking of an econ major.
I love economics!!!!
What can you do with a major in econometrics?

[spicyspaghetti6]

i have a question~

i thought economics was a really good, versatile major, especially for prospective businessmen/women.... if even economics is a "useless major"... what's a good, useful major??? haha~

econ is good in that it does make you a smarter person. it is very analytical and there is an emphasis on thinking rather than memorizing (unlike some majors. biology comes to mind ). consequently, i think it is good for prospective business people. however, it is completely lacking when it comes to practicality. i would supplement a finance, accounting, or business administration type major with economics rather than major in econ alone. business and accounting will give you skills. economics will make you smarter. couple the two and you get a really strong degree imo. ucla has a bus/econ joint major and i think it's an awesome degree to have. people are getting good jobs with this degree.


gemrism:

most econ majors will not be doing anything econ related once they've graduated. the ones that will be doing econ type stuff will mainly be the stats/econometric buffs that are good with numbers (or the ones that graduate from good schools). most econ majors don't fall under this category. most econ majors branch off into

-real estate
-take some extension classes and go for the CPA (if you can get the CPA you will be balling....)
-go into some kind of finance/business rotation program at a big company like Boeing, Intuit (rotation program usually exposes you to several depts. during a 1-2 year span. at the end of the rotation they put you in a certain department. pay is good).
-manage a franchise (isn't as great as it sounds. earn a fixed 30-40k a year starting for most graduates; little opportunity for growth)
-go into some kind of sales position (doesn't appeal to many graduates)
-go to law school

etc.

oops! i thought you asked what one can do with an econ major. i just read and found out you were talking specifically about econometrics.

well first of all i have never seen an econometrics specific major. econometrics is basically statistics with emphasis on regression, correlation, forecasting blah blah blah. if you are good at it you will not have any problems finding a job. you will typically be hired to make models, forecast, and analyze data. a lot of gov related jobs and medium/big companies are in need of people who are good with statistics. if you do a cursory search you will find many jobs that are looking for statistics savvy people, there doesn't seem to be a surplus amount of stats people out there which may be good for you