Every semester, I walk into a classroom full of students that are taking my economics course because they “have to”. Economics is required in all of our business programs and business is the most popular division in the university. My job is not simply to get these students through my course, but to seek out the best and brightest, and turn them to the “dark side” – to encourage them to switch their majors and study economics instead of accounting. I call it “trolling for souls”. Every semester I manage to turn a couple.
Economics requires a different way of thinking. It follows the scientific method of reasoning where models are devised, built, tested and revised, much the same way as in physics. The discipline is very logical and quantitative and thus requires a fair amount of understanding of math. It is not a subject that has rules that can be memorized. Economics must be understood. All of the great economists I have met continuously see economics at work in the world around them. That is, after all, the primary purpose of this blog.
The point of this blog is to bring to your attention a survey published on CNN Money that discusses the average pay of university graduates by discipline. Not surprisingly, engineers rank at the top. Business students came second, and within the business degrees, economics ranked first. Yes, you read that correctly: economists make more than accountants, business management and finance majors. This is not an abnormal result. PayScale reports similar results.
The opportunity cost of obtaining an economics degree is comparable to an accounting degree yet the return is higher. Anyone who understands the marginal benefit, marginal cost principle knows the implication of that statement. Those that don’t become accountants.
I am a "soul that got trolled". When I took Mr Leonard's intro to macro class I had a math level of grade 9, no highschool diploma, was working for less than minimum wage and just wanted to take one college course to learn a but more about business.
ReplyDeleteI would sit in class with my jaw dropped as these new ideas were turning in my head. I really thought about the models and how they worked in the world around me.
Now I am just 26 years old making $100,000/year at an investment bank. I love my job, I just had dinner with a couple CEOs, I bought a horse, and dates come easily to me.
The key is to align yourself with the right incentives, strive for learning not the high GPA, and know that investing in your own productivity is the best way to spend your resources.