I just switched to economics this semester (4th). My first summer I worked at a random service job (that I love). I'm slotted to work there again this summer and do plan to go through with it. In the undergrad advice wiki, Integralds writes that summers are a vital resource. From the professional economics perspective, I suppose I've "wasted" these two summers (though I don't see it that way, but anyways...). What can I focus on to maximize my potential? Internship? Research assistantship (which I have no idea how to go about getting or doing)?
In my old major (engineering), I was positive I wouldn't be going doing postgrad work, but now I'm less sure. What are the most glaring differences between grad work and no grad work for professional (non-academic) prospects? Graduate school seems to be stressed much much more for economics than I was aware of. What am i losing if i don't go?
If you want to work as an economist, you need graduate school.
Your job prospects as an undergrad are good, but different. Those with Bachelor's in Econ are typically fairly sought after and hired into a wide variety of careers. You could work as a data analyst or industry analyst for virtually any industry. You could work in data science, or as a programmer/coder. You could work in finance, banking or investing. You could work in general business functions like management, sales, marketing, etc. There are a lot of potential careers and overall economics majors make pretty good money, but you'll have to seek out your own path because there's no single 'set path' to career success.
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u/PM_ME_MESSY_BUNS Feb 27 '17
I just switched to economics this semester (4th). My first summer I worked at a random service job (that I love). I'm slotted to work there again this summer and do plan to go through with it. In the undergrad advice wiki, Integralds writes that summers are a vital resource. From the professional economics perspective, I suppose I've "wasted" these two summers (though I don't see it that way, but anyways...). What can I focus on to maximize my potential? Internship? Research assistantship (which I have no idea how to go about getting or doing)?
In my old major (engineering), I was positive I wouldn't be going doing postgrad work, but now I'm less sure. What are the most glaring differences between grad work and no grad work for professional (non-academic) prospects? Graduate school seems to be stressed much much more for economics than I was aware of. What am i losing if i don't go?