Ph.D. in math vs. stat. vs. econ

[StatlyDude]

If you have a strong UG background in math, you can go into Ph.D. programs in math, stat, or economics, among others.

Aside from your passion about one of those areas, what is the most sought-after degree by employers? I suspect that econ ph.d.'s would do best in the job market, what's the reality?

[lhfields]

My two-cent:

- When you say "employers", which sector and industry are you looking at?

- I think it actually doesn't matter. Even to industry people, your research topic and expertise matter the most. I've seen successful cases in both econ and stats PhD programs. For example, take a look at a econ or stat PhD who want to get a private sector job in finance. You can specialize in financial econometrics under econ PhD. Likewise, you can specialize in something like jump processes, control theory, queueing, and the like under stats PhD. So, it all depends on your research topic.

LHF