Any suggestions on how to get to Grad School?

[DarthQuiet]

Basically, I'm trying to gauge how practical studying Economics would be for me. I have a BS in Biochemistry, but I did very poorly (GPA 2.8). After high school, I had very little direction, so I just half-assed what came easily to me, and I'm now trying to catch up. I am currently attending a technical college for an Associate's in Comp Sci. This seemed like a cheap and practical way of getting a better job. I have also considered graduate programs in Comp Sci and Applied Math, but Economics has really captivated my attention recently. I took three semesters of Calculus in my undergrad, but I'll still have to take more Economics and Math courses.

 

Some of the routes I have considered have been to go for a Master's in Applied Math (which I would also have to take more pre-reqs for) then onto an Econ Phd; to finish another Bachelor's; or to get a job as a research assistant in Math or Econ, and get experience while taking some classes. I have also wondered whether there are any sub-disciplines in Economics where Comp Sci would come in handy. One strength of mine is that I do well on standardized tests. With some practice I think I would do well on the GREs (I got a 1370 on the SATs, with a 740 in Math). Any advice, encouragement, and blunt honesty would be much appreciated.

[argo360]

I think you should look through Yale open courses, especially that macro course taught by Polak, to know if you really like it. If you are able to understand all the models and concepts, then by all means proceed a little further. My econ class dwindled from 200 to just about 40 people in my final year, and most people don't go into econ because it just gets harder for them to understand. 

 

If you just want a job though, honestly, it's better to do a finance degree than Econ. If you truly loves it then go for a degree that grants you with knowledge in applied econometrics, it's analysis and modelling, which are practical skills that makes finding a job easier.

 

I got friend who's doing comp sci and econ, he went into consulting afterwards. So I suppose you can aim for something that lets you use your knowledge in software development or web language (excuse my limited knowledge in comp sci) and make business decisions using econometrics models/market analysis. 

 

Econ PhD is quite unnecessary if you are not into academia and it takes around 7 years to complete. Normally people come back for PhD after a few years working in the field, it's more about your experience/professional credentials than education. i guess the US system is different, go somewhere that lets you do a master's degree with practical and structured program in UK or Canada. Though most master's requires you to have 3 basic courses in macro, micro, and stat to qualify for the application. 

 

Hope this helps!