How to Become an Economist

Do you have any comment on LSE General Course?

Thu, 30 May 2013 07:30:43 -0400

Thank for this.

If I understood correctly, the General Course is the 1-year study abroad program at LSE. Your question was quite broad so I’m not quite sure what you’re looking for, but I’ve sought opinions from a couple of acquaintances who did the program during their junior year

Academically, LSE Is excellent. You have access to several professors who are still contributing to their field. The style of learning is very different from that of typical American institutions. You only have one weekly lecture and discussion section per class (four classes for the academic year), which totals to about 8 hours of structured instructions. The rest of the time is yours to go through the reading list, or seek other materials on your own. Your entire grade depends on one exam at the end of the year, which is apparently manageable if you spent your time wisely during the year. Overall, it’s a great environment for people who are self-directed, and not so much for those who are not.

Enrolling in LSE also gives you access to London. The university is located in the heart of the city (while still retaining a campus feel). Every friend I’ve talked to, whether he liked the academic aspect of the program, had an absolute blast in London and spoke fondly of the experience.

I hope this is helpful!

I am about to go to Georgetown for the Fall 2013 M.A. in Applied Economics program. The program is one year and I will need to IMMEDIATELY go to work because I'm financing the bulk of the cost on my own. I want to work as an analyst for the government or in a consultancy. I have a lot of fears about getting my masters and going into such debt. My main concern is that terminal Master's degrees are rare, if I'm not getting my PhD, is a masters a waste of time?

Fri, 03 May 2013 13:25:28 -0400

Dear Anonymous,

I actually have a few contacts who are doing graduate programs at Georgetown. I want to ask for their opinions, rather than give you a general answer. Please give me a week or two until I hear back!

Hi, I am quite interested in pursuing a Phd in Econ in US (I would be an international student). My big delimma is regarding my age. I am 30 as of now and by the time I start I would be atleast 31. I am intersted in pursuing non-academic career post my Phd. Would you have any idea about the acceptance levels in the private sector for a 35+, econ Phd (non american) ?

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 13:41:32 -0400

Hello, I’m definitely not the most qualified person to answer this question. I will simply share the anecdotes, but please take my response with heaps of salt.

1. I have close friends who are enrolled in programs at Northwestern economics, Harvard Business, Georgetown economics, and Stanford economics PhD programs, who’ve mentioned that they each had at least one classmate who was over 30. This illustrates that there are definitely people at your age group who are pursuing graduate degrees at those institutions.

2. I also suspect that you would have to try your luck in the private sector, as opposed to academia, after you finish your degree. I am sure you would have pretty good career options you can choose from, especially if you have been doing interesting things for the past few years. I’m not sure as to whether getting a PhD is the best way to advance your career.

Find and start talking to people who decided to pursue Phds in their 30s, and they’ll have more helpful advice!

I started as an econ RA after graduating in May 2012 and am in roughly the same position as you. My RAship is going reasonably well but it has surprised me how much more attention to detail my job requires compared to undergrad. Has this been your experience? Also, although I will be coauthoring a paper in my current RAship I would like the chance to rewrite and promote my senior thesis. Have you heard of any RA's with only BAs getting sole-authored papers accepted to conferences?

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 13:35:09 -0400

It sounds like your RAship is going well, congratulations!

I will share my experience to answer your questions, and also make some general comments for other people’s benefits.

1. Yes, attention to detail is extremely important. This was not surprising because I know that everything that my supervisor,a prominent and well-regarded scholar, does will be closely scrutinized. Review of the empirical work is especially important because such a mistake would be highly damaging to his reputation.

Although I realize the importance of details, I also think reviewing details can be one of the most tedious portions of this job. I once spent three full days re-checking the details of a single table in the appendix which documented sanitation regulation laws in several states. I was pretty miserable.

2. I think it’s excellent that you are co-authoring a paper with your supervisor. I will not be doing that this year. I work with several other research assistants who work for different professors at this department, and none of them will be co-authoring either. Just a note of warning to all that you shouldn’t necessarily expect to be able to co-author when you sign up for an RAship.

3. Yes, I’ve definitely heard of post-bac RAs getting published in their own right! Good luck on your project, although don’t stop your attempt at getting published on the most prestigious journals, since that will be much more unlikely.

In the Life of a Research Assistant, Part 1

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 16:25:42 -0400

I’ve been working as a research assistant for almost a month. Now that I am well-settled in my new home and feel comfortable with my routine, I think this is a good time to start posting a little about my new job.

As per usual, I would not like to reveal any specific names and places. But I am working for a professor who is very prolific in the field of empirical law, at a top 3 ranked academic institution. I am not sure if this would be the case for all professors, but he constantly has a team of 4-5 dedicated RAs working on his various projects.

One of my favorite things about this job is the flexibility it offers. While I mostly work at the office (shared with other RAs) for personal interactions and regular meetings with my professor, I can work remotely from home at any given 8 hours of the day if my preferences are otherwise. I don’t think people working in most public or private sectors have access to this level of flexibility.

Another thing I love is the access to university resources. Once fall semester rolls around, I plan to audit or enroll in an applied economics course taught by one of my favorite economists. There are also seminars and various networking events that constantly push me to be intellectually engaged.

Lastly, I am very appreciative about the amount of responsibility I was immediately given when I began the job. My professor essentially assigned a portion of a working paper in formation solely to me. I’ve responsible for everything from data collection, literature review, and simple empirical estimations, and my opinions will weighing heavily in deciding whether this project is worthy of pursuing or not.

I will write about certain downsides of this job when I am having a bad day and in need of an outlet :)

Focus on: economics consulting and PhD

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 05:48:10 -0400

This is an excerpt from an informational interview with an economics consultant without a PhD.

_____________

1. Do you need an advanced degree in economics to do complex economics consulting work?

My firm has two primary practices: finance and industrial organization. I work on the finance side. I do not have a PhD, but an MBA. But I would say that just about everyone on the professional staff (those employees above the analyst staff) has an advanced degree; some of them have economics PhDs but others have MBAs or MA/PhD in finance and statistics. If you want to be on the professional staff and don’t have much prior work experience then you would need an advanced degree of some sort.

However, we still hire many students right out of college as analysts that assist in projects and research. We promote excellent senior analysts (after already having been promoted from analyst to senior analyst) to economist positions even if they don’t have an advanced degree.

2. Why did you get an MBA?

I got my MBA part-time while working, in order to get a better understanding of the nuances of accounting and valuing assets

3. Is there a ‘typical’ career path of an economics consultant?

I don’t think so, but there are two frequent paths.

Path 1: You start as an analyst at an economic consulting firm and continue to get promoted. Somewhere along that path you might go back to school (full or part time) for an advanced degree.

Path 2: Stay in academia post college and receive a PhD. Join consulting firm on professional staff.

4. Do you need to publish research?

No. Some people continue to publish research, especially if they hold a position at a nearby university.

Focus on: economics PhD and a government career 2

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 05:39:48 -0400

This is a paraphrased informational interview with an economist who works at a federal government agency; he holds master’s degrees in economics and public policy.

—

1. Why did you choose to do a master’s after you graduated college?

Without a graduate degree, it is hard to do meaningful work at the federal level. Most government agencies don’t hire undergrads right away for significant positions.

2. What is your impression of your graduate training? Was it just for the sake of having a master’s degree or did you learn meaningful skills?

I definitely think my graduate program taught me important skills. As an undergraduate, I learned about intuitions relevant to economics and picked up writing skills. As a graduate students, I learned statistical programs and also attained other concrete quantitative skills.

3. Describe a daily routine of a government economist, if there is such.

There are two tracks for economist positions. The first is for those who do data-heavy works. They prepare data reports and conduct quantitative analyses. The second is for those who conduct somewhat more qualitative studies, those that focus on the big picture; this job entails taking quantitative output and putting that in a more intuitive and less technical form for the laypeople (work in the academia doesn’t really require that). I’d say I’m close to the second type of economist.

3. Do you have plans to go back to school for a PhD degree?

Good government jobs for economics PhDs are few and far between. At least in my department, having a PhD can even hurt you in someway— people still seem to have an impression that PhD people are stuffy, stuck in the ivory tower, unable to connect in the real world, etc. If we need a PhD person for a particular project, we end up contracting that work out rather than hiring a person permanently. Simply put, it is difficult to get the returns to all the investment you put into a doctorate degree. I am sure that in other departments that deal specifically with trade or finance(FTC, etc.), economics PhD is more necessary.

Focus on: economics PhD and a government career 1

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 22:51:00 -0400

The next few posts are based on my informational interviews with advanced economics degree holders, not in the academia. I certainly do not claim these stories are typical, nor common. But I decided to take up these interviews when I realized that I had no idea what alternative career options are open for PhD graduates who cannot or choose not to secure tenure track positions at universities; I thought some of the readers may be in the same shoes.

Below is an excerpt from an informational interview with an acquaintance that works at a government agency which plays an important role in the US trade policy. I will leave the details scant to protect anonymity.

______

1. Do you need a graduate degree in economics to join your agency as an economist?

You need a PhD to be hired. Whether you need one to be able to do the job is a different question. Most policy applications involve IO theory at the undergraduate level. However, there is a big difference between economists with PhDs and RAs that have just bachelor’s or master’s degrees. People in the latter category often do not have the capability to plan a project and analyze a case like the PhDs do. I think completing a PhD makes one a lot better at the basic economic skills, just like having advanced classes under your belt makes it easier to teach a basic undergraduate class. Also a fair amount of empirical work we do is quite advanced and really does require a PhD training. But I think work at other agencies might be quite simple.

2. Are good research and publication required for career advancement?

Whether research is required depends on the agency and the industry. Research may also be helpful if people choose to go into consulting or academics, because it signals that you maintained your skills and worked hard. (consulting firms really like to hire those who have kept active in research.) While research may not lead to direct advancement in ranks, it does make one more respected, which has benefits. There is also a personal fulfillment factor.

Kevin, did you get a tumblr?

Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:53:03 -0400

no this isn’t kevin, for real! :)

grad school admissions: what I could've done differently

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:54:07 -0400

It is rarely constructive to dwell on rejections from graduate schools. For one, admission to top-ranked programs is extremely competitive, to the point that some elements of the decisions are random. I can also never be sure of the counterfactuals; would I have been more successful had I taken this course over another one, gotten a letter from a particular professor than another one? I will never what could have been, and it won’t do me much good to sit alone wondering.

However, I do feel slightly wiser at the end of my undergraduate years than when I were making these decisions. I’m not certain if these decisions would have made a big different in my first admissions results, but I definitely think they would have developed my research interests further and prepared me better for graduate programs.

1. Starting research earlier:

I didn’t look early enough for research opportunities available to undergraduate students. The research work I could have done as a freshman or a sophomore would have been limited to literature review or very basic data cleaning, but it would have opened doors to more substantial research opportunities later on. I would recommend students to approach professors in any field of economics for research opportunities, as early as possible. While it is likely that the initial work you do would seem inconsequential and unpaid, you would gain invaluable exposure to the process of economics research.

2. Finding mentors: I did have quite a few professors who’ve helped me develop who I am and fight for me. I was lucky to stumble into these relationships through the classes I took. However, I still wished that I went out of my way to develop close relationships with professors that I did not have for classes, but do research in fields of my interests. Reaching out to professors— unless they happen to be assholes(not so often, in my opinion)— is quite easy. Send them an email about your fledgling research interests and possible plans to pursue graduate studies in economics, and many of them will be willing to talk with you and possibly help you out in the future.

3. Studying abroad:

I chose to study abroad for my entire junior year at a renowned university in England. I think spending this year away from my home university deprived me of potential research opportunities and develop close relationships with professors who teach upper-level economics courses. I had a lovely time in Oxford and made many friends, British and otherwise. I also traveled all over Europe for the first-time in my life. While I don’t think I would trade these experiences for anything, I wish I had known about the potential downside of studying abroad.

4. Stretching myself too thins during senior fall:

During senior fall, I was too antsy about getting into grad schools, and ended up registering for three graduate courses( including the first-year Phd microeconomics sequence), on top of two other advanced undergraduate economics courses. I was also participating in a varsity sport and involved in various other clubs. I ended up being sleep-deprived, miserable, and stressed out the entire fall semester. I also ended up getting A-s in major-related classes for the first time, which definitely sent a bad signal to graduate schools. If you are considering taking up a few graduate courses to impress the admission committees, know how much extra work you can handle beforehand. PhD students only take three classes and pretty much study around the clock. As an undergraduate, you have more classes, extracurricular commitments, and other beautiful things about life that you should enjoy. Killing yourself in the process of loading up on advanced coursework is definitely not worth ruining part of your senior year, and may result in negative consequences if you stretch yourself too thin like I did.

5. Knowing that undergraduate education is something bigger than preparation for a graduate program.

This advice may only apply to those attending liberal arts colleges in the United States. Liberal arts education in the United States gives you so much opportunities to explore your interests, take fun electives, and learn how to think overall.

I’m so grateful for my academic experience and endeavors in college, but too often, I was too hung up on maintaining excellent grades and taking the right courses for graduate programs in economics. Those two goals, in themselves, are not necessarily bad. At some point during my bind pursuit of a perfect GPA and coursework, I think I lost the joy of studying economics that prompted my interest in grad school in the first place. Now that I’ve moved beyond this mental state, I find reading papers and learning different models to be much more pleasant and fulfilling. Never lose your curiosity and passion for learning— you will need them to get through graduate programs and beyond!

—-

Hope my insights will be helpful to some people. I will start posting about my experiences as a research assistant when I start work in mid-June!

It's been...

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:41:34 -0400

It’s been 3 months and 14 days since my last post. I apologize for the sudden and long gap.

The past few months have been a whirlwind of events. The bottom line: I did not get into my top-choice programs. I got a research fellowship position. I graduated college with top honors.

After enjoying a few weeks of summer, I will be starting full-time work as a research assistant to three professors at a top-3 university that I will not name. I will probably apply to schools again in the coming fall or the next.

I will start to post more consistently from now. In the near future, I would like to share my thoughts on what I think I could’ve done differently to be a better candidate. Once work begins, I will share details on my daily routine, some of which may be similar to that of a grad student or a professor. Thank you for reading. :)

i'm a struggling first year student. and i don't think i am technical enough or have the desire to be technical. i do like writing research papers and running basic regressions, which i have done in the past. is this enough for economics?

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 02:43:00 -0500

The first anonymous submission! I am absolutely delighted.

Assuming you are a first-year undergraduate student, I think it is very impressive that you already have experience in running basic regressions and doing research. However, you still need to take an extensive number of quantitative courses in order to a. demonstrate your quantitative abilities to admission committees b. survive PhD training in general. Here is a previous post on the required coursework.

If you genuinely hate math or anything technical, you may want to reconsider pursuing an economics PhD (read response #12 on the previous post. But given how young you must be, I also recommend that you try out a college math class before giving up this path entirely— you may be pleasantly surprised at your hidden propensity for ‘technical’ subjects :D

If you provide more details about your circumstances or concerns, I will provide a more helpful response.

A Day in the Life of an Econ-Grad Student

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:09:00 -0500

This interview features a dear old friend of your truly, who is now happily slaving away at one of the top ten economics programs in the United States. He graciously agreed to be interviewed for this post anonymously, to share his insights on his life as a grad student. Enjoy!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

1. What is your year and field of research? Do you have long-term aspirations?

I’m currently in my second year, so I’m taking my field courses this year. I’m still feeling out what specifically I want to work on, but it’s looking like I’ll be doing something with either IO, Macro, or the intersection of the two. One thing I can say for sure is that over the past year and a half, I’ve figured out that I want to do applied, and particularly empirical work, rather than focusing on theory. Long term, I’d ideally like to wind up in academia, but industry and consulting are definitely not unappealing.

2. Describe the type of person you were as an undergraduate.

I was an Economics major in undergrad. I took the usual econ and math classes, plus a graduate course in economics as a senior. My courses weren’t really that difficult or time-consuming, so I spent most of my time in undergrad on my extracurricular activities. I didn’t party too much, but that was more of a reflection of my preferences than of spending too much time working.

3. What is your biggest regret about your undergraduate career or application process, if any?

I think I started doing research way too late. The first major research project I did on my own was my senior thesis, so I was learning the basics of how to conduct a research project along the way. If I had to do it over again, I’d try to find as many opportunities as possible to get involved in doing my own research earlier in my college career. I had been involved in doing some research as an RA prior to that, but I would have liked to have been doing more on my own earlier.

4. When and why were you inspired to apply to a PhD program?

At one of my first meetings with my undergrad advisor my freshman year, he noticed that I had done well in my econ courses and was planning on majoring in it. He mentioned that if I was thinking of going to grad school, I should start planning my courses out. I dismissed the idea of grad school (“I want to get a real job!”) at first, but as I thought about it and started seeing some other people’s research, and dabbling a little bit into my own, the idea eventually grew on me. By the middle of my junior year I was certain that grad school was the way to go.

5. What do you think was the most important factor that helped you get accepted to your program?

I had the basics of a high GRE score, and good grades in math and econ classes. That probably helped me get my application read. I think that what put me over the top was the fact that I had taken and done well in a graduate course, and that I had gotten involved in research as an RA between my junior and senior year (both of which got me good letters of recommendation).

6. Briefly describe your daily routine.

Weekdays, I usually get to the office around 8:45. The day is divided between going to class, doing my TA work, and doing whatever assignments I have for my classes. When I can (which is not so much at the moment, now that I’m taking my field courses, but will increase once those are done) I spend some time doing some research, which is in many cases driven by an assignment for a course. I’m usually in the office until about 6. When I’m at home, I’ll usually spend a couple hours working or relaxing, depending on my workload at the time, and get to bed around 12 or 1. Weekends are either spent relaxing or working, depending on what I’ve got on my plate at the time.

7. What has been the toughest part of being a graduate student?

During first year, it was the monotonous cycle of problem sets and exams that never ended, plus the ever-present shadow of prelims at the end of the year. Now that that’s past, the most difficult thing has been to recover from the burnout of of first year to actually get more than the bare minimum done.

8. What is the funnest part of being a graduate student?

The material that I’m learning is extremely interesting, and often times I’m getting it straight from the source. The collegiality among grad students is also great. I’ve probably learned about as much from discussing ideas and material with my colleagues as I have from my classes.

9. Do you have time or energy to have fun? go out? get drunk?

All work and no play makes me a dull boy. Whenever I can, I try to take a night or two every week off, and possibly one day, just to make sure that I’m rested and remain productive. I’m more of a homebody, so I don’t go out or go drinking very often, but I could if I wanted to, and many of my friends do.

10. Do you have time to date? Are there attractive males/females in the program?

Yes. My program is very heavily male-skewed, and many of the girls are already married or in committed relationships, so the econ department is not really a viable source for dates. That said, there are many other departments in the university, and it’s not too difficult to get to know people that way.

11. Were you sure about the path you have chosen at the time of application? Do you have any advice for people who are interested in econ PhD but are not certain about what they want to do?

I was pretty sure. I’d say that if you’re not certain about grad school, you shouldn’t get into it. It’s a big commitment that should not be undertaken lightly. I’d say that it would be a good idea to try to get an RA job for a year or two after graduation to see if research is something that you’d like to do long term, and then go to grad school once you’ve made up your mind. That said, one can always go to grad school and leave with a Master’s after a year or two, so those who want to give it a go shouldn’t be discouraged.

12. What type of people would you discourage from pursuing PhD in econ?

If you don’t like or aren’t good at math, the econ PhD is not for you. The first year is essentially a Master’s in applied math, so people who are not willing to endure this will suffer and likely drop out. That said, if you’re just a frustrated mathematician the econ PhD probably isn’t for you (I know many people would disagree with this statement). You’ll need to have some kind of economic intuition to inspire and direct your research; the math comes in when you consider the tools that are needed to do this research.

13. What is the most extremely nerdy thing that you do?

Pretty much every joke that I tell is incomprehensible (or at least not funny) to somebody who hasn’t had a year of graduate-level economics courses.

An inspiring TEDtalk by Sheryl Sandberg, the mover behind...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 11:57:00 -0500

An inspiring TEDtalk by Sheryl Sandberg, the mover behind Facebook.

Women: stand UP and go after your PhDs!

Present Your Research: Carroll Round Conference

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:38:12 -0500

Carroll Round Conference is an international economics conference that has been hosted by Georgetown University, for the past 10+ years. It is a unique opportunity to present the culminating project of your undergraduate career. Here is a link to their website. This year’s conference takes place during April 19th-22nd, and for those of you reading from the DC area, the conference is open to all audience!

It seems that this year’s keynote speaker is Jonathan Levin(!) at Stanford, and they have had economists like William Easterly, Joseph Stiglitz, Susan Athey, and John F. Nash, Jr. The past schedules also show that the conference included a trip to the Federal Reserve during some years, which is excellent!

For any undergraduate student working on a graduation thesis or an original research project in any other capacity, I would encourage you to apply to be a presenter. Although there is a registration fee in the case of acceptance, they offer lodgings for three nights, most of the meals, and a sponsored party; plus they seem to offer travel subsidies as well. Lastly, your research will be published in the Carroll Round Proceedings.

For your information, Carroll Round brands itself as an ‘international economics’ conference, which is true, but they seem to use a very loose definition of the term. I would not be deterred from submitting an application because your research is not ‘international’ enough.

Research Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:48:00 -0500

If you are a lone ambitious college student that wants to go after that PhD in economics, you may find yourself lost as some of your friends sweat over well-paid summer internships in investment banks and consulting firms, and others go off to organic farms in Europe. Your key word should be— research. You should look out for opportunities either at your alma mater or other institutions that will allow you to participate in real economics research, independently or with faculty.

Many schools formally offtrseer programs that support undergraduates pursue independent research or collaboration with interested faculty. If you are one of the lucky ones at Stanford or MIT, there are programs such as Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (Stanford) or Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (MIT), that provide support and funding for participating undergraduates. Similar programs exist in many other institutions; unfortunately, most programs are only open to undergraduates at the particular institution where each program is offered.

However, several schools also offer paid summer research opportunities for undergraduates that do not attend the institutions where the RA programs are offered. Check out the summer research programs at Purdue, UCLA, or Minnesota. If you keep looking, I am certain there are more schools that offer opportunities for students not affiliated with each institution; most often, however, only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible for such programs.

Willing students can also pursue informal methods to snag a coveted research assistant (RA) position; keep the tips below in mind.

1. Attend faculty presentations to learn about ongoing research.

2. Perform well in your economics classes and build relationships with professors. Whether or not you get an RA position out of it, you will develop your own research interests and receive excellent mentoring through this process

3. Let your professors know that you are interested in working as an RA. Offer to send them your CV, transcript, writing sample, and faculty references should they wish to have access. If they decline, politely back off; opportunities may come around in the not so distant future!

Working as an RA before your PhD

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:26:00 -0500

Suppose you are not accepted to any program of your interest or given zero funding: you should start considering alternative experiences that can help you become a more competitive candidate, in subsequent (after 2+ years) application cycles.

Some people choose to pursue a master’s degree in a related quantitative subject, such as statistics. In fact, if you are a candidate who studied in a non-US institution, you are strongly recommended to apply to PhD programs with a master’s degree under your belt.

If you graduated with honors from a respectable four-year institution in the US, however, you may consider working as an RA for two years, before you give another shot at graduate school applications.

By working as an RA at a top economics department or prominent research organizations, you can attain legitimate research experience and build relationships with academics who will become your advocates when you apply to PhD programs, second time around. It will also be a great opportunity to affirm or reconsider your intention to pursue a PhD, since your daily routine will not be too different from your life as a graduate student or an academic.

If you end up needing or wanting to be an RA for the next year or two, here are a few of the links you should first check out:

1. NBER: Both the NBER and non-NBER research positions are listed.

2. World Bank/IMF: recent college graduates are eligible to apply to the Junior Professional Associates (JPA) program. The common misconception is that World Bank and IMF only consider applicants with advanced degrees, but there are a limited number of positions available for those with only bachelor’ diplomas! Networking and luck play a much bigger part with regard to securing those positions. The same goes for RA positions at the IMF.

3. Top10 Economics Departments: Top-tier economics departments almost always have postings on RA positions that are open for recent graduates, with interests in pursuing econ. PhDs. Take a look at Stanford’s or Harvard’s employment website.

4. Research institutions: look out for job postings constantly! Here are links to lists of opportunities at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab(JPAL) or the Brookings Institution.

Helpful post from URCH.com

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:27:55 -0500

Original link is here.

URCH is a good place to loiter around to attain information about PHD in economics, and commiserate with fellow applicants, but it is extremely cluttered. A user named asquare generously assembled a post about the most informational threads on the forum.

________________________________

1) Here’s my profile. Where should I apply?
Start with this year’s Roll Call thread (Roll Call Fall 2009). Note that the Roll Call thread is for reference. Please post your profile there but save any discussion for separate threads.
Other useful threads include the “Profiles and Results” threads from previous years:
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ts-2008-a.html (Profiles and Results 2008)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ts-2007-a.html (Profiles and Results 2007)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ts-2005-a.html (Profiles and Results 2005)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-programs.html (Profiles and Results Part 2 (Non Top 50 Programs))
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…decisions.html (Post Complete Profile and Admissions Decisions)

2) Who should I ask for a letter of recommendation? Is it important to have LORs from famous professors? Should all of my letters be from economists?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…n-letters.html (Is this true about recommendation letters?)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…conomists.html (Letters of Recommendation from Non-Economists?)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…me-letter.html (Should I ask this professor to write me a letter?)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…mendation.html (Drafting One’s Own Letter of Recommendation)

3) What does a strong (or weak) letter of recommendation sound like?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…pplicants.html (A gift for future applicants)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ally-mean.html (What does a “lukewarm” letter of recom usually mean?)

4) How important is math to the application? Is real analysis necessary? What math classes are useful during first year?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…admission.html (How important is Real Analysis for admission?)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…read-sigh.html (Yet another real analysis thread *sigh*)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…urses-phd.html (MUST MATH courses for phd)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…e-not-get.html (How much actual math in PhD programs - (once you’re there, not to get in))
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-you-need.html (How much linear algebra do you need?)

5) Should I get an MA in economics (or math) before I apply to PhD programs?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…s-top-phd.html (Why exactly is the M.A. in Economics at NYU not a good step towards a top PhD ???)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…applicant.html (fallback options for well-qualified applicant)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-phd-prep.html (MS Math for econ phd prep?)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-not-good.html (Why US Econ MA is not good?)

6) How important are GRE scores? Do I need an 800 on the quant section? Does the verbal score matter?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…d-schools.html (Gre Scores Required By Schools)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…l-300-ger.html (Verbal 300 in GER)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…point-gre.html (What’s the point of the GRE?)

7) What matters most in admissions? letter of recommendation? GPA? GRE scores?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…dmittance.html (Weighing different factors for admittance)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-criteria.html (degree of importance among admission criteria)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-any-idea.html (How are the applications looked/analyzed in the first round by the adcoms? any idea?)

8) Can I transfer from a lower ranked school to a higher ranked school after my first year?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…gh-ranked.html
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-transfer.html (University Transfer)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…g-schools.html (Transferring schools)

9) What are placements like from different tiers of schools?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ace-class.html (Placements and place in class.)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…-econ-phd.html (Tenure for sure after getting the econ phd?)
(there are tons of threads on this subject; search for “placement” and whatever school you are interested in, and you’ll get lots of information)

10) What are attrition rates like? How common is it for students to fail prelims/quals?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ion-rates.html (Attrition Rates)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…eliminars.html (Preliminars)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…ents-drop.html (Competitive culture at grad school? / Why do Econ students drop?)

11) How does funding work? What should I do if I’m not offered funding at my first choice school? How much does grad school cost?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…t-funding.html (FAQs about funding)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…pril-15-a.html (Help with the meaning of April 15)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…t-funding.html (Attending a school Without Funding)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…e-bargain.html (Current phds: how much can we bargain?)
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…g-numbers.html (Can current grad students give cost of living numbers?)

12) How should I choose between the schools that admit me?
http://www.urch.com/forums/phd-econo…e-schools.html (Questions to ask current Graduate Students at Prospective Schools)

So You Want a PhD in Economics? Vouched to be true by current...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 02:39:31 -0500

So You Want a PhD in Economics?

Vouched to be true by current graduate students

Mailing Lists to Sign up for

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:56:00 -0500

Subscribe to the blogs or the mailing lists listed below. For one, reading these regularly will help you stay up-to-date with the literature in fields of your interest. (If you are not sure about your interests, even reading the abstracts will help you think about them in a more constructive way).

In a slightly longer term, reading these papers can help you find schools that are right for you. In terms of application, you can write a credible statement of purpose that lists economists you want to work with in the future and shows that you are actually familiar with their works.

Here is the list that I find useful, I’m sure there are many more. Please feel free to contribute!

1. Sign up for NBER’s mailing list of working papers. (It is possible to filter the notices you receive by your area of interest)

2. Get on the Economist’s Voice and get on their mailing lists.

3. Get RSS feeds from economists’ blogs that often list links to new ideas and papers

; Tyler Cowen’s Marginal Revolution, Greg Mankiw’s blog, Gary Becker and Richard Posner’s blog, Brad DeLong’s Grasping Reality with Invisible Hand