Question:
I am a senior undergraduate student at Illinois Tech majoring in Economics and Policy. I cannot decide whether I would like to go to Law school and branch into corporate law, or I should go into the more academia of economics. I guess what I would like to know is that, was getting a PhD in Economics worth it?, what does your career trajectory look like?, what if I don't want to work for private sector but a more theoretical economics?, what does job market look like for an economists?Answer:
I’m an applied economist, and I have found both graduate school and my job to be challenging, varied, rewarding, and, I hope, impactful. Economics gives us a useful set of skills, and an intuitive way to understand the world.
But whether you should become an economist depends on what you value in a career. Intellectual satisfaction, compensation, flexibility, social impact, opportunities for leadership or mentorship, or something else?
Practically speaking, consider the costs of your choices — not just the money you’d spend on law school, but also the time you’d spend in a PhD program. You only get to live your 20s once! But once you finish your degree, the job market for economists has historically been broad and strong. An economics PhD makes our job candidates great fits for roles in academia, government, policy research, and the private sector.
A friend recently reminded me that “economics graduate school” is also not a homogenous experience; what you get out of it will depend on the people around you (this is also true for economics departments, law schools, and law firms). Seek out places where you will you feel both challenged and supported by your peers, instructors, and mentors.
I don’t know how my life would have turned out had I pursued law school, but there’s lots of crossover in the skillsets: critical thinking, the ability to construct and communicate an argument, and so on. This inability to observe what would have happened is a sort of grace. Whatever you choose, give it your dedication, curiosity, and integrity, and things will probably turn out just fine.
