Placements, Econ vs Finance

[essentialtest]

Thanks,guys

So,does that mean for a certain person,the placement of him won't be much different whether he chooses econ or finance(both top level)?

And I am curious about the comparison of placements between the top finance programs. Chicago,Harvard(BE),Stanford,MIT,Columbia,etc.

[hubrishedge]

If you go to a top program in either econ or finance, the only limit to your placement is your ability. There really will be little causal difference between the two.

[unitroot]

Thanks,guys

So,does that mean for a certain person,the placement of him won't be much different whether he chooses econ or finance(both top level)?

I don't think you read carefully the above. Everyone is saying that on average the placements for finance PhD students are better and more lucrative. Of course, this depends heavily on what you do. Some fields in econ could potentially lead to comparably lucrative private sector placements. However, in the academic market, finance placements are always better in terms of compensation compared even to the top econ PhD graduates, unless you look at those who were lucky enough to be placed into a GSB position. Assistant professor at a PhD granting institution gets paid around 85-95K until they get promoted. Even at the top 10 departments, they get paid around 100K. Assistant professors of finance even at mid-ranked business schools start at 130-150K. I think it has to do with the fact that econ departments decided to uniformly cap the salaries of junior faculty so they don't bleed each other financially fighting for top talent. Senior economics faculty may get paid considerably more. This of course depends on the field and the quality of the publications. The top senior economics professors at the top 20 schools may make between 200K and 350K, though the typical senior faculty compensation is around 150-200K, depending on the field and the department.

And I am curious about the comparison of placements between the top finance programs. Chicago,Harvard(BE),Stanford,MIT,Columbia,etc.

I don't know, but they have to be very good since these are among the top 10 finance departments. If think you're asking the wrong questions here. You should be worried about whether they have professors with interests similar to yours instead of looking at the placements. You placement will depend on what you study and who is teaching it, and the quality of your work, not the previous placement record. Of course, this may be less of an issue at the departments that you list as they're very broad and deep in most subjects. However, once you look outside of the best 10 or so finance departments, you will see that one has to evaluate the interests and quality of the faculty in your area very carefully.

[calchas]

I want to add one more point to unitroot's discussion of salaries .. MBA Tuition adds a significant source of revenue to a Business School .. These MBA students often pay full tuition (roughly $80-90K over two years).. and contribute directly to higher faculty salaries ..