Bayern Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 I am curious about how much the location of the university matters, if I want to join the private sector after getting a PhD. Especially east coast vs. west coast? I have offers at Santa Barbara, CA; Seatle, Washington; and Pitsburgh, PA, and also some waitlisted schools. How much will the location matter in these cases. Also I do not know how seriously UCSB is taken outside of the academia, as I believe they do not have as rigorous undergraduate studies compared to the other two school. So a possible bias (did not see much private sector placement either in their website)? Financial sector seem to be more concentrated in the east (correct me if I am wrong), thats the main root of my concern, and I am basically wondering, whether a PhD from the west (UCSB or U Wash - Seattle) can help me get a good job in the east coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjw10 Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 UCSB has some decent non-academic placements: Korea Labor Institute, Fed Trade Commission, Colo Dept. of Health, DFA capital management, CNA Corp (?) in DC, Korea Customs Service... There is some debate b/w UCSB and Pitt in another thread right now, and Pitt seems to be the victor. You had some env. research interests, I believe, right? Or was it trade/dev? If so, UCSB is great environment.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungEconomist Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 What kind of private sector work do you want to do (I ask mainly because I'm always curious to know what options are out there for me)? To answer you question, I don't think location matters very much. It's not like an MBA were you'll be networking and worrying about faculty connections. I'd give the same advice to someone pursuing the private sector as I would academia, that is, go to the place that is best in the area(s) your interested in and also offered funding (unless you don't mind taking out loans, in which case go to the best program). The reason it seems to me that location doesn't matter for private sector economists is because private sector employers of Econ PhDs seem to care mainly about two things, your knowledge/skills and your program rank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayern Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Thanks for the info cjw10. I was looking more at pvt sector placement, that is why there was a bias in my judgment I am guessing. I am more of a development/health econ guy. UCSB has one good researcher in development, which concerns me a bit. But they seem to be really good in health, especially Prof. Deschenes, which is a big plus. I just want to be aware of the pvt sector opportunities before I have to make the choice. Its always good to know that you are not tied to a certain kind of job :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayern Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 I'd give the same advice to someone pursuing the private sector as I would academia, that is, go to the place that is best in the area(s) your interested in and also offered funding (unless you don't mind taking out loans, in which case go to the best program). The reason it seems to me that location doesn't matter for private sector economists is because private sector employers of Econ PhDs seem to care mainly about two things, your knowledge/skills and your program rank. I believe that (again, correct me if I am wrong) all pvt sector emplyers will not be completely aware of the rank/quality of the program. Wont they use the usual 'brand' labels attached to a certain university? For example Rice or Georgetown being better than, for example, Boston University or Michigan State, although in economics ranking/quality wise, Boston U and Michigan seems to be better in general. I guess this aspect doesn't have much to do with locations, but as it is brought up, I thought this might also be worth discussing. I personally thought location would matter more because people outside academis seems to be more knowledgable about universities closer to them. For example, UC Santa Barbara must be considered at a lot higher regard in California, compared to NY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungEconomist Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 What kind of private sector work do you want to do (I ask mainly because I'm always curious to know what options are out there for me)? Are you trying to dodge this question? ;) I believe that (again, correct me if I am wrong) all pvt sector emplyers will not be completely aware of the rank/quality of the program. Wont they use the usual 'brand' labels attached to a certain university? For example Rice or Georgetown being better than, for example, Boston University or Michigan State, although in economics ranking/quality wise, Boston U and Michigan seems to be better in general. I guess this aspect doesn't have much to do with locations, but as it is brought up, I thought this might also be worth discussing. I personally thought location would matter more because people outside academis seems to be more knowledgable about universities closer to them. For example, UC Santa Barbara must be considered at a lot higher regard in California, compared to NY. I have heard some people make that argument, but I just find it hard to believe (although I'm sure there is some truth to it). If a company or department is hiring PhD Economists, they have every incentive to know about the relative rankings of programs. I'm sure it also depends on the specific job/industry. Take econ consulting and quant jobs, I imagine they have a pretty good sense of the rankings. I heard in management consulting they care more about brand name (but maybe this is because you might be using your skills as an economist less). Corporate economist jobs probably know about the rankings, although I imagine the competition is not as fierce in this industry, since I rarely see these sort of placements from top departments. In my opinion, the main advantages of location for private sector Econ PhDs is the chance to get a summer internship and the fact that the employer might have some ties to your university/department (for example, maybe they're friends/acquaintances with some of your references and therefore hold their opinion in higher esteem, or maybe you're department has placed someone there in the past). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayern Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Are you trying to dodge this question? ;) Haha, not really. I was mainly thinking about investment banking, insurance firms, consultancies, think-tanks (most DC-based?), and even the multinational companies (for example the oil companies). I hope your take on econ consulting and quant jobs is correct. Honestly, I have no idea on this whatsoever. I hope someone with some experience, or more specific knowledge could say more about these kinds of jobs, and econ phds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.