werther

once having graduated from school i am not sure how one can obtain programs like SAS (so expensive), and learn it.. not even sure what a PROC SQL is, i reckon it's some kind of programming language? is it possible to self teach oneself these things? i love how i learned nothing actually useful in undergrad/masters :rolleyes:

sorry to bring up this dusty old topic, but a question related to the actual thread title: in order to get analyst/associate level jobs in economic consulting, are programming skills required? if so, which kind? i was hoping i'd learn programming after being hired, but if it is required to land a job, then i'd have to take up that task some time soon. i have a masters in economics from an ok school and took one IO course, which i found slightly bit more interesting than other electives i took so i want to get an entry level job in this area but there are very little econ consulting firms in my country.. i temporarily moved to europe after finishing my MA this summer but realized it is almost impossible to get a job here with a non-E.U. passport; is it just as difficult to get a job in the U.S. without being a U.S. citizen? thanks in advance

i get my MA next week :sleepy:

To the person who compared SFU funding to Toronto's "zero" funding: AT SFU, I am assuming they gave you something like 15+k for 3 semester worth of TAship. At Toronto, virtually everyone who wants a TAship gets one. If you get a full TA-ship at Toronto for 2 semesters, that's 10k right there! Also, you can apply for summer TAship if you want.

then i guess its just regular MAs who are discouraged from taking more than 1 PhD core. i just think it's an extremely risky move unles you're totally confident you can do well in all three. and if you do take all three you dont need to take any electives because PhD core courses run for the whole year and count as 3 credits.

even 2 is discouraged*

that's if you're not trying hard enough (in other words you don't want it enough). i believe it works. it kind of sucks but it's not impossible. and i'm hardly an optimist so.

thanks so much for that!! i don't think the RBC chapter in romer's book is any good

p.s. forgot to mention: seconded

Yeah, not true. How do you know that? You're not here. Nevertheless.. we do have some Queen's alumni here who think this department is not so friendly. I guess they are comparing to their alma mater. And yes, relatively speaking, it's not the most friendliest department. However, I don't think it's fair some of you people make the U of T program out to be a bad place to study. It is still considered 1st tier. It still sends students to to top U.S. schools. It really depends on you. I remember once when UWO's Ekonomiks said something like, "why spend x hrs on a really difficult problem set when you can leave that for your classmates" (those weren't his exact words, but he did say something along that line once). With that kind of mentality you might not like Toronto all that much, because who knows, you might not have that many people to collaborate with, probably because you never got around to knowing everyone in your program (we don't have very many socials and pub nights and things like that - I think other programs have these frequently).

Wise idea. I should have done this. Anyway, I hope you enjoy Toronto! It's a great city.

uh i think most doctoral stream MA's problem is that they can't continue with PhD at Toronto even if they wanted to.. i think worrying about being forced to pursue PhD at Toronto would be the least of your problem!!

Yes, exactly. And then came the regrets.. just kidding, I think every program has its advantages/disadvantages. It is true that Toronto MAs experience less student satisfaction because we don't get enough guidance/support, we're very much on our own. If you don't care for much interacting or getting help from other students, i.e. if you can do everything on your own, you will be fine here. Also, there are tons of seminars happening and a lot of people stopping by, last week Daron Acemoglu came p.s. i kind of regret not going to UBC, if i went there i'd have at least become better skiier

i have nothing against Western, and i have no reason to praise Queen's. i just think the OP is biased. he always touts Western as the best program, while (somewhat) patronizing other 1st tier programs, and i really don't know how he can be so certain about the superiority of Western without having been to all other first tier programs in canada. if you are a Yale material, you will get into Yale, doesn't matter whether you attend UWO or QUeens or wherever.

this is the lamest comment i ever heard in my life in any case queen's trumps western when it comes to reputation and sends people to top programs just as well so if i were to do this all over again i'd def. choose queen's unless, going to UWO somehow guarantees me a place in top ten US phd (by the way, one or two people getting into yale doesn't mean anything - that happens in any first tier canadian MA program)