ferswif0

Hey everyone, thanks for the comments and encouragement- I appreciate it. To clarify- are you saying that admissions committees are more likely to admit you right after graduating than from the working world, or are you just saying that you think it's easier, as a student, to transition straight from school? Also, I thought I read elsewhere on the forum that most American MA programs were not considered to help with PhD admissions-- or would I be a special case because of my thinner economics background? Definitely something I'll look into for second semester. If I apply right out of school, though, adcoms wouldn't be able to take 2nd semester senior classes into account, or could they?

New to the forum so I hope I'm posting this in the right place: I'm an engineer who has become increasingly interested in economics and policy, and is thinking of applying to econ grad programs (probably PhD but maybe MA) after maybe 1 or 2 years of working as an engineer. What schools/tiers would be within reach? Here's my (unconventional) profile: PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: B.S. Engineering from a top 10 U.S. private school Undergrad GPA: Above 3.95 out of 4.0 Type of Grad: -- Grad GPA: -- GRE: 800Q, 710V, 5.5AWA Math Courses: Usual stuff for engineers: Calc I,II,III,Linear Algebra, Multivariable, Differential Equations, and hopefully Stats/Complex Analysis in the spring. Econ Courses (undergrad-level): Only freshman micro and macro (I've read on my own since then, but no other econ classwork). Letters of Recommendation: Know my engineering profs the best, although I do know 1 econ professor somewhat. Research Experience: Only engineering-related, not econ. Teaching Experience: Tutor in physics. Research Interests: Public Economics, Econometrics, anything relating to Energy, Environment, Industrial Regulations, Innovation/R&D. SOP: Don't have one yet. Concerns: Unconventional background (to say the least). Applying to: Well it wouldn't be for 1-2 years yet. What do you all think? Hopefully you all will find my background unusual enough to post a response, I'm sure you get lots of these types of inquires every week... AWH 'Bill' Philips, who built that valve-and-tube model of the Keynesian economy in the LSE, was an engineer- so maybe there's hope? :)