wajihc

John L. Chapman, Chief Economist John started his business career as a Systems Engineer and Marketing Representative for IBM. He has worked as a strategic consultant for a variety of Fortune 500 companies including: IBM, Kraft Foods, Warner-Lambert, Guidant and Hewlett Packard. In addition to his duties at Alhambra, he works as a consultant to middle market M&A firms through his company Hill & Cutler Company. Hill & Cutler also provides a full range of high level MBA services primarily to privately held, mid-sized firms in a variety of industries. From 2006-2010 John was a National Research Institute Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. where he conducted extensive research on the private equity industry. His current writing project is a book on monetary reform. His articles have been published on the Wall Street Journal editorial page and other leading publications. He holds a B.A. with high honors in Economics from Wake Forest University, an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Georgia. Our Team

Here's an analysis from the National Association of Business Economists: Business Economics Career Center If you're interested in financial economics as well as econometrics (i.e. work at a financial institution), I suggest that you start looking through the bios of the economists at certain places. On the higher end, the JPMorgans and Goldmans of the world will have economist from the cream of the crop. As for everywhere else, it really does not matter where you went. It is more about your ability to give prudent forecasts consistently, and have sufficient econometric skills to perform research.

Rounders

Can anyone address question #4? What is the job market like for development economics? Would one be at a severe disadvantage to be a competent development economist, if s/he is an American AND has had little work experience in a developing country? Can doctoral and post-doctoral work significantly rectify those grievances?

I skimmed through the Siegfried and Stock (2000) paper above, and I wanted to pose a question. From your experiences, generally speaking, how much time is enough to write the dissertation? 2 years? 3 years? The paper suggests that 2 to 2.5 years is the average. If that is the case, then why would American U limit students to 5 years to complete the Ph.D., if they enter with a Master's degree? Doesn't it set up for failure a fair bunch of students?

I was in a similar shape as thewayup335. Here is my profile. Here's what I suggest. Kill the quant section of the GRE by getting at least a 770. With this, enter a good M.A./M.S. economics program. Why? This is two-fold. #1) When you apply to Ph.D. programs, with your choppy academic performance, one of the first items that the reviewer asks him/herself is if the applicant is mature enough to handle theoretical and mathematical work compared to the other applicants. Graduate-level economics is much more different than the soft approach in most undergraduate colleges. It is way more theoretical and mathematical. #2) Obtain letters from Professors that have Ph.D.'s from reputable programs. So, get to know the professors well. Get an A- or better in the micro and macro theory courses, and econometrics course. Take a Ph.D.-level course or two. I also add that before applying to a Ph.D. program, it is very important to have demonstrated decent research experience. I did not, and so I did not get funded at all. With these elements set in stone, you position yourself to maximize your chances on earning admission to an elite program. Good luck.

Here's the Google result for: "'Ph.D., American University' + Economics": "ph.d., American University" + economics - Google Search Looks like they place people at some universities and colleges.

To confirm what is stated above: From the Department of Economics - Ph.D. program website: "The economics PhD degree program offers a diversity of theoretical perspectives, both mainstream and heterodox, combined with rigorous technical training and a focus on policy-relevant research. The PhD program addresses contemporary policy issues facing the global economy with a uniquely-pluralistic approach. In addition to standard neoclassical economics, the program also encompasses a range of other perspectives, including post-Keynesian, institutionalist, and feminist economics." Here is the list of courses: PhD in Economics | American University Now, let me pose this question. Why can I not find enough academic placements from AU? Does AU have a heterodox stigma attached to it so that its graduates don't stand a chance to get placed at universities, even if it does have a orthodox track? Please help me clarify this.

I chose American over CUNY, mainly because of the DC job market. Plenty of more opportunities to work in public economics and international trade and development while in school. Anyway, if one attends a heterodox institution, what can one do to maximize his/her chances to be a Professor? What sort of courses should s/he take?

I got a MA in Econ from Northeastern (NEU) in Dec 2009. You are not able to take undergraduate courses in mathematics at NEU because those credits would not count toward the degree. In fact, I took Calc III and audited DiffEq at BU. I also would suggest that you lower your enthusiasm of NEU's placement in economic analysis jobs. It was and still is a tough economy. Personally, I didn't land anything relevant, and I did well (3.5+) and had good references. However, NEU does offer challenging courses in MA-level Micro and Industrial Organization. The Ph.D. courses are rigorous as well. If you do well, you can ask for letters from professors, who have Ph.D.'s from MIT, Berkeley, Penn, Indiana, Georgetown, Brown, Rutgers, etc. People The department has its own lab equipped with 10+ computers that have SAS, SPSS, SPSS, etc. I spent long hours there... I got unfunded offers from places like GWU, NC State, and American, but I must point out that I had no relevant work and little research experience. If one earns a 3.5+ here, does research for 1-2 years, I see no reason why one would not be able to get a top 30 admit. Just my $0.02.

FYI, just spoke with an individual at GWU. They are only funding 2 Ph.D. students for the Fall 2011 entering class.

Thanks.

I thought this info would be relevant in this thread even though I'm debating between GWU unfunded and American unfunded: Here's an email exchange I had with a Professor at American, regarding funding in the first and second years: To: From: wajihc Date: 04/27/2011 05:45PM Subject: Funding Question Thank you for taking my call earlier today. I have a quick question. From what you can recall, over the last few years, what percentage of students came in unfunded for the first year? What percentage of those ended up getting funding? What percentage of the unfunded continued on with the program? What percentage dropped out among the unfunded? ----------------------- His response: "Some rough estimates: about half the first-year students (sometimes a little more) are unfunded (by AU -- some may have funding from their own governments or other sources). Of those who come in unfunded, I would say no more than 10% get funding from AU for their 2nd and later years. Most of the unfunded continue on in the program, since almost all find some sort of part-time employment in DC (sometimes full-time and start attending class on a part-time basis). Generally those who leave do so for academic reasons."

PROFILE: Type of Undergrad: Top 20 National University Undergrad GPA: Below 3.0 with double majors in ECON & PSCI Type of Grad: Northeastern University Grad GPA: 3.5 GRE: 770 Q, 520 V Math Courses: Calc I, II (B+), III (B+); Math & Stats for Economists (A-), Differential Equations (audited) Grad Econ Courses: Micro (B), Macro (A), IO (B-), Ph.D. level Econometrics (A-), US Economic History (A) Ugrad Econ Courses: Intermediate Microeconomics (F then B), Intermediate Macroeconomics (B-), Intro to Stats (A), US Economic History Seminar (B), International Trade (C+) Other Courses: Letters: Ugrad Professor with Ph.D. from Iowa, Associate Professor in Ph.D. econometrics with Ph.D. from Indiana, Grad Professor in econometrics with Ph.D. from UC Berkeley Research: Ph.D. econometrics course paper on sources of multifactor productivity Teaching: None Research Interests: Economic growth and development SOP: Discussed my journey to get to economics, what I'm doing to augment my math skills, and personal motivation from ethnic background RESULTS: Acceptances: NC State (no $), GWU (no $), American (no $), CUNY (no $) Waitlists: Rejections: Indiana, Iowa State, CO-Boulder, Syracuse, Notre Dame, FL Int'l, Brandeis Pending: What would you have done differently? If I were to do ugrad all over, I would have minored in math and accounting, and gotten better grades in undergrad. Assuming my ugrad mistakes, in grad school, I would have taken Real Analysis. Final call: I deferred NC State, GWU, American, and CUNY. I got tired of being a broker in NYC, and will start at American this coming January.

Northeastern has a good applied economics program with a focus on IO. Faculty in Industrial Organization The faculty are very well known in IO circles.