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Why Get an Economics Ph.D?From Mike Moffatt,
What the Econ Bloggers Have to SayI've been getting quite a few e-mails lately from people asking me if they should consider doing a Ph.D. in Economics. I wish I could help these people more, but without knowing more about them, I'm not at all comfortable giving career advice. However, there was a recent blog post by GMU Economics Prof Tyler Cowen, titled Trudie's advice to would-be economists that is an absolute must-read for anyone considering attempting a Ph.D. in Economics. I found this part particularly interesting: 1. You math GRE score is over 800, you are totally focused, you love working long hours on your own, and you have good enough letters of recommendation to get into a Top Six or perhaps Top Ten graduate school. Note that white Americans from this category have been partially preempted by competition from foreigners. 2. You could be happy as an academic without much of a research career. Working at a teaching school is a rewarding life, albeit a poor one relative to your investment in human capital. There is a third category, although you will fall into it (or not) ex post: 3. You do not fit either #1 or #2. Yet you have climbed out of the cracks rather than falling into them. You do something different, and still have managed to make your way doing research, albeit of a different kind. You will always feel like an outsider in the profession and perhaps you will be underrewarded. But you will have a great deal of fun and in the long run perhaps a great deal of influence. Sadly, the chance of achieving #3 is fairly low. You need some luck and perhaps one or two special skills other than math. Did I mention that if you have a clearly defined "Plan B" your chance of succeeding at #3 diminishes? It is important to be fully committed.
I thought my advice would be a great deal different that Dr. Cowen's. For one thing, he completed his Ph.D. in Economics and has a pretty successful career at it. My situation is a great deal different; I transfered from doing a Ph.D. in Economics to a Ph.D. in Business Administration. I do just as much economics as I did when I was in Economics, except I now work shorter hours and get paid a great deal more. So I believe I'm more likely to discourage people into going into Economics than Dr. Cowen. Needless to say, I was surprised when I read Cowen's advice. I always hoped to fall into the #3 camp, but he's correct - in economics, it's very, very tough to do. I can't stress enough the importance of not having a plan B. Once you get into a Ph.D. program, everyone is very bright and talented and everyone is at least moderately hard working (and most could be described as workaholics). The most important factor I've seen that determines whether or not someone completes their degree is the availability of other lucrative options. If you've got nowhere else to go, you're a lot less likely to say "to heck with this, I'm leaving!" when things get really tough (and they will). The people that left the Economics Ph.D. program I was in (University of Rochester - one of those Top Ten programs Dr. Cowen discusses) weren't any more or less bright than those who stayed. But, for the most part, they were the ones with the best external options. Opportunity costs are the death of graduate school careers. Prof. Kling also discussed the three categories on the EconLib blog, in an entry titled Why Get an Econ Ph.D?. Here's a snippet of what he said: I would say that #1 is only a necessary, not a sufficient condition, to head in the direction of becoming an academic star. I would say that #2 should come with the caveat that many of the small colleges that value teaching are in small towns, which puts limits on spousal career opportunities and may otherwise constrain your lifestyle. Also, the caliber of students at small colleges may be declining, for a variety of reasons... I see academics as very much a status game. You worry about whether or not you have tenure, the reputation of your department, the reputation of the journals in which you publish, and so on. I would rather play a game where I can gauge my impact on people's lives than one where position on the pecking order is everything. A non-academic might have major investments in a family, friends who are not colleagues, hobbies, and voluntary organizations. Academics instead tend to have very concentrated emotional portfolios.
I would agree with all that as well. The idea of academia as a status game goes well beyond Economics; it's no different at business schools, from what I've seen. I think an Economics Ph.D. is a terrific option for many people. But before you dive in, I think you need to ask yourself if the people described as succeeding at it sound like you. If they don't, you might want to consider a different endevour. For more on doing a Ph.D. in Economics, see the links to the side of this article.
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Ph.D. in EconomicsWhy Get an Economics Ph.D?Where Can I Get Economics Department Rankings?Choosing a Graduate School in Economics
Ph.D. in EconomicsBooks to Study Before Going to Graduate School in Economics6 Things Your College Graduate Must DoMore Books for Economics Graduate School
Ph.D. in EconomicsWhich Graduate Programs are Keynesian?Consider Lifestyle When Choosing An Economics Graduate DepartmentA Letter From a Former Graduate Student in Economics
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