Why Major in Economics?

Studying economics provides you with many of the skills employers and graduate programs value highly, namely:

• the thinking skills that are essential to success. Economics teaches you how to make decisions in a careful, precise and logical way.
• the quantitative skills that are important in many business and government positions.
• the writing skills necessary in almost all lines of work.
• the ability to think critically about the ethical and moral implications of choices made by individuals, businesses and governments.

Economics majors are 250% more likely to become a CEO of an S&P 500 company than students who major in business. In fact, economics beats all other majors, including physical sciences and political science, as a path to the corner office (Source: Flynn & Quinn, 2010).

Business Week magazine also reports that economics is the second most popular college major among the nation's top 1000 CEOs, second only to engineering.

An Economics Degree is a Better Route to Grad School

Economics majors average higher scores on the GMAT (used by MBA programs) than all business majors. They also score higher than all non-business majors, except engineering, math and science majors (Source: Nelson & Monson, 2008).

Economics majors are also consistently in the top 3 majors in terms of LSAT scores (used by Law schools). In 2009, Economics and Philosophy majors tied for first on the LSAT (Source: Nieswiadomy, 2010).

Economics Majors Earn More

Professionals that have graduated with a bachelors degree in Economics fare "best in the labor market" according to Pay Scale Inc.

Undergraduate Major	Starting Median Salary	15 Years After Graduation
Accounting	$46,000	$77,100
Business Management	$43,000	$72,100
Economics	$50,100	$98,600
Finance	$47,900	$88,300
History	$39,200	$71,000
Industrial Engineering	$57,700	$94,700
Information Technology	$74,800	$49,100
International Relations	$40,900	$80,900
Management Information Systems	$49,200	$82,300
Marketing	$40,800	$79,600
Math	$45,400	$92,400
Mechanical Enginerring	$57,900	$93,600
Political Science	$40,800	$78,200
Psychology	$35,900	$60,400
Sociology	$36,500	$58,200
Data from 2008, PayScale Inc.

Notable Economics Majors:

• Ted Turner, CEO, CNN/Braves/Hawks
• Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft
• Scott McNealy, CEO, Sun Microsystems
• Meg Whitman, CEO, Ebay Technologies
• William Harrison, Jr., CEO, JP Morgan Chase
• John Sweeny, President, AFL-CIO
• Donald Trump, Real Estate/TV Mogul
• Warren Buffet, Business Financier
• Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart
• Henry Kravis, Business Financier
• Robert Diamond, CEO, Barclays Capital
• Presidents Gerald Ford,
• George H.W. Bush, & Ronald Reagan
• Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor
• Mike Mussina, MLB Pitcher
• Tiger Woods, PGA Golfer
• Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner
• Mick Jagger, Rolling Stones

What Subject Areas are in the Economics Major?

• Managerial Economics - Profits, Pricing, Risk,
• Employment, Tech & Competition
• Statistical Analysis & Forecasting
• Financial Markets - Banking, Stocks, Bonds,
• Derivatives & Central Banking
• Economy Wide Performance & Stabilization
• Government Finances - Taxes, Spending & Debt
• International Trade and Finance
• Economic Philosophies
• Area Studies - Health Care, Environment,
• Development & Investments

For more information, contact
Dr. Jantzen, Chair
Department of Economics
Iona College
715 North Avenue
Dr. Robert Jantzen
(914) 633-2731

Students interested in a major or minor in Economics should see an advisor or member of the Economics Department faculty about meeting the requirements.

Back to Top