Economist Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Economist..? I'm doing some possible careers for my future. I'm 15. Clueless about my future. How does one become an economist? Obviously they should major in economy and get a degree of some sort. But, what does an economist do? Please load me up with info :] Also, what subjects/classes should be an economist strong point. I'm pretty well-rounded in all subjects. I don't enjoy science but I pull through it with pretty high marks. English is my strong point. Finished english off with 99% as my final mark [97% on my final exam]. I currently am a hospital volunteer [volunteer ambassador]. I don't want to have a career that's "corporate". I care a lot about women equality/respect & our environment. Obviously, there are many things someone who is an economist can do.. like go do surveys/statistics/research that's involved with the government or finances or businesses. As well, are 'economists' respected? I care a lot about respect [15 year old feminist kid right here]. Salary not too shabby or anything? Another question, is the work field? Meaning, are jobs in this field.. hard to get or rare? Also, how long will a bachelor or masters degree take.

Answer: If you're interested in economics, a strong math background is very helpful. A bachelors degree in economics takes 4 years, the same as the majority of bachelors degrees. After that it depends on what you want to do...you can get a job with just a bachelors degree and economics graduates have some of the highest starting salaries of any undergraduate degree. Or you can go on to get a Masters or Doctorate...whether you need an advanced degree depends on what specifically you want to do. If you want to do public policy work, an advanced degree would probably be important. As far as respect goes, I think economists certainly get plenty of that - tell people you're an economist and they all assume you must be a genius of some sort. Whatever you decide to do with your future, best of luck to you!

Question: What would the view point of an economist be during the American Revolution? I need an economist's view OF THIS TIME PERIOD on the Articles of Confederation, The Virginia, Plan, THe new jersey plan, the great compromise, slave trade, rights of the individual, and many other things. Please provide a general outlook of an economist who lived during the America revolution. Thanks.

Answer: well, the economy would be facing drastic changes, much for the better before the revolution, economy was sort of based on making money for britain, and britain wasnt exactly concerned with colonial economy, just what how it affected theirs so during the revolution, many new businesses and large farms would have been started up because america would have had to supply itself with no help from britain slave trade continued in the south, but was generally frowned upon in the north, wich are basically two different economies new england colonies were full of large cities with more businesses and factory such jobs, while the souths economy was based on large farms and plantations, based mainly on slave labor economy was also helped because with people all believing they were equal and could do what they wanted, you had many individuals and businesses competing now, rather than britain controlling and limiting what could be produced

Question: What did the British economist Maynard Keynes propose in order to overcome the crisis? What did the British economist Maynard Keynes propose in order to overcome the crisis? What were the neoclassical positions? The crisis is the Great depression of 1930. Answer it briefly or tell me what I should look for in the internet.

Answer: Wikipedia is your friend: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_e…

Question: Some economist have argued that if the government wishes to subsidize health care, it should instead provide p? Some economist have argued that if the government wishes to subsidize health care, it should instead provide predetermined sums of payments (based on the type of health care problems experienced) directly to patients, who then would be free to choose their health care providers. Whether or not you agree, can you give an economic rationale for this approach to governmental health care funding?

Answer: Alby: Plenty of other developed countries have universal healthcare and have not imploded. In relation to the question, I believe handing the funds to the patients directly increases the risk of moral hazard beyond an acceptable level. It may be better to have the government billed for the treatment and for there to be tax incentives in place for the patient to find low-cost treatment. The government, of course, would only accept bills from accredited practitioners.

Question: How much is the economist if I buy it on a newstand? How much is the economist if I buy it on a newstand in NYC?

Answer: Way too much. Newsstand price of The Economist, Forbes and like publications will run between $5-$6. I used to subscribe to Forbes. You will definately get a better deal that way. Of course if you only need the one issue, your stuck. But Libraries, particularly a universitly library should carry a current issue.

Question: Can you recommend and summarize a specific economist's argument about why the Great Depression ended? I appreciate our community opinions, but I'm really asking those who have specific knowledge here - what do you know about what economists say ended the Great Depression? Please include the name of the economist and the year or title of the publication, if you've got it available. I just know some of you will tell me to look it up. Thanks for nothing. However, for those of you who have taken the time to learn this and are willing to share your references, you have my gratitude. (No, I'm not writing an essay for school. It's just something I've wondered about and I would like help picking what to read.)

Answer: I would like to help you with the names, but it has been a long time since I had Economics in College. And then only as a required elective. However, I do remember this much about it: There are or were two schools of thought among the Economist. One school of thought was that FDR's programs such as CCC and WPA Social Security, Federal Reverse Bank. etc ended the Depression by putting Americans back to work there by ending the depression. The other main school of thought was that the Depression did not end until the Advent of WW II. Their argument was that even though FDR's works programs did put America back to work it was not sustainable because none of the Works programs included the industrial base and the factories for the most part were still not producing. It took WW II to get the factories back to producing which was actually what put Americans back to sustainable work. And they described sustainable work as work producing goods to sell. They also said that Europe, and Asia mostly being in ruins and their factories being destroyed is what kept America prosperous because America's factories were the only ones which had not been affected by the war. What they meant by that was our factories were intact since they had not been subject to bombings.etc. Hope that helps a little. Sorry can't remember any names. .

Question: I want to become an economist and a financial advisor. How many years of school is that? I want to become an economist and a financial advisor. How many years of school is that? My goal is to own a business that does economic forecasting as well as finacial advising for individuals. I am just wondering if I can double major, and get one masters degree? Or, would I need 2 masters degrees for this? Also, I figure this is probably 7 years of schooling...um..any idea of how much money I would have to save up for this?

Answer: Get your bachelor's degree in economics with a minor in finance. Then you get an MBA in finance or a masters in finance. The difference is that MBA students seldom get a GA. But if your grades are good, when you go for a regular masters, you can often get a GA which means free tuition and a stipend. The amount of money you need to save depends on the school you go to. also be aware that many people are investing on their own and have ditched their financial advisers. Because it turne out that anyone could have lost 40% in the stock market and they did not need to pay some one to do that. And far too many advisers gave their client's money to Bernie Madoff, doing nothing to earn their fees. Myself, without an adviser only lost 2% last year. My point is that business is going to be slow for financial advisers for a long time. Many are looking for work right now.

Question: Why would anyone listen to economist doom and gloom now, after they failed to predict the Wall Street crash ? . All the economist thought things were looking rosie before the Wall Street crash, But now they are saying, 2 years of doom and gloom. Why should we believe them now, when they were wrong before ?

Answer: That's a great point. I never thought of it that way.

Question: How does deflation increase the real cost of debt as described in Economist magazine? It is a scenario theorized by the economist Irving Fisher. I don't understand how deflation "increases the real cost of debt." Can someone please explain?

Answer: You would be repaying your debt with currency that has greater purchasing power than it did when you originally borrowed the money.

Question: What exactly was the quantity of the velocity of money found by the late economist Milton Friedman? I have an econ midterm tomorrow and would like to know if the late economist Milton Friedman calculated an actual quantity for the velocity of money he described. My prof seems to think he did and would like us to find out exactly what it was. Please include a source!

Answer: Milton Friedman has described the empirical regularity of substantial changes in the quantity of money and in the level of prices as perhaps the most-evidenced economic phenomenon on record. Money Velocity peaked at 2.12 in 1997 and hit bottom at 1.15 in 1946.