The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Has Anybody With a Degree in Economics Got Any Value From It?

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
493%
Jan 23, 2011
9,717
47,934
34
Texas
I have one!

It’s not some giant opportunity magnet or anything, but it does make you competently able to understand the business world and the forces at play.

I have always been an economics oriented guy though, so a large chunk of it might be self education as well.
 

JasonR

Maverick
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
544%
May 29, 2012
2,102
11,426
Las Vegas
I have one!

It’s not some giant opportunity magnet or anything, but it does make you competently able to understand the business world and the forces at play.

I have always been an economics oriented guy though, so a large chunk of it might be self education as well.

This. But I would have probably learned most of these concepts on my own.

But man, what a waste of time using Calculus and theory to calculate the optimal profit point of your product if you're operating a monopoly or oligopoly, or the sustainability of a fish hatchery. When am I going to use that?

If I were to do it all over again I'd probably choose something different.
 

tigerbalm

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
156%
Nov 23, 2018
54
84
Colorado
I got my undergrad in economics and have since moved to software development. Can't say I got much value from the econ degree - I spent most of my time working restaurants and entry level jobs not related to the field when I graduated.

It (like everything) is probably one of those things that you get out what you put in - I was a mediocre student spending most of my time partying in college and not taking school too seriously, but rather doing it because it seemed like the thing to do. Unless you're passionate about the field and plan on pursuing further education (masters, whatever) I'd say bail.

After several years of working dead end jobs I decided to pursue software development and went to a coding bootcamp. Not only did my quality of life improve substantially with the better paying / more interesting jobs, but I have learned the skills necessary to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. Couldn't agree more with the dude who said to hop on Udemy and learn to code - many of the courses on there are similar, or probably better than the bootcamp that I did in person, not to mention a fraction of the cost.

If you commit to it, you could be employable as an entry level developer WAY faster than the three years it will take you to finish school, AND your jobs will probably be better in terms of work life balance and pay, and there is the added benefit of learning on the job, which will prepare you for your own ventures.

The thing about software is that it teaches you to learn. By nature it prepares you to efficiently pick up new skills and gives you massive confidence in that arena. Whereas before I would see problems and think that they were too hard to tackle, I now feel that there are few challenges - business or other, that I am not prepared to take on. Guess you could say that it shifted me to more of a growth mindset.

I have convinced several friends to go into software (friends who were working great jobs in other fields at that) and not a single one of them regretted it.

Anyways, obviously take this with a grain of salt, this has just been my experience and your mileage may vary. Personally learning code was one of the single most important decisions I have made, but I have no doubt that you could succeed and excel in economics if that's the route you decide and you commit.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

Good luck!

Edit: I just realized that I spoke a lot about getting a job on an entrepreneurship forum where the goal of many is to escape that. I think the job is beneficial in that it forces you to learn faster / pickup things you might not have otherwise gotten, while teaching you best practices and such. The job is just a stepping stone on the path to entrepreneurship and will teach you skills that are needed once you do decide to make the leap. That's not to say that you can't make the leap before getting a job though.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Jon L

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
272%
Aug 22, 2015
1,649
4,489
Bellevue, WA
The main thing to get out of any degree is this: Learn how to think and communicate clearly. Boil down what you're learning into core principles, and then use that thought process to come to your own conclusions on things. Learn that process well and you'll be well ahead of your peers.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
Let's put it this way: if I turned 18 in 2020 - I wouldn't be going to university. It's a waste of time/money and there are boundless opportunities on the internet.

I would save that money in getting myself educated with Khan Academy, Udemy, Coursera, Masterclass etc courses. The best courses/training I used to accelerate my life goals were 100% free.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
I agree. I have 4 college degrees including my JD. But, now I feel like a kid in a candy store. Education is SO available. I always have a non-fiction audiobook playing. And if I want to know something, I look it up on the net or watch a podcast. The world has opened up for people who love to learn. I also do it the old fashion way -- I call someone or have lunch with a person who knows what I want to know.

My questions are still endless. I was like that in school. And my career as a real estate appraiser/expert witness was so cool. I asked 3 or 4 times the questions I needed to complete my reports and testimony. I interviewed thousands of business and property owners over the years. I got to ask what they had done right and where their "sticking points" were with their businesses. I got them talking about themselves, their careers, and their businesses. I heard about their successes and their failures. A hungry mind will take you a long way IF you can find ways to utilize that knowledge.

I've learnt more from being an entrepreneur/going solo, reading books, listening to podcasts and travelling the world than I did from attending 4 years of university.

If I ran a university - I'd tell my students to create a business. Any business then watch them build the skills they need to be successful or fail then I'd dissect both scenarios. I'd make the point that they will learn 100 x more with failure than success just like I did.
 

InspireHD

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
243%
Dec 9, 2014
516
1,254
I have a degree in Economics. My college path went Criminology > Finance > Economics. I was interrupted a couple times with the military. I’m currently a police officer. I’ve never formally worked in the Economics field. I wish I did.

When I asked people what kind of job I could get in Economics, people would say, “It applies to a lot of fields. You can do almost anything.” Okay, that’s a useless answer.

What I see in my college newsletters that get sent to me is that they often go into banking, some kind of management role, or go into teaching.

My reasons for majoring in Economics were different but I enjoyed the course material. I had an awesome professor in my intro classes that made me realize how cool the subject was. From it all, I feel like I gained the ability to think logically, critically, and reasonably. It helped me to see patterns and connect the dots.

I’d probably major in something more quantitative if I was to do it over again. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the field of Engineering but I don’t think going back to school is in my near future. I’m not ready to undertake school loans.

For a few years in my current job, I was given a 4% salary education incentive for having a 4 year degree. They did away with the yearly incentive and instead just gave everyone a 4% raise so now we don’t get the benefit of the degree like we used to.

If you’re going to stick it out with college, then do something that will provide you with a skill at the end. Don’t just continue with Economics because you’re already a year in. That’s called a sunk cost. Make your decision going forward with the information you have today.

I’d like to find a new job but I feel stuck. I don’t have experience in the Economics field and I don’t really have a skill beyond being a police officer. Maybe I could dig deep and come up with something but I definitely wouldn’t feel confident. I have many interests. I believe I could succeed doing many things. With so many people out of work, I wouldn’t think I’d be on top of the lists with a 13 year old unused Economics degree.
 

kleine2

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
135%
Sep 15, 2013
155
210
So I just finished my exams for the first year in University. I chose to study Economics but ended up regretting it. Not because it's hard, but because with every day that passes all the things I've been studying this year look so abstract and useless.

I thought more times of dropping out and study something more practical such as computer science, however, I'd have to restart from scratch and I'd have basically lost one full year of my life.

So, shortly, I was wondering how many of you with a degree in Economics got any value from it. I'm going to be honest, I don't even know what am I going to do with this degree even if I wanted to land a job as part of my fastlane journey. The only job that would resonate would probably be a "manager", however I heard, at least in Italy, you get paid like shit and have to work shitty jobs before moving up into the ladder. That's definitely not what I want to make of my life.

Anyways, I live in Italy and university here isn't as expensive as in the USA. But it also sucks more compared to the "American college" concept.
I have a degree in economics, even before I finished my degree I transitioned into software development.
Having the degree itself has value for getting jobs, but the stuff you learn in economics is as you say not very useful unless you go into a career as an economist at a big company or a bank.
So, if you are excited about something else like computer science, I would say go for it.
But if you goal is just to finish a degree then keep on and you can add courses more relevant to entrepreneurship within your economics degree.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,552
4,175
Southeast Asia
So I just finished my exams for the first year in University. I chose to study Economics but ended up regretting it. Not because it's hard, but because with every day that passes all the things I've been studying this year look so abstract and useless.

I thought more times of dropping out and study something more practical such as computer science, however, I'd have to restart from scratch and I'd have basically lost one full year of my life.

So, shortly, I was wondering how many of you with a degree in Economics got any value from it. I'm going to be honest, I don't even know what am I going to do with this degree even if I wanted to land a job as part of my fastlane journey. The only job that would resonate would probably be a "manager", however I heard, at least in Italy, you get paid like shit and have to work shitty jobs before moving up into the ladder. That's definitely not what I want to make of my life.

Anyways, I live in Italy and university here isn't as expensive as in the USA. But it also sucks more compared to the "American college" concept.
I did Economics degree.

There are degree/postgrad that are designed for a professional path-Medicine, Law, engineering, computing and accounting.

And all other are general degree. This is a better framework to look at things.

Among general degree I would say Economics is the most useful. It is the physics of social science.

As a trained economist I see the world differently in different angles that are invisible to the rest.


When people protest about police brutality, what they fail to see that policemen are actively calculating the risk of getting convicted in court vs the risk of getting shot by someone whom they just encounter on the road.

Changing the law to remove immunity or fire policemen more easily in the short term will discourage then from taking more risk to be aggressive, but in the long term will just make the career unattractive. High jail risk and high fatality for the pay. Better go and do something else, maybe private security officers in a rich neighborhood. Defunding police department just will exacerbate this.

Back to business you see airbnb profiting early in the business stages while other “sharing economies business” tend to struggle more.

It doesn’t seem that Airbnb founders are much smarter than Uber executives.

I would say its better business Economics. Airbnb was utilizing untapped resources with no opportunity cost. The spare room that you have is not generating any revenue to begin with and it can offer much cheap accommodation than Hotel competitors.

Uber in comparison is just a taxi company running on mobile phone apps. The private cars, and drivers, the so called factors of production were not idle to begin with. Most people have to buy or rent a car to do it. The drivers have to spent time to earn that money, and if the time is spent elsewhere they could earn money elsewhere too.
 

Sanj Modha

Platinum Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
315%
Feb 16, 2016
1,024
3,226
42
In Your Newsfeed
I studied business and economics at university and it was useless in the real world.

Universities should advertise for what they really are - a chance to party and get laid for 3/4 years.
 

WJK

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
256%
Oct 9, 2017
3,123
8,007
Alaska
So I just finished my exams for the first year in University. I chose to study Economics but ended up regretting it. Not because it's hard, but because with every day that passes all the things I've been studying this year look so abstract and useless.

I thought more times of dropping out and study something more practical such as computer science, however, I'd have to restart from scratch and I'd have basically lost one full year of my life.

So, shortly, I was wondering how many of you with a degree in Economics got any value from it. I'm going to be honest, I don't even know what am I going to do with this degree even if I wanted to land a job as part of my fastlane journey. The only job that would resonate would probably be a "manager", however I heard, at least in Italy, you get paid like shit and have to work shitty jobs before moving up into the ladder. That's definitely not what I want to make of my life.

Anyways, I live in Italy and university here isn't as expensive as in the USA. But it also sucks more compared to the "American college" concept.
There's a whole bunch of us out there who aren't working in the specific field for which we got degrees. I'm one of them and I have used my education well. College is about learning to do critical thinking and the ability to solve problems. The math and stat analysis will help you later to see the world differently from the people around you. It a way of thinking about things. When I was in law school, they tried to get me to think like a lawyer. They failed -- I still think like a business person. BUT, I understand how a lawyer thinks and I built and operated an expert witness businesses for many years around that understanding. I had the advantage. I was a commercial real estate appraiser testifying about real estate issues. I knew my business and the legal business. The opposing attorneys didn't know the in and outs of appraising -- but, I knew where their line of questioning was going before they even ask.

Educate yourself as broadly as possible. Look at different ways that your education can be applied. See how to apply that math to investing in the stock market. Make it a game where you don't risk money -- just your ego. Try making predictions in different segments of the consumer market. Can you see the trends and direction of different segments? Where are we in the different cycles -- the business, credit, and real estate markets? Each has its own track. How do things -- like this virus -- interrupt those cycles? What effect(s) do changes like demographics have on economic trends? Start asking the obvious questions which will bring even more questions.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,552
4,175
Southeast Asia
The funny thing is that in my country people believe that if you study economics and business you will be rich. That's a stereotype I used to believe about too, before I've read MJ's books.

And guess what, I chose Economics for this reason. Because it was considered so "high value" that I decided to follow that. Dumbass me.
Business and Economics are always the popular “money sounding” disciplines.

Unfortunately they do not teach current trend entrepreneurship topics. A lot of the business related teaching are very outdated...7ps of marketing..

I remember learning about how things are priced at .99 to make it sounds cheaper.. and how bigger packaging In food are supposed to make customers that they got something more worthwhile than it actually is.

Looking back these ideas are ridiculously harmful..ideas based on deception and mind tricks rather than obsession with driving products and services cheaper better and faster.
 

FastManCostin

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
111%
Aug 17, 2018
19
21
30
Houston
I have a degree in economics from a top university in the US and I do not think it was a particularly useful subject to study. It seemed to be more of a socialist breeding ground than a quality education that aligns with reality.

If you learn basic math, statistics, read Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell and all of Nassim Taleb's books you'll probably be better educated. But since you already understand the Unscripted philosophy you'll should be less susceptible to the university brainwashing. If I were to do it again, I would probably study something like physics or computer science, but generally I believe self-education is the best education.

However, you are in a decent position since your education cost will be much less than the $50,000+ we spend here in the US. Best of luck on your decision moving forward.

Greatest lessons I've learned from studying economics:

Central Banking is the greatest scam of our time.
Follow the money and you'll find the truth.

Cheers!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

RealDreams

Silver Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Jun 22, 2018
348
590
So I just finished my exams for the first year in University. I chose to study Economics but ended up regretting it. Not because it's hard, but because with every day that passes all the things I've been studying this year look so abstract and useless.

I thought more times of dropping out and study something more practical such as computer science, however, I'd have to restart from scratch and I'd have basically lost one full year of my life.

So, shortly, I was wondering how many of you with a degree in Economics got any value from it. I'm going to be honest, I don't even know what am I going to do with this degree even if I wanted to land a job as part of my fastlane journey. The only job that would resonate would probably be a "manager", however I heard, at least in Italy, you get paid like shit and have to work shitty jobs before moving up into the ladder. That's definitely not what I want to make of my life.

Anyways, I live in Italy and university here isn't as expensive as in the USA. But it also sucks more compared to the "American college" concept.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Odysseus M Jones

[B...{r<°∆°>}--O--{<°∆°>k}...E]
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
X MODERATED X
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Feb 2, 2020
916
1,559
60
Stay with it, you could have your own TV series.
Do you remember Savoir Faire?

Better still, what was that woman that went to prison?
She had her own brand.

Martha Stewart!
 

Knugs

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
181%
Jan 10, 2016
345
624
33
Its not a wasted year if you only came to that conclusion now.

I think going into economics with the outlook of doing fastlane is the wrong approach. You are much better suited studying an entrepreneurship degree which focuses on creating and building companies. I used to think these are bs too (such as business and economy degrees) but my cousin was learning similar principles that I was learning at my VC accelerator. They also push you into going entrepreneurial, taking risk and networking with the right people. Sure, the degree itself is kind of useless but the content is pretty good. Anyway, you could also learn all of this on your own as its the case with everything else.

Why did you go to university in the first place?

Alternatively I would say coding is a definitely a good skill to have in the fastlane world. However, you might as well just do an intensive udemy course and learn more code than 3 years at university.
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,552
4,175
Southeast Asia
So, how has it been useful for you?

I don't have an economics degree, but can pretty easily put together supporting or refuting statements to what you posted above.

So what part of your economics degree helped you see things there from a different perspective?

I also like to play the piano, and that gives me a different perspective, too. But I play the piano in my downtime and didn't need to pay $X0,000/year to get that perspective.

Perspective is cheap to obtain. You get that by just existing. So I'm curious: how has the training in economics has provided a ROI for you (in terms of time, money, fulfillment, love, etc.)?

All I'm getting is "my economics degree informed these opinions on current events".

So how has that been useful, for you, specifically?

Just wondering.
Economics teach you to construct models and analyze things using a framework. And this is also true for other social sciences. And such skill can extend even to things in other fields.

Fast-lane’s Barrier To entry to entry is fundamentally an concept from Business Economics.

I am in the space of financial sales when I plan for my business direction I do read industry reports on the trend of sales. This is an area where Business and Economics have no clear boundary.

In my personal investment understanding Credit cycle, debt cycle and monetary history help me make better investment decision.

The helps are largely complimentary and of course I could do self-study without an Economics background.

Back to your question the OP is not paying school fee for the “Economics knowledge“. Dropping out is not an option due to his obligation. He is paying school fee for the degree, same as most people who went to college. So he isn’t paying extra money to get that Economics perspective (and here is one reasoning using Economics).

I have rarely met anyone who said “Oh this is what I learnt in college and it helped exactly in my job and business!”
 

WJK

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
256%
Oct 9, 2017
3,123
8,007
Alaska
Let's put it this way: if I turned 18 in 2020 - I wouldn't be going to university. It's a waste of time/money and there are boundless opportunities on the internet.

I would save that money in getting myself educated with Khan Academy, Udemy, Coursera, Masterclass etc courses. The best courses/training I used to accelerate my life goals were 100% free.
I agree. I have 4 college degrees including my JD. But, now I feel like a kid in a candy store. Education is SO available. I always have a non-fiction audiobook playing. And if I want to know something, I look it up on the net or watch a podcast. The world has opened up for people who love to learn. I also do it the old fashion way -- I call someone or have lunch with a person who knows what I want to know.

My questions are still endless. I was like that in school. And my career as a real estate appraiser/expert witness was so cool. I asked 3 or 4 times the questions I needed to complete my reports and testimony. I interviewed thousands of business and property owners over the years. I got to ask what they had done right and where their "sticking points" were with their businesses. I got them talking about themselves, their careers, and their businesses. I heard about their successes and their failures. A hungry mind will take you a long way IF you can find ways to utilize that knowledge.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

RealDreams

Silver Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Jun 22, 2018
348
590
Well, if you do graduate at least you'll never have to mow your lawn ever again.



I agree with this too, understanding economics is one of those things.
How much does it cost to make one more cup of coffee?
It's worth it for game theory alone.

Political science is pretty cool too.
Yeah there are definitely interesting topics and theories in microeconomics. The marginal cost one is a great one. It made me understand the concept of efficiency and of "killing two birds with one stone". But again, you probably don't need to go to University to understand these single elements.

Even though in my University they placed a lot of focus on teaching how oligopolies compete and I had an hard time understanding why pricing wars seem to be so preferred over increasing the product differentiation. In fact, as MJ pointed out in one of his books, they almost never teach that value creation is the most important thing to win against the competition.
 

socaldude

Saturn Sedan and PT Cruiser enthusiast.
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
212%
Jan 10, 2012
2,390
5,059
San Diego, CA
The thing about Economics is that it’s a notoriously divided field. Economists agree with each other very rarely. It’s not like physics where everyone agrees because of math or evidence to support a scientific theory.

Economics is driven by powerful hidden psychological forces. We are just trying to model them mathematically and predictively.

It’s like monetary policy. They teach that shit in school like it’s “normal” or that’s how money really works. No, that’s how it works when central bankers and governments get what they want. They print money so they can loan it to the government and tax the shit out of you without anybody voting for a tax increase. They print money so banks can loan it out and collect interest. We all pay for it in inflation.
 

AceVentures

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
405%
Apr 16, 2019
853
3,457
Idk where you're studying, bust most 1st year university courses don't teach you rocket science.

What does the rest of the curriculum look like? Post up some of the courses you've got ahead.

Are you getting paid to go to school, or are you paying out of pocket?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Knugs

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
181%
Jan 10, 2016
345
624
33
I don't think we have such Entrepreneurial courses in Italy for undergraduates, only for doctorate/master programs. Even at that point, entrepreneurship in Italy is an obscure term.
But as you said, you can literally learn everything you want by yourself.

Italy is still in Europe. The UK has some degree courses.
 

InspireHD

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
243%
Dec 9, 2014
516
1,254
What stopped you from pursuing a career related to economics? You mentioned the military thing, but how did that happen, exactly?

Anyways, I see what you mean by sunk cost and I agree. I'm just wondering whether my current thoughts are rational or not.

The point is, if I could go back I'd study CS, but as someone said previously, you don't need to go to university to learn about coding. University definitely gives you a greater mental system to become a developer, I don't deny that. But if you truly want to learn something, you can do it by yourself.

The only reason I haven't dropped out yet is because of the job opportunities. I know this sounds slowlaneish, however, my goals all aim to the fastlane. A high-paying job would definitely be more beneficial as a business funding compared to a job at McDonald's.

I joined the military while I was in high school. I got deployed while in college. Came back and changed my major. Got deployed a second time and, after returning, went through the police academy. After doing that, I changed my major to Economics, which helped consolidate all of the credits I took over the prior years and allowed me to graduate in a reasonable time. Looking back on it, if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have gotten back into law enforcement. Although, the job I have now has opened many doors and put me in the financial position I'm in. It also put me in a position to meet a non-LE friend who introduced me to who is now my wife.

I got into LE part-time, finished college, quit, got back into it full-time, quit again, and then got back into it a third time and got hired where I am now. I had a few opportunities to move on, which is what I said the first two times, but it ultimately sucked me back in. And with the way the world is now, it's not a good place to be.

If your goal is to get a degree to get a job, then do it. I don't think you should drop out just to pursue something that might not materialize. Pursue a course of study that will provide you with a skill at the end. That's all I'm saying. As Dave Ramsey says, (paraphrased) "Don't get a degree in German Polka History." Since you're in Italy, you probably know the job market more than anybody. I've honestly never had a "real" professional job. I've never gotten a job based on someone looking at a piece of paper (my resume) and deciding I was worthy of their time.

I'm learning to code now in my free time. It's not easy but it's not super hard either. Just takes time to learn and create a portfolio. There are so many resources out there now that it's possible to create projects and show off your portfolio and get hired as a programmer.
 
Last edited:
A

Anon79341

Guest
I think you could get a decent value from it, you are living in a great country with probably a lot of opportunities and a business degree can get you some good money that will serve as a solid foundation whenever you decide to start your business (if you want some security). In the other hand, if you are totally commited to start now, I don't see the point in going to college as you said, it is up to your preferences.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
D

Deleted78083

Guest
Have a look at the program in 2nd and 3rd year and if it still sucks, quit and start IT. I almost started brand new IT studies at 26, then i stumbled upon a gold thread where some dude became an IT engineer by himself, so....

Btw I have a bsc in communication, so don't worry, you didn't choose the worse ;)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

JordanK

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
293%
Feb 17, 2014
566
1,660
26
Ireland
The real question is.. do you want to be standing here now saying you wasted one year or standing here in a few years time saying you wasted four!?

Change to Comp Science/Software Dev if thats what you like.
 

RealDreams

Silver Contributor
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
170%
Jun 22, 2018
348
590
Have a look at the program in 2nd and 3rd year and if it still sucks, quit and start IT. I almost started brand new IT studies at 26, then i stumbled upon a gold thread where some dude became an IT engineer by himself, so....

Btw I have a bsc in communication, so don't worry, you didn't choose the worse ;)
This is what comes with the 2nd and 3rd year, more or less. These are the courses in English, while mine are in Italian and look a little different.

33589

The real question is.. do you want to be standing here now saying you wasted one year or standing here in a few years time saying you wasted four!?
This makes sense. I just wanted to make sure I was being rational and not just justifying "an economics degree is useless" since I'm still at the first year so honestly I can't tell. That's why I was looking for people's opinions who actually had similar experience.
 
D

Deleted78083

Guest
is what comes with the 2nd and 3rd year, more or less. These are the courses in English, while mine are in Italian and look a little different.

That looks quite cool, i would personally stay, but the decision is yours entirely. Don't forget that your bsc will lead to a lot of different masters ;)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

csalvato

Legendary Contributor
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
297%
May 5, 2014
2,058
6,106
39
Rocky Mountain West
I did Economics degree.

There are degree/postgrad that are designed for a professional path-Medicine, Law, engineering, computing and accounting.

And all other are general degree. This is a better framework to look at things.

Among general degree I would say Economics is the most useful. It is the physics of social science.

As a trained economist I see the world differently in different angles that are invisible to the rest.


When people protest about police brutality, what they fail to see that policemen are actively calculating the risk of getting convicted in court vs the risk of getting shot by someone whom they just encounter on the road.

Changing the law to remove immunity or fire policemen more easily in the short term will discourage then from taking more risk to be aggressive, but in the long term will just make the career unattractive. High jail risk and high fatality for the pay. Better go and do something else, maybe private security officers in a rich neighborhood. Defunding police department just will exacerbate this.

Back to business you see airbnb profiting early in the business stages while other “sharing economies business” tend to struggle more.

It doesn’t seem that Airbnb founders are much smarter than Uber executives.

I would say its better business Economics. Airbnb was utilizing untapped resources with no opportunity cost. The spare room that you have is not generating any revenue to begin with and it can offer much cheap accommodation than Hotel competitors.

Uber in comparison is just a taxi company running on mobile phone apps. The private cars, and drivers, the so called factors of production were not idle to begin with. Most people have to buy or rent a car to do it. The drivers have to spent time to earn that money, and if the time is spent elsewhere they could earn money elsewhere too.

And how does this relate to the original question?

Has this analysis (or the ability to make similar analyses) added value to your lifethat otherwise wouldn’t be there? And is it the result of your training as an economist?

Not to be a dick or anything, but if this is all you got for your economics degree I’d say it’s not super valuable to you (at least how you’ve presented it)
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top