« Are hedge funds worth it? | Main | This is taking Bela Balassa too far »
What can I do with an economics major??
At the University of Oklahoma, they (rightly) pretty much keep me away from the undergrads. But I gather this is a frequent question, often answered with "anything that you could do with a business degree only for less money"!! Hence I offer up this list of way cool economics majors to inspire your students:
Brian Stann (won silver star, and now mixed a martial arts fighter) US Naval Academy
Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert) Hartwick College
Danny Glover (actor) San Francisco State University
Greg Ginn (punk rocker and entrepeneur) UCLA
Bill Belichick (NFL coach with super bowl bling) Wesleyan University
Mick Jagger (international sex symbol??) London School of Economics
Mike Musina (Yankees Pitcher) Stanford
I don't want to be sexist with this list; I am pretty sure the pro poker player Vanessa Russo was an econ major at Duke, but I couldn't confirm this. Are there any cool female econ majors that I'm missing (Robin (world's greatest co-author) was a political science major and Sandra Day O'Connor (ex-Supreme) AIN'T cool)?
PS on the down side there is always Ken Lay (evildoer, Missouri) and Kofi Annan (conflicted bureaucrat, Macalester College).
Posted by Kevin Grier on May 23, 2007 at 01:01 PM in Economics, Education | Permalink
Comments
It seems pretty obvious that for many of these people economics was something they used to pass the time while in college, not something that led to their current status. I'm pretty sure any student wondering about what they can do with their degree will also notice this.
Posted by: agent00yak at May 23, 2007 1:20:47 PM
To be fair those, those cool people also had some special talent that was probably evident at a young age and they could have gone into anything and still been successful.
Perhaps I'm being too pessimistic here though.
Posted by: champthom at May 23, 2007 1:21:41 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070519/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/people_glover_1;_ylt=An0.Fp0KC3.3jXWnpzfACYFjhuIA
Funny that you would note Danny Glover given the company he chooses to keep.
Posted by: Aschkan at May 23, 2007 1:31:44 PM
And great philosophers and journalists can expertly lay the foundations for economists, like Adam Smith and deTocqueville.
Posted by: guy in the veal calf office at May 23, 2007 1:47:01 PM
Don't forget Ronald Reagan.
Posted by: Earl Schlobodowicz at May 23, 2007 1:52:56 PM
I think Matthew Fox, within the actor category, might have greater appeal to the student set.
Posted by: Trieu Truong at May 23, 2007 2:02:12 PM
Ahnold (Govenator) University of Wisconsin-Superior
Posted by: Scott W at May 23, 2007 2:29:15 PM
How about George W? Didn't he major in Economics at Yale?
Posted by: JJ at May 23, 2007 2:52:13 PM
Bollywood hottie Amisha Patel (Tufts).
Posted by: Ted Craig at May 23, 2007 2:52:34 PM
It's Mike Mussina by the way, 2 s's. Plus, if you become an economist, you could always sleep with Paul Wolfowitz.
Posted by: alec at May 23, 2007 2:55:30 PM
This list is pretty impressive. Some names:
John Elway NFL quarterback (Stanford)
Bernie Kosar NFL quarterback (University of Miami)
Lenny Wilkens NBA Coach/Hall of Famer (Providence College)
Lionel Richie Singer/Songwriter (Tuskegee University)
Jim Bunning US Congressman/Hall of Fame Baseballer (Xavier)
Ray Manzarek Musician; The Doors (DePaul University)
Billy Kidd Professional Skier (University of Colorado)
Billy Packer Sports Broadcaster (Wake Forest)
Tiger Woods Golfer (Stanford**)
** Hasn't finished yet
Posted by: PatrickR at May 23, 2007 3:23:05 PM
Okay, how about Cate Blanchett Actress (Melbourne University)
Posted by: PatrickR at May 23, 2007 3:33:32 PM
Try this link to a promotional video put out by the Econ Dept at Ball State:
http://dvisweb1.bsu.edu/media/economics/promo_320x240.asx
Posted by: indiana jim at May 23, 2007 3:48:39 PM
If the link doesn't work go to
http://www.bsu.edu/economics/
Then click on Careers in Economics;
Then click on "Why major in economics"
Posted by: indiana jim at May 23, 2007 3:53:32 PM
I realize this is unfair, as I am setting myself up as judge and jury (for this week at least, what a power trip!), but ARNOLD, BUSH, LIONEL RITCHIE and BILLY PACKER ain't cool!!!!!
great tips on Fox, Blanchett, and Patel
Can anyone actually confirm that Eldrick Woods actually was an econ major during his cup of coffee at Stanford? I know he's on some lists but they don't offer any real confirmation.
Posted by: kevin grier at May 23, 2007 4:01:13 PM
Hi Kevin, long time no see.
Here's another: Lefty Dizz (1937-1993). Blues guitarist, West Side Chicago style. Econ major, Southern Illinois. He was damn cool -- played with Junior Wells, and gigged quite a bit with Hound Dog Taylor and J.B. Lenoir.
Posted by: DPrychitko at May 23, 2007 5:06:15 PM
Leslie Daniels was an econ major.
So, there. One hot woman who was an econ major.
Posted by: Michael Munger at May 23, 2007 6:50:11 PM
I see I'll have to add a few more names to my list of famous econ majors. However, the definition of cool is in the eyes of the beholder. Certainly Bond girl Famke Janssen would fit some definitions of cool while Ebay CEO Meg Whitman may fit other definitions.
Posted by: Delemeester at May 23, 2007 7:02:18 PM
Kevin Grier,
". . . a lot less money than other business majors"; come on don't be so ignorant. Watch the video I recommeded and go
READ the articile that Dan Black et al. had on the payoff to an undergrad major in econ vs. other business undergrad degreees.
It is really sad that you are ignorant of the fact that Black et al. report. If you are going to blog, you really should do your homework to avoid egg on your face.
Posted by: indiana jim at May 23, 2007 8:06:52 PM
Indiana Jim: (1) you don't have my quote right, (2) try to cultivate your sense of humor, (3) thanks for the video link and the life lesson, lol
Posted by: kevin grier at May 23, 2007 8:43:52 PM
"It seems pretty obvious that for many of these people economics was something they used to pass the time while in college, not something that led to their current status. I'm pretty sure any student wondering about what they can do with their degree will also notice this."
I can't speak for everyone Kevin listed, but here's a passage from the book "Patriot Reign" by Michael Holley:
Robert (Kraft) remembered the conversations. He remembered Belichick talking about the new NFL that the 1994 collective bargaining agreement had created. Under the system, Belichick theorized, a smartyly managed team would be able to compete for playoff positions and, ultimately, championships.
So, yeah, studying econ. did benefit at least one of these careers.
Posted by: Ted Craig at May 23, 2007 8:44:03 PM
"It seems pretty obvious that for many of these people economics was something they used to pass the time while in college, not something that led to their current status. I'm pretty sure any student wondering about what they can do with their degree will also notice this."
I can't speak for everyone Kevin listed, but here's a passage from the book "Patriot Reign" by Michael Holley:
Robert (Kraft) remembered the conversations. He remembered Belichick talking about the new NFL that the 1994 collective bargaining agreement had created. Under the system, Belichick theorized, a smartyly managed team would be able to compete for playoff positions and, ultimately, championships.
So, yeah, studying econ. did benefit at least one of these careers.
Posted by: Ted Craig at May 23, 2007 8:46:19 PM
Kevin Grier,
There is nothing that I see that is very funny about promulgating the false notion that Dan
Black et al. debunked; Econ undergrads do not earn less than Finance or Accounting undergrads, and they earn substantially more than Bus.Admin. undergrads and Marketing undergrads, as well as more than almost every other type of undergrad major save engineers. Yes, I think that this is
too important to get wrong. The life decisions of young people are important to me; sorry if that makes me humor challenged, but so be it. I'd rather be humor challenged than irresponsible toward the next generation.
Posted by: indiana jim at May 23, 2007 8:55:44 PM
Air Force colonel John Boyd.
Look him up if you don't know who he is. The "fighter mafia" at the Pentagon during the 70s, responsible for the F15, F16, A10, et cetera.
Posted by: Ray G at May 23, 2007 9:27:23 PM
Kemal Dervis , head of the UNDP
Posted by: Hakan at May 23, 2007 10:55:11 PM
