| Topic Name: |
Masters in Economics/ CFA level 1 |
| Message Name: |
Depends Location |
| Date Posted: |
08/29/2003 |
| Message: |
(1) Top American universities tend not to offer terminal Master's in Econ.
(2) In the US, terminal Econ master's programs are for people who didn't have the caliber to get into a Ph.D. program.
(3) In the UK and perhaps in Canada (not sure), the Master's is the stepping-stone for the Ph.D. It is a high-quality degree, esp. LSE or Oxford.
(4) What this means is that in Economic Consulting (LECG, CRA, Lexecon, NERA etc) in the USA, Master's-level hires are not promoted well or given much responsibility above that of a BA-level hire. Unless you are outside the US (most firms have Toronto and London offices).
(5) In the UK, a master's is treated much the same as a Ph.D.
(6) Starting salaries- for entry-level BA's in US, it's about $40k. Entry-level plus 2 years promotion gets you to $55k-$60k. Entry-level with 4 years experience commands maybe $65 to $70k. But promotion prospects beyond that are a bit cloudy.
(7)With a Ph.D. it's about $100k for a new hire. Not bad.
(8) If you do well on the job, a senior associate at one of the big econ consulting firms will pull $180k to $225k.
(9) At VP or Partner level, you can expect in excess of $300k.
(10) UK salaries are lower, but they don't care about the Ph.D. bit as much. Canada too I think they'll be happy with an MA/M.Sc.
Econ consulting is great. No bullshit- no face time, reasonable hours, good pay, little travel, very intellectual atmosphere. Most firms are not well-managed but there is little HR b.s. and you can get on with the job. Besides you learn a lot of economics too.
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