Why Studying Economics Requires Curiosity

"Gratitude may be a result of studying economics, but what antecedents undergird enriching encounters with economics?

To my mind, the preeminent intellectual antecedent is curiosity."

"To be a successful student of economics, therefore, one must come ready to understand the world—not to judge it. My experience with teaching Econ 101 suggests that “judging” is the single most relevant barrier to understanding"

Caleb S. Fuller, AIER, July 11, 2022

How does your major affect your earnings?

The "Earnings over time" tab in the MyFloridaFuture tool contains the median earnings by major for graduates of the public colleges and universities in Florida. It reports three medians, one year after graduation, five years after graduation, and ten years after graduation. It reports medians by school and for all schools overall. A table with the values for all schools overall for selected majors follows below. Here are three observatiions.

1. Engineering is the most lucrative major. 
2. Economics majors do well compared to what some students may view as "close substitutes". 
3. The increase in income between year 1 and 10 is higher in economics than in the "close substitutes".

Is College Worth the Cost? That Depends

Here are two money quotes of a a report for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (WSJ, Nov. 2021).

1. Though students often obsess over where they get in, their majors have the most sway over their future earnings. Programs in engineering, computer science, economics and nursing all yield a high return, often increasing their students’ net lifetime earnings by $500,000 or more (emphasis added).
2. Besides major, another important factor behind negative return for some programs is low completion rates. If a student graduates in four years, the increase in his earnings is usually enough to justify the costs of college across majors and schools. That’s true less often if he takes five or six years to graduate.  

Studying Economics Increases Wages a Lot

Your major matters (MarginalRevolution Oct 2020).

"Students who majored in economics earned median wages at the age of forty of $90,000 in 2018. Students who majored in other social sciences earned only $65,000. Why the big difference? Selection or a causal effect of earnings? Zachary Bleemer and Aashish Mehta compare students at UCSD who just missed the grade cutoff to be able to major in economics with those who just made the grade. Making the grade causes a big increase in students choosing to major in economics and a big increase in their salaries by their mid-20s of about $22,000. Thus most or all of the observed differences in salaries by major appear to be causal. The increase in salary appears to be driven by a change in preferences that leads students with economics majors to specialize in high-wage industries."

Evidence that the monetary return to studying economics is high

"estimates show that policy-complying economics majors — who appear representative on observables — earned $22,000 (58%) higher annual early-career wages than they would have with their second-choice majors" (https://privpapers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3583165).

Trump Administration Releases Data on Earnings and Student Debt

The WSJ (Nov. 2019) reports on new government data that shows median income one year after graduation and student debt by College or University and major. Here are some results for VCU.

                          Major                       Median Income    Debt

1. Accounting and Related Services       $45,000     $23,625
2. Business/Commerce, General            $41,600     $23,250
3. Business/Managerial Economics    $39,300     $21,875
4. Marketing                                            $35,000     $20,722
5. Psychology                                          $30,200     $23,250
6. Political Science and Government      $26,000     $23,250

Data on Salaries and Employment Rates, by Major

Here is more evidence that economics majors fare well in the job market. Bankrate ranked 162 majors in 2019 based on median income, unemployment rates, and percentage with advanced degrees. The table below contains what they said about economics and some of its competitors. I also include the lowest rated major for comparison.
                                                                        % with 
                                            Median    Unem. Advanced
Rank Major                         Income    Rate    Degree
23     Finance                      $75,000   2.9%   29%
33     Information Systems  $75,000   3.3%   29%
38     Business Economics $68,000   2.7%   29%
43     Economics                 $74,000   3.4%   43%
44     Accounting                 $63,000   2.5%   29%
64     Marketing and            $55,000   2.7%   17%
         Market Research
67     Business                    $58,000    3.2%   24%
         Management And 
         Administration
73     International               $55,000   2.7%   32%
         Business
77     Human Resources     $55,000   3.3%   30%
         And Personnel 
         Management 
140   Psychology                 $45,000   3.1%   47% 
162   Drama and Theater    $35,000   5.2%   26%
         Arts 

My first piece of advice for choosing a major is, "Find something you love and excel in it". My second piece of advice is, "If you love two subjects, choose the one with better job prospects".