BS Quantitative Economics (bachelors, PhD, skills, masters degree)

[ThisToo]

I am going back to school to earn another bachelor's degree.
My first degree was in psychology. I thought I was going to further my education in that field, but I decided to change my path and am set to begin my BS in Quantitative Economics in the Spring semester.

My question is this: I have seen so many different views about the BS in Economics. Some articles tout it as a wonderful degree to have a higher earning potential with just the BS in Economics. Other articles state that a BS is pointless and one should go for a PhD.
Which is true?

The school I am going to attend does not have a PhD option, but it does have a MS program in Quantitative Economics and Econometrics.

Again, I have read bad opinions on getting an MS in Economics. I've read that the MS is pointless and one should shoot for a PhD.

The reason I ask about the MS is that I have the option of staying in the BS for a semester of two and then matriculating into the MS degree, but I don't want to do that if it would provide little return award for the amount of extra work.

Any help with the potential career path would be greatly appreciated. If you have actually graduated with this degree, could you tell me what you do and what lead you to this path?

Thank you.

[cheddar]

Yes, you can get a decent-paying job with a masters degree in economics, especially if you make sure to take more than the minimum amount of statistics courses and get experience with statistical software that employers are looking for. Ask the grad econ advisor about placement and what specific skills the employers are looking for. For example, are the students getting hired to use STATA or SAS? You don't need to get a bachelors degree in econ to get into a masters program in econ, but you might want to take both principles and intermediate micro and macro first as well as a basic course in econometrics. Also you need to know some calculus.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by cheddar

Also you need to know some calculus.

I would write: more than some.
I took one econometrics course at Harvard that required a lot.

[Momma_bear]

My son graduated with a double major in Economics and Mathematics (BA in both). He is currently in a management training program for quantitative analysts at a large bank. He was recruited to that program directly from his campus.