mathematics certificate: applied statistical...

Shantanu Banerjee

2016

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: BA in Economics, Government. Minored in Business through the department’s Business-Economics option.

Internships during undergrad: The White House Council of Economic Advisers. U.S. Department of the Treasury. U.S. Department of State.

Campus involvement: Texas 4000 for Cancer, Econ Peer Mentor Program

Current Job Title and Employer: Senior Research Assistant at The U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington.

Graduate Program: Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University, funded through private equity firm Blackstone.

How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program?

UT’s econ program prepared me for where I am now thanks to the broad exposure the program provides to economics, math, and finance. Classes like computational economics and econometrics drove me to take more programming coursework in languages like Python. The business-economics option gave me the chance to take accounting and finance coursework with without committing to another major, along with the mathematics option which allowed me to go well beyond calc II where most of your peers will stop. Thanks to these options I could make the major as challenging as I wanted.

Joseph Stemmler May 2018 Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Economics, Mathematics Certificate: Applied Statistical Modeling Leadership Positions: Omicron Delta Epsilon Secretary Graduate Program and Area of Study: University of Texas at Austin, Economics PhD - Fall 2018 Undergraduate Experience: As a dual degree in mathematics, I feel that my experience in and opinion of the core economics classes and upper division electives were substantially different than that of some of my classmates. A great deal of economics is math, and having an intensive math background was an enormous advantage. I strongly recommend taking additional math electives beyond the required basic calculus sequence, as it will not only bolster your quantitative background, but will make course material much more accessible. Being able to surpass the mathematical "barrier to entry" makes understanding material much easier, and I can almost guarantee that taking additional math electives will result in a more pleasant experience in the economics degree. Preparation: The economics program at UT was instrumental in my preparation for my current graduate program. The economics faculty are genuinely intent on helping students, and their guidance and expertise equipped me with the tools necessitated by graduate level study. The broad range of electives offered exposed me to a wide variety of sub-fields of economics, and helped me find my current area of research interest. The option to write an honors thesis was absolutely crucial to my preparation: the ability to take on a research project under the supervision of a renowned professor was an incredible privilege, and provided an opportunity to utilize the analytical tools taught during the rest of the economics program, while gaining independent research experience.

Ashton Martin

May 2018

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Minor in music, singer in Chamber Singers, internship with the Department of State, Consular Affairs

Job Title and Employer:

Leadership Development Resident at Austin Stone Community Church

Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree?

Take as many opportunities as you can Freshman year, but dive in to a few things and do those few things well!


The Economics program at UT is rigorous and will test your skills in a multitude of ways! It prepared me to think for myself about how our world operates and how many leaders in the past have made decisions to help society for the better and worse. As I enter my position in leadership development in the fall, I know that the rigor of the UT program has sharpened my critical thinking and analytical skills to help me work in tough situations.

Younghoo Kim

May, 2018

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Business Minor.

Internship Opportunities:

2014-2015: Lead Organizer, 3 Day Startup Inc.

2016 Summer: Investment Banking Analyst at KB Securities, (Formerly. Hyundai Securities, Co., Ltd. Seoul, Korea)

2017 Summer: Summer Research Associate at Austin Technology Incubator

Founding Fellow at Blackstone LaunchPad at UT

2018 - Present: Venture Capital Analyst Intern at BuildGroup Management LLC

Mireya Blankenship

May 2016

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience:

● Major(s): Economics; International Relations and Global studies

● Minor: Asian Studies

● Certificates: Business Foundations Program (Global Track); Global Management

● Internships: City of Austin, Economic Development Department; Global Austin; Trade intern in Shanghai, China

Job Title and Employer: Business Development at Oracle + NetSuite


● Make as many connection, they pay off in the long run

● Internships and study abroad set you aside from other candidates


● Econ Peer Mentor Program (EPMP) did an amazing job of connecting me to other UT students who had similar interests.

● The exposure to careers and off-campus experiences is amazing! EPMP helped make my UT experience so much better.

Jacob Howard Class of 2015

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Psychology double major, Econ Peer Mentor Program Mentor

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Professional Intern at Lisa Wise Consulting

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): Master's in City and Regional Planning, Cal Poly- Ongoing

Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree? GO TO OFFICE HOURS! How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program? My economics degree has given me an edge over my peers, academically and professionally. The analytical skills I picked up at UT have helped me to develop a way of thinking that is critical in understanding how best city's can solve the myriad problems they face, a skill especially valuable as the present wave of technological change challenges long held beliefs about the nature of city life.

Kelsey Sawyer

May 2015

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Energy Management Certificate, internships with Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Project VoteSmart, and Texas Campaign for the Environment, Econ Peer Mentor Program Mentor

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Research Analyst (Oil & Gas Practice); McKinsey & Company

Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree? Don't be afraid to reach out - your peers are on a journey, just like you, and your faculty are here to help you. Be bold, try out new things, and make sure to schedule in fun in between studies! (it is just as important)

How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program? The Economics program at UT has a wide diversity of professors, some focused on more quantitative applications, some more on theory. All of them will teach you the heuristics needed for a successful career.

Michael Fine

May 2017 Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Business Certificate, Minor in Business Administration, Supplemental Instructor for Sanger Learning Center, Content Writing Intern at Cloud816, Frat boy Job Title and Employer: Integrated Technology Consultant at Cerner Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree? Being a strong job candidate has very little to do with your major. Learn to be professional, learn to be a strong speaker. Learn to write a good email and ask the right questions. In my short career so far I have drawn zero labor curves and calculated zero interest rates. How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program?

In Economics I learned to take pride in my work. In my current job, succeeding is not as easy as getting the highest score on the exam. But if you genuinely care about applying yourself you will go far in any career.

Name: Alan Lujan

May 2013


BS Pure Mathematics, BA Government, Certificate in Scientific Computation, Omicron Delta Epsilon IT Officer, ODE Vice President, Undergraduate Journal of Economics Co-founder and Director, Economics Scholars Program for Undergraduate Research at the Dallas FED, Economics Honors Program, 2013 Surender Kumar Jain Award for Best Paper in Computational Economics presented by Dr. Kendrick

Job Title and Employer:

(2013-2016) Staff Economist at Economic Consulting Services in Washington, DC

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable):

(Current) PhD Economics Student at The Ohio State University, Macroeconomics and Econometrics


Talk to professors, take challenging courses, but also, make friends and enjoy your time in Austin!


The undergraduate program at UT prepared me for a challenging career in International Trade Litigation Consulting in Washington, DC. The masters program in Economics at UT enabled me to pursue my dream of a PhD in Economics at The Ohio State University.

Ieuan List

May 2011


Double majored in psychology and worked in a psychology lab as an RA for a year. Had a full time summer internship with Gerson Lehrman Group in Austin the summer before my final undergraduate year at UT and continued as a 20/hr per week intern during the subsequent academic year.

Job Title and Employer (if applicable):

Associate, Baker Botts L.L.P. (corporate, m&a and capital markets attorney)


J.D. from the University of Texas (2016)


I dug myself into a deep hole with poor grades early on. The adjustment to the freedom of college is hard, but starting off with a poor gpa is hard to overcome. I wish I studied more and had more discipline as a freshman!


My economics degree prepared me to think critically and independently about issues which is useful everyday in my legal practice. Economics majors are also consistently top performers on the LSAT!

Name: Austin Curley

May 2015


● Business Economics (minor, Finance & Accounting) ● Internships: Perella Weinberg Asset Management Division, Vida Capital, TracyLocke Dallas ● Delta Tau Delta (Recruitment Chair & New Member Coordination)


Investment Banking Analyst (M&A, Industrials), Perella Weinberg Partners (New York, NY)


MS Finance, Vanderbilt University – Owen Graduate School of Management


I would offer that the business economics program is an excellent opportunity to enhance the general economics degree with adjacent coursework, and a chance to test the waters of finance.


The economics program at Texas was invaluable in teaching me an alternative perspective on finance that is applicable every day in my position. It has been a differentiator against my peers that mostly studied finance and accounting. Economics teaches a perspective that differs from what they teach in business school, and helps me to add value on projects.

Kevin Halim May 2014


Business Economics Option Program, Trinity Consultants (Technical Assistant - part time job), Indonesia Student Association (Treasurer)


Business Resources Analyst @ Calpine (attached, picture of me at a Calpine plant tour)


UT Masters of Science in Finance 2015


Do things outside of your studies! Join student organizations, lead a cause, have informational interviews with professionals in industries you are interested in. Doing extracurricular activities (that are interesting to you) is evidence of your leadership. It will make will make you remarkable and stand out in work and life.


Aside from the great academic program and support system, the program provided me the brand and connection to enroll to graduate school and work.

Angie Acquatella

May 2016


Pure Mathematics, B.S., Government minor


N/A


PhD student in Economics at Harvard, with a research focus in Healthcare markets and vertical bargaining.


I started my Economics degree with Intro Micro in Hammermesh's giant classroom, and in that class, I didn't just find my life's vocation, but I also learned to apply the ideas of Economics to my own life and become the happiest I'd ever been. This happened because I started optimizing in my every day decisions, following the principles in the little "Economics is Everywhere" book we had to read for class. Doing Economics at UT led me to advisors who supported me and believed in me, even when I had nothing to show for myself on my resume. It also led me to my closest, lifelong friends, with whom I got to go on field trips to the Federal Reserve Bank conference in Dallas, spend countless hours studying for intermediate micro, and make the nerdiest econ jokes that should never be repeated. It was impossible not to want to do a PhD in Economics after my experience at Texas, and I will always remember my four years at the BRB very fondly.


The undergrad courses I took at Texas have been most helpful in providing the sharp Economics intuition needed to understand the models that we are studying in grad school. For instance, some of my peers never took undergraduate IO (International Organizations), but took the graduate IO class with me. There were many instances in which some results seemed to follow in a very obvious way for those that had taken undergrad IO, but the folks that hadn't spent a good amount of time convincing themselves that the result was true. It also gave me the research experience needed to apply for a PhD program straight out of undergrad. The Senior Thesis program was excellent at facilitating advising relationships, offering a set of guidelines to undertake our first solo research project, and give us the chance to present our work at the end. This is perhaps the most directly applicable experience to what we do in grad school on the day to day, and I am grateful to have had the thesis experience at UT.

Steve Karson May 2012 Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Other Majors: B.A., Mathematics Minor: Liberal Arts Honors Certificate: Scientific Computation Leadership: Producer - Foot in the Door Theater, Vice President - Omicron Delta Epsilon, Editor - Student Journal of Latin American Studies Internships: Dimensional Fund Advisors (2011), Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Summer Research Analyst - UT School of Public Health (2010) Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Manager, Corporate Finance and Strategic Planning - Lionsgate Entertainment Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree?: 1. To any student interested in a graduate program, I recommend taking graduate coursework as an undergraduate student. When I started at UT, I was confident that I wanted to go into Academia. The Economics department allowed me to enroll in a semester of graduate coursework: Intro to Microeconomics, Math for Economists, and Intro to Scientific Programming. The experience was very different from my undergraduate classes and that semester ultimately changed my mind about going straight into a graduate program.

How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program? 1. Economics is a broad discipline - and the program encouraged me to take a mix of Liberal Arts courses, hard sciences (Math/Computer Science), and business courses (Finance/Accounting). In my own career, I've shifted from software development to consulting

to finance. I don't do econometrics on a day-to-day basis, but the program provided a strong foundation that has helped me connect the dots and navigate my career.

Sang Shin

May 2016

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Majors: Economics and Finance, Minors: Accounting, Math, and Elements of Computing Certificate. Internships: Finance intern at Applied Materials, Finance intern at Silicon Labs, and Business Valuation intern at SRR. Couple of other administrative positions (front desk assistant at Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, worked in Gregory Gym, I forgot the name of the position). Econ Peer Mentor Program Mentor

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Job Title: Senior Energy Corporate Banking Analyst Employer: BBVA Compass

Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree? Yes, make sure you get work experience on the things that you want to work in after graduation. If you don't know what to do after graduation, try different things, fail at some, succeed at others. Do NOT care about failing and rejection, as a Sophomore I got rejected by ~60 firms for an internship and 1 accepted me, as a Junior I got rejected by ~75 firms and 2 accepted me, as a Senior I got rejected by ~75 firms again and ~4 accepted me, do I care that I got rejected? Not a bit. Also, you don't need two majors and almost three minors like how I did, one is more than enough :)

The biggest differentiator between you and the other students will be work experience (everyone else in your program is also pursuing an economics degree) and your second biggest differentiator will be GPA, though this doesn't matter as much as work experience.

Furthermore, your professors have a wealth of connections and is happy to help. Get to know them, talk to them, they have some very interesting stories to tell you.

How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program? Economics classes are very logic based. The job that I have right now requires analysis and logical thinking that economics classes teach. I would say I apply the analytical thinking side to my job. Also, I took a class I think it was called energy economics which was very helpful and applies directly to what I'm doing currently.

Beyond the classes that you have, make sure you get your soft skills in order (i.e. interviewing, knowing how to genuinely connect with others, etc). Whether you get a job or not isn't controlled by your GPA or what courses you've taken, it's the interviewers who control whether they want to take you or not, so might as well make a good impression. (The book how to win friends and influence people has helped me out tremendously in honing my people skills).

Andrew Hill

December 2017


-B.S. Mathematics

-Certificate in Applied Statistical Modeling

-President of Texas Sports Analytics Club

-Internship at the Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): MS in Applied Urban Science & Informatics at New York University


Go to office hours as much as possible and talk to your professors. Many of them love engaging with undergraduates and the experience will help you in their classes

Julian A. Creel

May 2017

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: - Special Honors, Economics (completion of thesis)

- Business Economics Option Program (minor in Business Administration)

- Undergraduate TA in the Department of Economics

- Law related internship at real estate and development law firm in Austin

- Database related internship at fitness-centric start up company in Austin

- Involved in several organizations including Omicron Delta Epsilon, Econ Honors, Alexander Hamilton Society

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Manager of Business Intelligence / Dallas Stars

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): Master's of Science in Business Analytics / SMU - Cox School of Business (just graduated in May 2018)

Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree? I would recommend exploring advanced programs/academic options, challenging upper level electives, and getting involved in student organizations early on that will set one apart from the rest. In today's age, there are more and more college graduates from great, prestigious schools such as UT. With that, the competition to obtain employment or admission to graduate

programs is becoming immense. I did not start looking into any supplemental academic programs to layer onto my major until almost too late, and I feel there was still more I could have been involved in. But, I ended up completing the Honors program and Business Economics Option Program requirements, and I firmly believe that really helped me in getting into a great graduate program and getting hired with my current employer.

How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program? The Economics program at UT prepared me for both my graduate program and professional career in many, many ways. Learning the discipline, even at the undergraduate level, teaches one to think in a very unique way which is extremely beneficial and makes one with that knowledge an important asset when working in business. Being able to firmly conceptualize how supply and demand work, the mechanics of pricing, and how markets operate are all crucial skills that most outside of Economics do not have a full grasp on. Additionally, the mathematical and statistical rigor of the program was incredibly helpful for graduate school and my current job. I was easily able to pick up and catch onto topics in advanced predictive modeling, dynamic pricing, and other courses in graduate school because of my background in Econometrics that I received at the Economics program at UT. Now, I am starting to implement those statistical methods in practice at my job, and it all started at UT.

Sarah Stephens

May 2013


Business Economics, ECO-MPA, interned at PwC Austin for Risk Assurance

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Risk Assurance Senior Associate at PwC


ECO-MPA at McCombs (studied Financial Accounting & Reporting; Managerial Accounting & Control)


Take classes that interest you, get involved in causes you care about, work hard, but have fun!


I'd say Economics is a great major to train you how to think logically which I've applied in my job in public accounting.

Jonathan Pevey May 2011 Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Major in finance, minor in accounting, President of Texas Economics Association, internship with City of San Antonio Finance Department Job Title and Employer (if applicable): HR Information Systems Manager, iHeartMedia (before attending law school, which I am currently doing). I was a compensation analyst first. Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): MBA Information Systems, University of Texas at San Antonio (2014) (night school) JD, University of Texas Law (expected May 2019) Is there anything you would like to share about your undergraduate experience that might be helpful to a student just starting their degree? -Run for high level positions of a student organization from the first year, every year. -Get the computer science certificate, if you can.

-Do the excel training certificate programs with the business school for your resume (it was on the alternative education website for UT back when I was there). -Learn Visual Basic for Application (for Microsoft Applications) on your own, if you can. -Understand databases. Companies actually use Microsoft Access or things with the same principles. -Have an internship every summer. Nonprofits will let you come in part-time unpaid, if it comes to it. Just ask. -Volunteer frequently. -Start doing the Capitol 10k every year until the end of your life (make it a tradition - yeah, it's expensive, but buy your pass early and save up). -Take a cross-listed class in the law school to try it out. -Get a research assistant position - it might seem beyond you, but giving a professor a body to help them read things is to their benefit. -Don't buy a Mac. Your future employer will always use PCs. How did the Economics program at UT-Austin prepare you for your current position or graduate program? The math was very helpful. Understanding trends and lines of best fit, especially. I also took computational economics - probably the most helpful class.

Name: Derek Manners

Spring 2013


Government major and business foundations minor.


Associate, Allen & Overy, one of the 10 biggest law firms in the world.


I studied law at Harvard Law School


UT has so many opportunities to learn, grow, and experience new things. Try to take advantage of them, meet new people, and broaden your horizons.


Thinking through the economic impact of legal interpretations both on a macro and micro sense is key to almost everything I do in my regulatory legal practice every day. From understanding market practice, how firms actually operate, and what incentives different players have and how that impacts their behavior is critical to giving clients good legal advice. UT Austin’s economic program taught me how to think about these things and how to apply these concepts to real world situations.

Austin Porter

May 2016

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: Plan II major, Accounting minor, interned at Liberty Mutual Insurance, Liberal Arts Council, VP of Omicron Delta Epsilon, Phi Beta Kappa, Dallas Fed Economics Scholars Program

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): University of Chicago Law School, J.D. Candidate, Class of 2019. Focusing on corporate law, interning at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York for summer 2018.


Find ways to get experience using what you learn as soon as you can, either through research, internships, starting a business, or any other means. Professors and the career office are great resources. As you experience more, you will develop well-informed preferences. If those preferences tell you that you need to adjust your career focus, then it is better to realize that sooner rather than later.


Having a strong quantitative background, especially in economics, is very useful in law school. People will be amazed that you can do basic math and use Excel functions. Economics forces you to think logically and systematically, which is very important in law school. It is also useful to be able to point out flaws in statistically-based arguments.

Ian Quinn 2014


B.A. in Philosophy and Economics

My minor for each major was a cross-minor, meaning that my B.A. in Economics had a minor in Philosophy, and my B.A. in Philosophy had a minor in Economics.


Carlock & Gormley; Dallas, Texas.

Associate (Attorney)


J.D. 2017 – S.M.U. Dedman School of Law (cum laude)

Articles Editor, SMU Law Review

Staff Editor, SMU Law Review

Charles and Peggy Galvin Fund Scholarship Recipient

Student Attorney, SMU Federal Taxpayers Clinic

Chief Student Attorney, SMU Federal Taxpayers Clinic


Make time to attend office hours with your professors. Some of the best moments I had during my Undergraduate years were lengthy discussions with professors outside the classroom.

Attend as many sporting events and extracurricular activities as you can while you are at school. Once you graduate, you won’t have the same opportunity to cheer on U.T. as the years go by.

Challenge yourself when selecting your course schedules!


My economics courses taught me to be disciplined, to be rigorous, and to think outside the box. I still deal with numbers on a daily basis in my career as an attorney. Economics courses require students to think logically, and methodically. Both of these skills come into play when analyzing legal arguments and composing pleadings for court.

Fahad Nadeem

Spring 2016

Please list any minors, certificates, majors other than Economics, internships, or leadership opportunities you were involved with during your undergraduate experience: B.A. in Mathematics, corporate finance summer internship at American International Group, Inc., Economics Honors Undergraduate Thesis (multiple presentations, published in undergraduate research journal based in Cornell called "The Visible Hand")

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Finance Analyst at AIG (American International Group, Inc.)


There's always ways to do what you want to do, even if you didn't plan to do it right off the bat. For example, I decided by my sophomore year that I wanted to pursue a PhD in economics after graduating. I changed my mind after my junior internship and going into senior year, deciding instead to go into finance. It has worked out so far, but keep this in mind: it is significantly easier to go farther in your field earlier in your life, if you decide what you want to do early in your college career. Try and engage with career services early, and go to different clubs to interact with more senior Longhorns who are already on certain career paths. The earlier you do this, the more prepared you will be going into recruiting season for your internships/research partnerships/etc. You're at UT to learn and improve yourself holistically - that includes both self-enrichment AND preparing yourself for a job after graduating!


Economics coursework is generally abstract, although with some exceptions. Still, don't discount the value of abstract courses - they teach you how to think. While most of my coursework isn't directly relevant to my day-to-day job, I certainly reason through issues and solutions differently than I did before going through my degree. Beyond that, economics coursework helps you develop a great mix of quantitative and writing skills - it's not a pure math degree and not a pure liberal arts degree, but a bit of both. If you take the time to understand what you are learning and why you are memorizing what you're being asked to memorize, you will get a lot out of this major. You'll start to notice what you've learned show up in conversations about current events, and you'll better understand the world around you. On a more applicable level - UT requires its economics majors to take econ stats and econometrics. You will learn a lot about regression analysis, and this has shown in up in my job - it is constantly growing in importance across so many industries, so pay extra attention in those classes.

Affonso Reis

Spring 2013


● Econ + Math + Statistics & Scientific Computing Certificate ● Research internship at the UT School of Public Health studying the spread of risky health

behavior through social networks ● Omicron Delta Epsilon President ● Editor for Undergraduate Economics Journal

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Data Science Manager at Facebook

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): N/A


● Focus less on what job you can get after graduation and instead invest more on what skills you want to learn. Think of skills broadly instead of narrowly (eg. statistical methods instead of regression; programming instead of Javascript; problem solving instead of microeconomic theory).

● The job you land immediately after school will likely matter less to your overall career development than the foundational skills you pick up during your years at UT.

● Try many different things; get out of your comfort zone; take non-required classes (even if only as Pass/Fail if you aren't willing to risk the GPA); don't tread the path of least resistance; explore all the resources UT has to offer.


The most crucial skill I learned from my Economics education at UT: How to break down a complex problem into its core components, analyze its possible solutions critically, and communicate my point of view succinctly and clearly.

George Ho

Fall 2013


Minor: Business Administration

Internship: Marketing Strategy // Standard Chartered Private Bank


Assistant Vice President / JPMorgan Chase

I support the Head of the Northeast Division for Consumer Banking & Wealth Management


- meet as many people as you can

- go to as many job/career fairs as you can

- have fun!


- Classes on statistics helped to sharpen my logical thinking

Chloe East

May 2011


Minor in math, undergraduate thesis in economics

Job Title and Employer (if applicable): Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado Denver

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California Davis


The Economics department and the University as a whole have a wide variety of opportunities and resources. In a big university it can be overwhelming, but don't be afraid to ask for help and guidance from your advisors and peers! Joining Omicron Delta Epsilon is a great way to learn more about the opportunities in Economics, and I would strongly recommend the thesis program for anyone interested in research.


The Economics program was excellent preparation for graduate school. I worked with great faculty members on my undergraduate thesis and in-class research projects. These experiences were invaluable. I also received very helpful advising from faculty during the application process for graduate school.

Christina Kent

May 2015


Majors: Economics and Mathematics

Internships: Innovations for Poverty Action, Bobst Group, Peak Performance Consulting, research assistant for Dr. Leigh Linden, research assistant for Dr. Mike Finley

Leadership: The Developing Economist, Delta Sigma Pi, Capital Community, Texas Orange Jackets

Graduate Program and Area of Study (if applicable): Stanford University, Department of Economics, PhD


Find an alumni role model who is doing what you want to do, figure out the steps they took to get there, and use that as a working roadmap for your college plan.


The Economics program helped me in so many ways, and I definitely can't list them all. But most significantly, in addition to laying the foundation of my knowledge in economics, the faculty in the economics department were crucial in helping me prepare for and get accepted into an incredible PhD program. They were generous in the research opportunities that they offered to me as an undergraduate, in the effort they spent advising my work, and in the time they devoted to writing me countless letters of recommendation. I'm extremely grateful for all of their support.

Steven Macapagal

December 2013


Second major: Mathematics

Minors: Business administration, Spanish

Internship: Waller County District Attorney

Leadership: Economics Peer Mentor Program (when it started!)


IB Mathematics Teacher at IDEA Frontier College Preparatory, Brownsville, TX


Even if you don't know what you want to do beyond college, keep on pursuing a variety of experiences, jobs, or internships. If you don't enjoy an internship, that information is just as valuable to you than if you did enjoy an internship. Being able to explore my interests and being flexible about my future plans led me to take more risks and narrow down what careers I might enjoy and might not. Ultimately, I ended up in a field (education) I initially didn't consider as an undergrad, but it led me to some of the best professional development and leadership I have experienced.

Also, reflect deeply on the soft skills and critical thinking you develop as a student. Time management, organization, backwards planning, writing and presentation skills - these will continue to shape your professional career more so than the courses you take.

Key takeaway - enjoy your classes, but focus on the skills you develop from the courses you take and the experiences you have.


Economics allowed me to develop a framework for critical thinking. Being able to combine logic, quantitative skills, and communication has certainly played into my ability to teach math and economics effectively, but it has been essential when working with my colleagues in developing a strategic plan for struggling students, or in developing a grade-level budget. Most recently, I used statistics and writing to discuss the association between GPA and ACT scores, along with quality of college acceptances (Tier I, II, III, IV), in a more nuanced and student-focused manner.

Juan Salem

May 2011


Doubled majored in Economics and Government

Received a minor in Liberal Arts Honors (LAH) and Special Honors in Economics

Completed Business Economics Option Program (BEOP) / Business Administration minor

Served as President of the Liberal Arts Honors Student Council

Interned as a Property Tax Consultant for O’Connor & Associates in Houston, TX

Worked as a Real Estate Agent while in school for 512 Realty in Austin, TX


Worked for 5 years at Deloitte Consulting (Human Capital Analyst 2011-2012, Strategy & Operations Consultant 2013-2016)

Starting new job this summer at Google as a Strategy & Operations Lead (2018+)


Completed MBA at Yale School of Management, Class of 2018


If you want to pursue a business career after graduating with an economics degree there are three key areas to invest in. First, focus on building a strong quantitative skillset (particularly statistics) because many of the most important new business roles involve a deep understanding of data analysis. Second, take electives that deal with competition strategy (Industrial Organization/Game Theory) and finance because they are directly applicable to frequent business strategy decisions. Third, take the time to form relationships with professors who are doing research in areas of interest to you because they can provide you with invaluable advice and help you discover areas that you may have never considered.


Majoring in economics at UT provided me with a powerful toolkit for analyzing complex challenges and understanding how the economy operates. As a management consultant I routinely used concepts from economic statistics, industrial organization, and financial economics to study business issues and make informed recommendations. My economics degree was also really helpful while I was pursuing my MBA these last two years because economics was the underlying framework for the majority of my strategy, marketing, and finance classes. Overall, majoring in economics was among the best academic decisions I made while at UT because it provided me with an analytical method that can be applied to a very large number of business situations.

mathematics certificate: applied statistical...

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