I am forced to go with your point on lack of awareness. I don't think an above average naija economics graduate will try the GRE twice or thrice and not get a good score that will enable him/her land a very nice fully funded program in the US. I mean, there are many economics departments in Naija universities and the law of large numbers tells me that the higher the number, the higher the chance of getting things right.

[b]There should be more awareness. Economics profs should encourage their students to apply to top universities abroad. [/b]The profs should desist from assuming that the students will be their competitors in the near future. The GRE is what can be written again and again until a desired score is achieved. The profs should let their students know this fact, and even force all interested students to sit the GRE for as many times as they want. And of course, the economics departments should be willing to pay (or at least partly pay) for the GRE and TOEFL registration fees for these students.

And of course, the economics departments should be willing to pay (or at least partly pay) for the GRE and TOEFL registration fees for these students

tanimola22:

^^^^

As you are very young and fresh, I encourage you to like that damn maths! If you want to go far in economics of nowadays, you must have an average knowledge of calculus, differential equations, statistics, non-measure theory probability and algebra.

Make sure you ace all of your eco-math courses. I really want you to work very hard because you have a clean slate at the moment. If you hope to pursue economics up to the highest possible level, you have to work really hard and smart now. If you don't work hard to earn very nice grades now, you will almost surely not be able to land yourself in a top economics program in the future.

Go and start working hard. Love mathematics just as you love economics. And welcome to the field of economic policy technicians.

T22

Jarus: Let me chip in some things on career prospects of an Economics graduate.

The greatest advantage you have if you read Economics for your first degree is marketability and versatility.
This stands it high ahead of other Social Sciences and management disciplines.
Many job adverts extend their requirements net to cover Economics, sometimes even when not directly related to Economics. So this means, with other factors like your class of degree and self-development, you stand high chance of getting job.

As an economics grad, you can tread a career path in the following areas:
Banking: You stand a high chance of getting bank job if you read Economics, even far ahead of someone that read Banking. This is because banking profession goes beyond banking industry knowledge to include the knowledge of teh workings of teh whole macro economy. This is why an economist stands a better chance of faring better in banking profession than a professional banker. My childhood dream was to become a banker(my mentor then was Dr. Femi Adekanye, CEO of the now defunct Commerce Bank), so when completing my UME form, I chose Banking, but my brother, then a banking officer in an investment bank now a GM in that now enlarged bank, advised met to choose Economics instead of banking as Economics subsumes Banking plus other things. I reluctantly effected the change in my form and settled for a school where Economics was offered. That's one of the Top 3 decisions I have ever taken in my life as Economicsoffered me a wider choice when I graduated. Although, along the line in university I lost interest in banking, but thankfully I wasn't studying banking, I was studying what was more than banking.

It is also noteworthy that before the boom in banking industry in mid-2000's when banking jobs became an all-discipline affair, when Science and Engineering grads who were better in taking aptitude tests, but whose line had very little to absorb, swarmed into the banking industry and outmuscled the Econs & related grads for the jobs, Nigerian banking industry was dominated by Economists and economics graduates. Most of the men that ruled Nigeria's banking industry in the 70s to 90s have economics background. So banking is traditionally one of the most attractive career destinations for Econs grad.

sixteen08:

Everywhere I see you,you are always a blessing
God bless U

Jarus:

Thanks. You may regularly check out my blog: www.jarushub.com

decode: Where can one download E-views and Stata?

drexx: Reading mathematics and economics now in uniben. 200 level. Do I stand any chance against the real Economics graduate in the job market. Also I am intending to take up some professional qualifications before I graduate, which one is most advisable. ICAN? Stumbled on a site of Institute Of Chartered Economist Of Nigeria. Is this body legal? Answers needed pls in order to plot a career path urgently

sixteen08:

You can effectively compete with any economics graduate in as much as you know your economics courses very well. Another edge you'll have is the mathematics which is combined with your degree (because it gives you a much more robust quantitative background).

I'll suggest you go for ICAN because you stand more chance in the labour market particularly in the financial sector.If you add a professional qualification like ICAN to a Bsc in Maths and Econs(preferably a 2:1 and 26yrs max), chances of getting a job in a top notch consulting firm(KPMG,Deloitte,PWC etc),bank,oil company,investment bank and a FMCG company will be high.

Rudewaterz: WOW! A fresh undergraduate here. . .previously eagerly looking forward to attending his first EVER Econs lecture on Monday. Poor in maths. Now, I'm thinking, ''WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO!'' God help me.

KayEnn: I'm an Economics graduate from a Turkish University and definitely going for a Masters program in International Economics by September this year in Germany but the problem is by the time I'm done with my maters program, I must have clocked 31 years. At 31, would you advice me to go back home for ICAN certifications or develop my career here in Europe? Do you see age as a barrier when it comes to competition for getting employed? What can I do generally to make my Resume Juicy? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Admitwithschola:

Hi,
No need going for anything Economics again since your sole aim is to do salary work. Development finance will be more reasonable and should help to broaden your reach. However, if you must do Economics, make sure you make 1 or 1.3 or at worst 1.7 out of 5 (German system is opposite—1 is the highest and 5 is the smallest). This will help you continue your studies at good schools in America or there in Europe. Meanwhile, you can begin ACCA there in Europe, instead of coming to naija to begin ICAN from the scratch. If they write ICAN where you are now, then you can take it there. The goal is for you to not wait till you reach naija before you begin a professional exam. If you do so, you will have wasted time.
There is no guarantee that you will or will not get a job when you do eventually return to Nigeria at 31. However, one thing you need to know is that there are people that are way below 31 years old, with master’s and professional qualifications, who are yet to get reasonable jobs. There is no hard and fast rule to getting a job in Nigeria. You just need to be lucky, well-prepared and favoured by God. It becomes more likely when you have well connected people who are willing to assist you.. But connection alone does not guarantee anything. You need to hold your own too.

If you can, I suggest you start your career abroad. If you come back straight to naija and have not had previous work experience, many, not all, companies will price you below 150K Naira per month. And I think they are fair because the reality is that someone with a graduate degree and no experience hardly has anything to offer nowadays, except the job is research based, similar to what I do. That is only when your academic research skills will come in helpfully handy.
There was a time when a master’s from naija landed people assistant manager position, but un[color=#006600][/color]fortunately that era seems to have passed. The only time such is very possible, in my view, is when one has a graduate degree from one of those fancy schools abroad..But,…people with such fancy degrees won’t come to naija and compete for 300k per month job.


Finally, I selectively give professional and academic advice for a fee. That is why my user name is admitwithschola. I am planning on going large scale and charging good money. My success rate over the years has been huge. You may just be one of my clients someday.

Admit.

Thanks so much for your advice. I indeed appreciate every bit of it. When you talk about making a 1 or at least 1.7 so I could continue wif my studies in better schools, are you talking about getting a Phd? Considering my age, what do I stand to benefit from going for a doctorate degree as I don't have an intention of going into Academics? Another thing is, I have a National Diploma in Nautical Science and I'm also considering a masters degree in shipping Economics to complement my ND qualification but the major problem is that there is no major like that in Germany. There is in UK but I can't afford UK schools. For the development finance you recommended, I'm going to search for schools in same Germany almost immediately if I could get something like that. Thanks so much; Admit. You don't have an idea how helpful you're at this time. Thanks once again.

Admitwithschola:

Hi,
No need going for anything Economics again since your sole aim is to do salary work. Development finance will be more reasonable and should help to broaden your reach. However, if you must do Economics, make sure you make 1 or 1.3 or at worst 1.7 out of 5 (German system is opposite—1 is the highest and 5 is the smallest). This will help you continue your studies at good schools in America or there in Europe. Meanwhile, you can begin ACCA there in Europe, instead of coming to naija to begin ICAN from the scratch. If they write ICAN where you are now, then you can take it there. The goal is for you to not wait till you reach naija before you begin a professional exam. If you do so, you will have wasted time.
There is no guarantee that you will or will not get a job when you do eventually return to Nigeria at 31. However, one thing you need to know is that there are people that are way below 31 years old, with master’s and professional qualifications, who are yet to get reasonable jobs. There is no hard and fast rule to getting a job in Nigeria. You just need to be lucky, well-prepared and favoured by God. It becomes more likely when you have well connected people who are willing to assist you.. But connection alone does not guarantee anything. You need to hold your own too.

If you can, I suggest you start your career abroad. If you come back straight to naija and have not had previous work experience, many, not all, companies will price you below 150K Naira per month. And I think they are fair because the reality is that someone with a graduate degree and no experience hardly has anything to offer nowadays, except the job is research based, similar to what I do. That is only when your academic research skills will come in helpfully handy.
There was a time when a master’s from naija landed people assistant manager position, but unfortunately that era seems to have passed. The only time such is very possible, in my view, is when one has a graduate degree from one of those fancy schools abroad..But,…people with such fancy degrees won’t come to naija and compete for 300k per month job.


Finally, I selectively give professional and academic advice for a fee. That is why my user name is admitwithschola. I am planning on going large scale and charging good money. My success rate over the years has been huge. You may just be one of my clients someday.

Admit.