Is an undergrad senior honors thesis in economics worth it?
Hi all,
I saw a few similar posts with varied answers but curious to hear opinions on my situation.
I am currently a senior at a non-target LAC and am debating completing a two semester thesis for honors distinction in economics.
I have a 3.9+ GPA (Summa cum laude), leadership experience on campus, an internship with an asset manager, and an internship in corporate finance with a F500 tech company. I do not yet have solidified plans for after graduation; there is a strong possibility I will be doing a 2 year corporate finance rotational program but I am also planning to apply to some additional roles (IB/ER included). I am considering business school (not really grad school) at some point but it is not a definite.
I have a fairly difficult course schedule already (final requirements for my major), do not have many friends completing an honors thesis, and know that it will consume a significant amount of time. The main reason I am considering it is for career and business school opportunities.
Thoughts? Will doing an honors thesis be that much of a boost for me? Is it worth it?
Thanks a ton!
I asked a similar question awhile ago. Also for econ Honors at a semi/non target. Mixed bag of answers. I ended up saying no to my honors thesis because it allowed me to graduate earlier and I had a job lined up.I'd say if you have a job lined up get rid of it. Probably not worth the stress and extra work unless your thinking about research or professorship down the line.As a side note, I don't think anybodys gonna give a shit if you do your thesis. Even if it's good I don't think people will care. 5 years down the line you might actually come off as a weirdo if your trying to sneak your honors thesis into interview questions or conversation. I've seen how hard and rigorous these honors thesis things tend to be (not very). Nobody is impressed by them unless you are truly a research superstar who comes up with something groundbreaking that makes the news or gets published in a real academic journal (insanely small odds given it's a citation ring and you'd be a noob).
Unless you have aspirations to go into academia or you just love economics and/or the professor you'd work with and want to spend your time that way, I'd probably skip it. A thesis, especially at the undergrad level, is really just a long research project and you rarely have enough time or resources to really create something that is adding to the existing literature in the field. It will have almost 0 impact on your career or for business school opportunities. I did an Econ thesis and I don't think I've literally ever talked about it in the workplace or had it ever come up again, aside from the random few times I've thought about it and the one time I came across it while cleaning up my dropbox.
Given your background, if I were you and I was optimizing for my career, I'd:
The decision is up to you, but if you're optimizing for your career, I can tell you that it won't have much of an impact.
Libero doloribus et sit repellendus quas maxime. Id ipsam rerum rem. Eligendi vel ullam delectus repudiandae aspernatur aperiam tempore. Voluptatem quod dicta dolorem quia ut.
Aperiam quibusdam est ut ipsam aut odit aliquid. Sit totam modi dolor et. Dignissimos itaque autem qui assumenda voluptatem rerum architecto quo. Eos accusantium necessitatibus et sapiente dolor.
Cum doloribus mollitia est. Reprehenderit beatae quasi cumque dolorum quasi dicta. Delectus et voluptatem non qui.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...