Expert: Dr. Joseph de Beauchamp - 8/30/2006

Question
Dear Dr. Beauchamp,

I was wondering if you could answer a question of mine concerning graduate school in Economics.
I am trying to decide which universities I should apply to but cannot find rankings of Master's programs (I've found rankings of PhD programs but no master's programs).

Would you happen to know where I could find these rankings?  If not, do you have any idea which Master of Economics programs would be appropriate for me?  I will have a Bachelor of Finance degree in Dec. 2006, 3.5 gpa, GRE scores as follows:
Verbal: % below, 62
Quantitative: % below, 45
Analytical: % below, 71

Is it safe to assume that the PhD rankings will be similar to the Master's rankings of programs in Economics?

If you can answer this question, please email me.

Thanks a lot,
Chris

Answer
If you truly look at the rankings, they do not provide you enough information. The degree that you receive tells you nothing about the employers need for your services. You should work with a recruiter or headhunter. You would find that having the ability to tell what benefits you provide an employer: this is everything. Employers really do not care about where you obtain a degree, just that you have one. What they do care about is what you will do for them.

What Benefits?

Dr. Joseph deBeauchamp