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So I am going to do an internship this spring and I've already received some offers through the office. Problem is - I didn't learn shit in college, even with my 3.5 gpa. I look at this offer and it's econ research, analysis and writing for a magazine?.. Aside from econometrics where they tore my ass apart (got out with a measly C+) I don't remember any strictly relevant courses. Or do I go in expecting to learn it on the spot?
If anyone can share - please do. I'm also wondering if it's possible to find a paid internship since I'm strapped for cash.
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Depends on where you live. For the most part, you're right - economics courses don't really prepare you for working in a job in the economics field. It's more about the way of thinking than anything else. You'll be expected to learn the specifics of your job on the spot. The type of analysis that they expect is probably nothing more than descriptive statistics on economic data. More hardcore economics jobs will expect you to be able to do some serious econometrics stuff so you will need to learn that stuff eventually if that is your intended career path.
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Don't sweat it. Know poli sci majors who haven't taken anything beyond Econ 101 (definitely not econometrics) who do this type of shit. It's an unpaid(?) internship, so they definitely don't expect you to know everything.
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you should be totally fine. if they happen to task you with something that you're not too sure about, just go back to your textbook. in my experience, all of my internship supervisors have been very understanding and helpful. if you're not sure of something, it's usually not a problem to ask them for help either.
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28076 Posts
Congrats on getting some offers though, that can be tough at times depending on where you are 
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It's not a secret that Econ majors don't have any practical knowledge or that an Economics education is about as useful as any other bland social science major like sociology/polysci/etc. If you're recieving offers, those making the offers know what they're getting.
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I think the most important thing is the general principles, rather than any specific equations. As long as you have internalized the idea of how supply and demand works, elasticity, the basic theories of monetary policy and inflation, the basics of fiscal effects, then you should be fine.
Congrats and good luck! I would recommend reading some economics blogs. There are a ton out there and they often have interesting content, which at the same time discuss the basic themes that I mention above.
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EPT
