Econ. Prof. What do they do?

Here is an email I received from a student at a local high school. I have only deleted the students name and email address to protect her identity.

She wrote:

Dear Mr. Java, Am am hoping for you to be one of my sources for my career project that my enghlish teacher assigned to my class. I am a senior at Paloma Vally High School and I have beeen thinking about what I am going to do after I graduate. I was thinking in getting in volved somehow in economics. I also like teaching things to people, so the obvious career for me to pick is an economics profesor. If you have the time, would you mind telling me what was that you had to do to achieve your proffesion. What schooling is needed, waht credentials to you have to obtain, what test do you have to have, so on so forth. I would also love it if you could describe your job, what you like about it the most and the least. I know that you are a bussy person, but I would be very gratified if you gave me some insoght on your job.

Sincerely,

My response to this student is as follow:

This is for an English class? First let me start with that most economists are terrible writers that is why most students think economics is difficult.

Let�s see Economics is better known as the Dismal Science. If you are an optimistic individual, you should not study economics. Economist believe that everything has a cost associated with it. You know this rule as �There ain�t no such thing as a free lunch� (Your English teacher will not like this sentence). If you are going to be an economist you must believe in this rule with all your heart. This is why it is hard to find a happy economist.

Economist working in the private industry usually work in front of a computer and manipulate numbers and formulas. Their work affects the price that companies charge for their good. For example Southern California Edison has many economists working to calculate how much they should charge per kilowatt. Pepsi and Coke consult their economist before they raise or lower their price. Do you drive? Your car insurance is calculated based on a formula calculated by statisticians and a type of economist known as �econometricians�.

The economist in the field of education can be divided into two groups. One group teach at research institutions. Most of the prestigious universities are research institutions. These professors teach and research various new ideas in the field of economics. These professors are under lots of pressure to research and publish their work in various Economic Journals. The second group teach at the community colleges or at liberal art colleges. These colleges concentrate on teaching and sometime are referred to as teaching colleges. Some economics instructors/professors at teaching colleges do investigate and publish research. However, these instructors are not required to publish, so they have more time to concentrate on their students.

If after reading this you still want to be a Dismal Scientist, then you should pay attention in your math classes. Math and statistics are very important in economics.

I hope this helps you with your paper. Again check my spelling and grammar before showing it to your English teacher.