All Terrain Thinking

A Compendium of things I think are Important

Economics: It's not just whats' in your wallet

Introduction: A Few Choices

"The other night I was having a drink with a friend at one of the local pubs. A conversation quickly developed and this question was raised: What did you learn in your four years at University?

Her response took five minutes to complete during which she was able to explain everything she had learned while in college. The gist of the story is that she spent four years of her time in school and untold thousand dollars of her own money for five minutes of knowledge. Is it worth it"?

This is an e-mail I received from one of my students. Is college worth it? It is a reasonable question for you to be asking as you begin your new semester of studies at University.

The answer, which is the most you will come to expect from an economist, is that it depends. I know from the experiences of some of recent grads, that it can matter-that it can open doors that would never have been opened without the college degree. I also know of some counter help who have their college diplomas.

So how does one improve the odds of success? Before we get to the specifics, let me begin by passing on to you a shortened version of the advice given to some parents who were looking for a return on the enormous investment they were making in their children's education, advice which has guided me in my development of this course.

Success, both here at the University and out there in the "real World", will be dependent upon the choices that you make - on your decision making skills. At the University, your choices will be subjected to an array of influences: some specific to you (ex. enthusiasm); some external to you (ex. technology); and some related to the people in your life (ex. friends). These choices (ex. your major) will affect your success at University, which will in turn have an impact on the breadth of choices open to you when you will be making those Life Choices (ex. occupation).

There is no time like now to start making these choices. The good news is that Economics should improve your decision making and you are enrolled in an introductory economics course. How it will help is the subject of the introductory unit, so let's begin.

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