The Department of Economics is preparing economists with strong econometrics and programming skills to prepare them to be data analysts and data scientists, ready to serve and lead business, governmental and not-profit institutions with their data analytic needs. Economists make the best data scientists, and in a team environment are a critical part of the data science team. This owes to the rigorous analytical training that economists go through in programming, statistics, mathematics, econometrics and forecasting, but more importantly in their education in critical thinking and problem solving in an environment that is both theoretical way and backed by scientific data evidence. In other words, economists stand out to employers. We have many testimonials that when economists are hired they move up in the organization quickly. The challenge is often getting employers to consider economists in the range of disciplines they hire. One way we are using is to recognize our students for a particular skill, that of knowing SAS programming.
The Economic Data Analytics Certificate of Completion is jointly sponsored by the SAS Institute and the Department of Economics at The University of Akron.
The jointly offered certificate is based on student’s successful completion of the economics major core coursework in data analytics along with economic theory at either the undergraduate of graduate level. Each honoree also successfully complete a major research study using SAS as the primary tool of their data analytic project. These data projects, most often the students senior research project, are a valuable asset to the student to help convince employer of their ability and interest in research.
Importance of Economic Analysis to Data Science
Economists are unique in their approach to data analytics due to their unique training. They are story tellers, they are able to articulate problems and to take a rigorous approach to the solution of those problems. They understand the importance to understand the question: “why?”
Economists own causality and understand observational data, some are even said to be obsessed with the data generating process. Economists have a a strong linear regression toolkit and are well familiar with the processes that push beyond that level of rigor. Economists understand minimizing and maximizing of objective functions under constraint.