The way I figured it, when recommending which major my son should choose in college, although he was almost certain to choose a social science rather than humanities or natural sciences or an applied program such as engineering (no such major at his college), I urged him to choose one that would take best advantage of his superior quantitative skills. Hence, economics. That opened up a larger variety of potential career lines, as well as potential future academic degree programs, than majoring in political science or sociology. I think a major in geography also has good potential in part b/c of tools in geospatial analysis. In the end, he did not choose an academic career, but no question he’s benefited from the courses in advanced math and econometrics.