<p>Back in the day, majoring in Economics in Honors was not at all easy. A course major in Economics was considered one of the easier majors on campus. Many of the “jocks” were Econ majors in course. But easy for Swarthmore is a relative term.</p>
<p>The job market for PhDs varies quite a bit by the field and desired employment. Looking for a tenure track academic job in Classics is probably very difficult, though it was probably always tough. If you have a PhD in materials science and want a job in industry, I think the job market is much better, and probably fundamentally better than a BA in English Lit. Economics is somewhere in between. Academic jobs are probably difficult right now, but economics is one of the most popular majors across the country and there will always be a need for econ profs. There are more non-academic jobs in economics (the Fed, etc.) than in the MLA fields, but not as many as in the physical sciences.</p>
<p>The fact that Swarthmore has produced so many economics PhDs is, I think, testament to the strength of the department in the classic liberal arts sense. Swarthmore, and the other LACs, are not trade schools - they do not slot you into a specific career like accounting, nursing, etc. Those are great professions and we need accountants and nurses, but that is not the education you will get if you choose a LAC like Swarthmore.</p>