IGIDR placements

[kartiksharma9968]

Guys, can someone tell me a rough figure for mean package of igidr msc economics? Also considering the fact that one is inclined towards placements, JNU SSS should be preferred over igidr or not? And how is the campus life at igidr? It will be of great help if anyone of you could throw some light.

[amalgamateking]

I can't give exact details but I can try and explain the picture that is in my mind regarding these two institutes (the sources are my seniors who are studying/have studied at both these places)

IGIDR is better for placement because of the applied nature of the course (major focus on econometrics and statistics). JNU is better for free thinking (mostly heterodox) SSS is completely unlike any other course in India, perhaps the world in this regard. You get to learn completely different things than what is standard. So, JNU fits that section of academia better. Mind you, IGIDR teaches a very standard Economics Graduate course, so it is not at all that you can't go into academia (or atleast the "standard" fields in academia) after IGIDR. But this whole point is obviously moot, since you want to focus on placements.

SIS would provide comparable jobs on that front. SSS is definitely behind IGIDR.

A person I know who passed out from IGIDR in 2015, is now working at CRISIL. I don't know her exact pay, but I am sure it is around 8-10ish lpa (if not more?) She is posted in Mumbai BTW

[jumbo]

Hey amalgamate, i knw dse results r not out yet, bt whts ur opinion on dse vs isi

[amalgamateking]

DSE and ISI are very comparable in some aspects. They differ wildly on some other aspects (Disclaimer: This is again my opinion, so it isn't necessarily correct or incorrect)

Placements and associated pay are similar at the two places. So no point in elaborating on this further. One can get the exact same job with the exact same pay from either.

DSE is all about rigor. The course is huge and a lot of different topics are taught (by lot, I mean a LOT). It is essentially a two year "war" (I have seen it being described as such by a senior of mine). The payouts at the end are substantial, if one can make it through to the end. If one is unsure, exactly what it is that he/she wants to study at this stage (because to be honest knowing what one wants to focus on at the masters stage in a field like economics, is like knowing what engineer one wants to be in class 11. That stuff just doesn't happen. Maybe happens for a freak computer coding genius or something, but for most people, it just doesn't)

ISI is all about Microeconomics and Mathematical Economics. It is a focused course for people who know (or atleast, think they know) what they want to work in for the next 35 years of their life. If that is what you want, then there is no place in India like ISI.

Now, the way I have described above may give you the idea that ISI is more relaxed compared to DSE. While, in some ways that is true, the fact remains that some people thrive under duress. Again, in such  cases, there is no place in India like DSE.

I know many people who chose ISI over DSE. I know lesser number of people who chose DSE over ISI. But both things do happen. It is entirely up to you to decide.  :)

[Sarim]

@amalgamateking do you have stats about recent placements at JNU CESP (mean/median package, number of offers made profile, etc.)? Also do you think JNU is at par with DSE if one wants to purse PhD from (hopefully top) European universities with development focus?

[amalgamateking]

I have absolutely zero data on placements at any of the schools. Unlike Business Schools, Economics Graduate courses aren't purely focused on placements (at least I would hope them not to be; if one wants the highest paying job, one should do MBA/PGDM in India)

A professor in my College Dept did his MA in Economics (SSS) from JNU. He later on did his PhD in Development Economics from New York University (which is pretty much top 10 right now, was different in his day though). I am sure JNU will open as many avenues as DSE will in Development Economics. But DSE opens avenues in other fields as well. You can not possibly discount that.

[jumbo]

Wt if sum 1 is intrsted in finance? U hV ne idea wich 1 of dse nd isi hs more electives n faculty intrsted in finance? N placements?

[amalgamateking]

Finance I suppose ISI K is the best choice amongst Economics courses. Still it is much better if you go to a B-school for MBA and later on  maybe a fellowship from IIM, if you are interested in Finance.

ISI D is more of micro and math econ, which aren't really related to finance that much at all.

DSE is more of Macro and Econometrics, parts of which are useful for finance, but again not very much of it.

ISI K has the best statistics dept and one of the best mathematics departments in India, so it is more the case of those professors doing good work in Finance because all one does in Finance is Measure theory and  Stochastic Calculus (things Economists don't really deal with much)

[amalgamateking]

BTW you are going to ISI D or ISI K?

[jumbo]

nthng beats iim mba fr finance bt i ws planning to do tht later aftr gtng sum work ex. First yr of M.stat is also taught in isi-d i think, nd isi d also has sum gud names in the stats dept. so don't u think they'd help wth learning more abt finance?

I'm going to D

[amalgamateking]

That I can't say now. I guess yes, but there is a chance of no as well. Hopefully it will be the former.

[hchadha3]

Hey, is there a lot of difference between the faculty at ISI K and ISI D? I got selected at ISI K and I'm more inclined towards Econometrics and micro. Just saw your post saying that ISI D is the better one at Micro and Math. Just want to know that are the course structures completely the same for both (ISI D and ISI K) and if I want to do more of game theory, will I be able to get that opportunity at ISI K?

[amalgamateking]

Econometrics and Micro both shouldn't be a problem at all. ISI D is the undisputed leader in Game theory in India. ISI K is perhaps the best in Microeconomic theory (Social Choice, Industrial Organization, things of that nature).

Course structures are 90% same (the 10% I am keeping to account for differences between the teaching style of the individual professors). On paper, they are 100% same, but things rarely turn out as they are on paper.

You will definitely get the same Game Theory courses at ISI K as one would get at ISI D. The difference would be only due to the faculty and their particular teaching styles. All the faculty at both places are basically at the top of their games. So don't worry too much about it.

The thing is, even if the final dissemination of the course differs between ISI D and ISI K, firstly, we can't say which one will be ultimately better FOR YOU. And secondly, if ISI D does indeed turn out to be better (there is no reason ex-ante why this should be the case), will you give up your admission offer at ISI K?

I wouldn't if I were you.

[hchadha3]

Haha yup. You're right, I'm worrying unnecessarily about what I'm gonna get there though the faculty at Delhi does seem to be better at least but one can't judge a lecturer solely on their educational credentials which obviously professors at both the places have stupendous ones. The thing is, I came across all these posts explaining how the course at ISI Delhi is more likely to get you a top Phd place in US and that got me thinking. Do you have any idea where can I get a look at the record of students from both Kolkata and Delhi (The PhDs they got) ?