University Park, PennsylvaniaNovember 6, 2017Interviewed by Akram KhanThe Optimal Bundle and PSUEA would like to thank Akram Khan and especially Professor Boyle for his advice to students exploring or undergoing an academic career in economics.________
Dr. Austin Boyle is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics at the Pennsylvania State University - University Park.
Complementing his professional life, Dr. Boyle is an avid runner who has participated in multiple marathons, including a 50-mile ultra-marathon in town. He adopted a dog from Puerto Rico and is fluent in Spanish.
As an undergraduate, Boyle was tracking majors in chemistry and economics at Florida Atlantic University. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in economics, with just one class short of earning a major in Chemistry. While listening to career discussions by chemists and economists in their respective research interests, Boyle decided to pursue economics and went on to graduate school to earn a doctorate from Florida State University.
If you could go back and change anything in your life, what would that be?I only missed 2 classes in all of undergrad. I would miss a third one if I could to attend a lecture that James Watson* gave in 2005 at Florida Atlantic University. There are other things outside of classes that are so important to the college experience and while I was involved with a lot of clubs, I would say that whenever you have an opportunity to listen to a pioneer, you should take advantage of it – even if it’s not a requirement for your class or your major.James Watson is an American molecular biologist, who co-discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953
What advice would you give to students interested in pursuing Economics at the graduate level?The best advice I got going was not to memorize anything but to learn the underlying concept, rather to derive the solution through intuitive logic and thorough understating of the concepts. It may take longer on some instances but when encountering a new problem, you know you’ll get it right. And you hardly face the same classroom problem in real life. I always tell my students to not memorize that indifference curves are shaped convex to the origin but to learn why they have that shape.
What do you like the most about being a professor?Best part of the job is interacting with students who are full of energy and new ideas.At Penn State, there are so many students with very diverse backgrounds who bring a lot to any discussion. One time, we were having a discussion on sweatshops in class and there was a guy whose family worked in a sweatshop in El Salvador. Another time we were talking about hunting elephants in Africa and we had a Tanzanian student who talked about her experience with that. It’s really cool when students share their experience like that with the class and I know it’s tough especially since I teach such large classes. That’s the part I enjoy the most – I never know when someone will have a really great in-depth contribution to the class.
In your view, what is the most significant mistake students make in college? How can they correct it?On average, students not prioritizing their studies. They don’t use effective study strategy and hence spend more time studying while learning less than they could.Students should use effective study strategies like reading before you go to class so when you hear the lecture, it’s not brand new material. And before reading a chapter, ask yourself what you can learn from this lecture. That way you’ll actually retain more information. After class take what notes you have from class and put them in your own words and relate it to your life – make it personal.
What is your most memorable moment at Penn State?When Leeland* was born, someone was covering class for me and I came in to finish the class and everybody applauded. That was nice.Leeland is Dr. Boyle’s second son. He is 10 months old at the time of this interview
Which professor do you most admire at Penn State and why?Bill Goffe*, because he’s always trying to gather evidence to help his students learn better and accordingly change how he teaches in the classroom.*William (Bill) Goffe is an Associate Teaching Professor of Economics at Penn State. He can be contacted at wlg13@psu.edu
For doctoral programmes, is it better to look at a good & reputed school, or a good & reputed professor you wish to work under?For PhD programmes, if you have a good & reputed professor you wish to work under, that takes precedence. Willing to take you under their wing and provide guidance, that’s more important. I went to Florida State, an institution that isn’t known for its overall economics department but it has a really good ‘Experimental Economics’ department and ‘Urban & Regional Economics’ department. If you are planning on being a specialist in an area, it’ll help to have that pedigree from that particular professor who’s an expert in the said field.
What books would you recommend students in order to develop an interest in economics?‘Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’ and ‘Nudge by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein’ would be a good place to start.
What skills should students develop in order to succeed in the world after graduating from Penn State?Transfer – The ability to transfer what you learned in one situation and apply it in a new situation. You are rarely going to be provided with a same problem environment you had in class or an internship. You need to take the tools you have learned and figure our novel ways to combine them to solve new problems.
Thank you so much for your time Dr. Boyle.Pleasure talking to you, Akram.__________
Dr. Austin Boyle is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics of the Pennsylvania State Univeristy. He holds a Doctorate in Economics from Florida State University in Tallahassee and a Baccalaureate degree in Economics with minors in Chemistry and Spanish from the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Florida Atlantic University.
Akram Khan is a senior pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in Economics, Applied Statistics, and Mathematics from the Pennsylvania State University.
The Optimal Bundle editorial team has made minor adjustments to the original transcript of this interview.
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Featured Image: Fog settles along Pattee Mall at the Pennsylvania State University.
Photo Credit: Tina Hay