Is Econ at Essex a "Mickey Mouse degree"?

Well, I wanted to know if it is worth it in terms of career prospects to study economics at Essex, which is surely not prestigious but it is also not a bad uni.
And is economics worth studying at all? Or should I have chosen, for example, Building Surveying degree?
Be honest

I've just graduated with a first in economics from Essex. In reality the best jobs available are either in the Government Economic Service or in consultancy for example Charles Rivers Associates. However, if you want a prestigious job you need to study at an elite uni. In my cohort some of the best performing students have secured places on postgraduate courses at top universities including Cambridge, Warwick and Imperial.

If you are hardworking and bright you can achieve a lot...

I've just graduated with a first in economics from Essex. In reality the best jobs available are either in the Government Economic Service or in consultancy for example Charles Rivers Associates. However, if you want a prestigious job you need to study at an elite uni. In my cohort some of the best performing students have secured places on postgraduate courses at top universities including Cambridge, Warwick and Imperial.

If you are hardworking and bright you can achieve a lot...

well, that’s definitely not true

Thank you for the useful info.
Could you please give me some advice on which extracurriculars to choose? Or any other advice for the future economics student at Essex? Also, how did you like the course? Was it high quality?

My advice to you is that you need to somehow find a way to standout from the rest of your cohort, though academic excellence. Ideally you need to be in the top 10%, you can achieve this by downloading (Essex ORB) all the past papers from various modules and starting work on them straightaway. In everything you do, you must go above and beyond what is expected...one of my professors told me you need at least 80% final degree mark to be competitive in applications to the elite uni's for postgraduate study...and that's what you should be aiming for...

I couldn't fault my time at Essex, the teaching was excellent, and the department has a good reputation even though the uni is not highly ranked.

You can take a look at my LinkedIn profile, website and Github repo...for details of my EC's.

thank you a lot! Do you have any other advice, for example which extracurricular activities should I take? Also, I study BA Econ with German, will it put me at a disadvantage against graduates who studied pure economics when applying for postgraduate study?

I would recommend taking EC251, EC252, EC351 and EC352 if you want to apply for postgraduate study.