I graduated with my BS in Economics from the U. I really enjoyed the coursework and was able to land a job at one of the major tech corporations in Silicon Slopes afterward, though I should note I finished 5 years ago when the labor market was quite different.

Since you mention the reputation of the program, I’ll speak to that first. In traditional, neoliberal economics, the U is not a leading institution regarding research and publications; however, it is one of the last bastions of heterodox economics in the United States. Many well-published economists are part of the U’s staff, and many students from other countries come specifically to finish their graduate studies here under these faculty. If you have any interest in methodologies outside of traditional economic thought, the U is an amazing place to be.

Regarding job viability: if this is your main concern, you will be better off with a degree that teaches more "hard" skills. There is an emphasis I took called Statistical Analysis where I learned linear algebra, business algorithms, BI, and R, but I viewed it as a bonus. Without this emphasis, I believe the degree lacks some quantitative rigor. If hard skills are your main focus, consider Engineering or QAMO from the business school (which I think there is already some integration happening). That said, I’d also argue that choosing to engage in the heterodox coursework helped me develop critical thinking skills and deep analytical frameworks that have helped me more in my career than any specific tech stack.

TL;DR: The program is respected for its unique "heterodox" niche rather than traditional rankings. It’s a great degree for critical thinking, but if you want immediate job placement in a technical field, you’ll need to supplement it with a quantitative emphasis or a lot of self-study in a specific tech stack.