Economists are a rare breed. One needs to be down-earth pragmatic and yet instilled with a sense of idealism to be an economist.
Idealists usually look down upon economists as petty being focusing on money along, while neglecting all the important stuff that makes us human (This is a wrong statement, but that is the impression economists give to outsiders) and anyone without some pragmatism would not opt to learn such a "petty" discipline. Some think they are too good for economics: economics are just not rigorous, they are not the kind intellectual fruit as Physics or Mathematics. (once again, once we learn it, we know the intellectual challenge of economics is no less than that of other discplines and it asks a synthesis of different abilities, but people do not have perfect information nor rational expectation).
Those who opt to study economics are thus practical beings, and they know money is very important (some change their mind when they study economics further and their work has enriched economics as a discipline). The opportunity cost of being an economist is huge: those who can finish Phd are simply hotly desired in private sectors. Come on, investment bank's work are just baby stuff for real economists. We now better. But yet, economists choose to go to academics, because they are not free from idealism: we believe through intellectual work, we can build a better world, where there is less hunger, less poverty, less struggle, more happiness, more enjoyment and more efficiency.
