There are a lot of good reasons. Perhaps these will be the subject of another post. But earning potential has never been a big one. I recall an economics professor of mine during my undergraduate years at UCSD frequently describing the job of an economist as “talking money without ever earning any.” A recent study of undergraduate job placements suggests that this might be changing, noting that economics/finance majors experienced the greatest growth in starting salaries from 2005 levels.
Plus, you could win a Nobel Prize! Ok … Ok … I know … it is not a “real” Nobel, but it is pretty impressive nonetheless.