Careers

Individuals with a degree in Economics can be found in a wide variety of fields and positions. Employers in business, politics, law, social work and education highly value the critical-thinking skills developed in economics. Employers can, for example, train you to do "marketing" the company way. But they cannot train you to do economic thinking. Economics develops your ability to organize your thoughts on complex issues, thus enabling you to write professionally and to make clear and persuasive arguments. Economics develops your investigative skills as you learn to analyze and interpret data. Economic thinking, or what is sometimes referred to in the corporate world as scenario planning, is a skill you bring to the employer.

Across all fields, employers are looking for three key skills, the ability to reason, the ability to communicate orally and in writing, and the ability to calculate. Economics provides the reasoning, writing, and calculating skills that employers seek. These skills explain why economics majors score higher on law school admissions tests than other majors and why economics majors receive among the highest starting salaries.

Common Entry Level Positions

• Management
• Marketing
• Finance and Analysis
• Government
• International Agencies
• Teaching Positions
• Nonprofit Agencies
• Political Consulting

• Career Center
• U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook: A description of jobs as an Economist and average salaries