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Economics : Careers
Career Information and Further Study
Skills gained in this program include:
Career Choices
Career Hints
The most popular careers in economics are in financial services, including: brokerage firms (e.g. Merrill Lynch), investment banks (e.g. JP Morgan), retail banks (e.g. M&T Bank), and insurance companies (e.g. AIG). Jobs in finance can generally be classified into sales (e.g. financial advisor) and analysis (e.g. financial analyst). However, economics is applicable in so many fields that our graduates are now working in such varied areas as consulting, retail management, consumer goods industries, advertising, publishing, the health sector, not-for-profit research organizations, U.S. government agencies (local, state, and federal), and various organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations agencies, and the International Monetary Fund.
The demand for economists has increased steadily over the past decades. There are several reasons for this. Foremost is the transition over the past forty years of economics into an applied science, a change made possible by powerful computers, advanced mathematical and statistical software, and the collection of detailed datasets by government agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, research organizations such as the National Bureau of Economic Research, and universities such as UB. The well-trained economics graduate today offers to employers analytic insights that were unavailable earlier. Second is the ever-wider application of economic analysis. Organizations that never thought in economic terms now find themselves having to do so. Not least is the unhappy fact that resources are evermore scarce in our world and so how they are used grows continually in importance. Economics is a science whose time is here. The need for economists is strong and will continue to grow. Starting salaries are high compared to those for graduates in most other subjects.
Salary Information
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the median annual salary for economists was $68,000 in 2002. The middle fifty percent earned between $50,560 and $90,710 and the lowest ten percent earned less than $38,690. The highest ten percent earned more than $120,440.
However, salaries range greatly from one occupation, position, and work setting to another and also vary by level of education. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that, in 2004, average pay for economics/finance graduates was $40,630.
What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?
5-10%, most usually in economics, management or law.
- Designing surveys and planning methods for collecting data
- Gathering economic information
- Recording findings accurately and in detail
- Participating in team work
- Using mathematical, statistical, and computer methods to analyze and interpret data
- Making oral presentations
- Writing clear, concise reports and illustrating them with charts, tables, and graphs to represent statistical data in an easy-to-grasp way
Career Choices
- Accountant
- Actuary
- Auditor
- Bank officer
- City manager
- Consultant
- Controller
- Educator
- Environmental economist
- Foreign exchange trader
- Forensic economist
- Geographer
- Home economist
- Insurance agent
- Investment advisor
- Personnel manager
- Policy economist
- Political scientist
- Securities analyst
- Statistician
- Stockbroker
- Systems analyst
- Trust officer
- Underwriter
- Urban planner
Career Hints
The most popular careers in economics are in financial services, including: brokerage firms (e.g. Merrill Lynch), investment banks (e.g. JP Morgan), retail banks (e.g. M&T Bank), and insurance companies (e.g. AIG). Jobs in finance can generally be classified into sales (e.g. financial advisor) and analysis (e.g. financial analyst). However, economics is applicable in so many fields that our graduates are now working in such varied areas as consulting, retail management, consumer goods industries, advertising, publishing, the health sector, not-for-profit research organizations, U.S. government agencies (local, state, and federal), and various organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations agencies, and the International Monetary Fund.
The demand for economists has increased steadily over the past decades. There are several reasons for this. Foremost is the transition over the past forty years of economics into an applied science, a change made possible by powerful computers, advanced mathematical and statistical software, and the collection of detailed datasets by government agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, research organizations such as the National Bureau of Economic Research, and universities such as UB. The well-trained economics graduate today offers to employers analytic insights that were unavailable earlier. Second is the ever-wider application of economic analysis. Organizations that never thought in economic terms now find themselves having to do so. Not least is the unhappy fact that resources are evermore scarce in our world and so how they are used grows continually in importance. Economics is a science whose time is here. The need for economists is strong and will continue to grow. Starting salaries are high compared to those for graduates in most other subjects.
Salary Information
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the median annual salary for economists was $68,000 in 2002. The middle fifty percent earned between $50,560 and $90,710 and the lowest ten percent earned less than $38,690. The highest ten percent earned more than $120,440.
However, salaries range greatly from one occupation, position, and work setting to another and also vary by level of education. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that, in 2004, average pay for economics/finance graduates was $40,630.
What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?
5-10%, most usually in economics, management or law.
Last updated: Wednesday, 23-Apr-2008 15:42:54 EDT