Career Opportunities with an Economics Degree

Economics graduates are known for doing well in the jobs market, even after the credit crunch and the subsequent struggles in the financial industry.

Of course, the majority of graduates move into the banking and financial sectors but that doesn’t mean that’s the only place you can look for work after graduation.

Studying for a degree in Economics is rightly considered to be hard work and that alone will make you an attractive prospect to potential employers.

What all employers are looking for is evidence that job candidates are intelligent, self-motivated, and used to working hard to achieve their goals. The fact you have an Economics degree will show that you possess all of these qualities.

Here’s more about your career opportunities with an Economics degree:

What skills will I gain studying for my Economics degree?

Whilst studying for your degree you’ll gain many skills that will equip you for a career in banking, finance, or economics.

However, there are also many transferrable skills that could be useful in any industry including:

• Communication (both written and oral)
• Critical thinking
• The ability to concisely communicate results
• Interpersonal skills
• Analysis and reasoning skills
• Information processing skills
• The ability to abstract and simply an issue in order to get to the core of a problem

Although the exact course content of an Economics degree will vary between universities there are also a number of things that any Economics graduate could reasonably be expected to do:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic economic concepts and principles
• Demonstrate an understanding of economic theories and modelling approaches
• Be proficient in quantitative methods and computing techniques
• Ability to critically apply economic reasoning to policy issues
• Have knowledge in a reasonable number of specialist areas of economics

Jobs directly related to your Economics degree

The majority of students hope to move into a career that directly relates to their degree after graduation. Some common career paths that are directly related to an Economics degree include:

Chartered Accountancy

Although this involves more training in order to gain professional qualifications a highly popular career option for Economics graduates is to become a Chartered Accountant.

Typically this role involves the continued management of financial systems and budgets, providing financial advice to clients or organisations, reviewing a company’s systems and analysing risk, and detecting and preventing fraud.

Economist

As a professional economist you’ll be using economic theories and you specialist knowledge to offer advice to clients, organisations, or the government.

Economists collect large amounts of data and carry out considerable research in order to give the correct advice. They’re also responsible for analysing this data and producing economic forecasts and making recommendations based on the trends they find.

Increasingly economists use specialist software and advanced methods in order to make a more accurate prediction about economic trends.

Banking

A role in banking is another highly common career path for Economics graduates. You’ll already have skills in financial control, financial planning, data analysis, risk analysis, and consultancy, which are all skills highly sought after in the banking industry.

On a day to day basis your work will mainly involve advising and providing financial services for your clients and businesses.

Jobs not directly related to your Economics degree

There are also a number of roles that might not be so obviously related to your Economics degree but where the skills you’ll have gained will be very useful.

These jobs include:

Actuary

The main function of an Actuary is to evaluate, manage, and advise clients or businesses on financial risk.

By combining your knowledge of economics and business you’ll be able to provide commercial, strategic, and financial advice. Generally an Actuary focusses on pensions and insurance but many later move on to healthcare, investment, and banking depending on where their interest lies.

Local government

Becoming a local government officer allows you to develop a broad career with clear opportunities for professional development and progression.

You could find yourself involved in a variety of council areas including education, finance, housing, leisure and tourism, planning, social work, and transport.

Other less common career options for Economics graduates

There are any number of broad options you can consider with an Economics degree including:

• Business intelligence
• Journalism
• Human resource management
• IT
• Law
• Business management
• Social research