Job Options For An Economics Degree
Whether you’re about to graduate college or high school, or you’re looking to make a career change, then you might be wondering about what to do with a degree in economics, and if this is the correct path for you to take. The good news is that there are many different jobs you can look into having if you want to study economics or applied economics at any degree level.
So whether you want to spend your career looking at numbers by studying data, checking the latest market trends, or something completely different: there are plenty of options open to you once you graduate. Here are just some of the job titles you could be adding to your business card.
Market Research Analyst
You will need knowledge of industry trends in this role, so you can assess how services or products will perform under various economic conditions. You will need to quantify results and then present this information to your clients.
Not only will you need to use presentation and graph software, but you’ll also require writing and statistical skills. Thinking critically about services and products, as well as being able to solve problems, will also be essential. You could even develop these types of skills further if you decided to become a Master of Science in Applied Economics.
Financial Analyst
If you’re interested in researching information on companies, industries, bonds, stocks and other ways to invest money for finance departments, then you may want to look into being a financial analyst. By having an economics major, you may have the advanced quantitative skills to analyze this information.
A financial analyst will often need to use computer software and models to help with their analysis. You would need to write reports and present information to clients and colleagues, who will then decide about investments, acquisitions, and mergers, among others.
Also, one part of their job is creating financial models for businesses. This comes in handy in any bigger business transaction you are dealing with as other businesses would like to see that you have a healthy financial model. If you never heard of financial modeling you can read about it in this Wall Street Prep guide which covers all its functions.
Business Reporter
These reporters will write, research and broadcast news stories about business leaders, industry trends, financial markets, and economic developments. If you’ve been curious about the economic world during your studies, then this curiosity will be essential to being successful in this role. You’ll also need to be able to write about economic issues in plain language, so the average reader or viewer will be able to understand.
Actuary
As an actuary, you would use statistics to determine the probability of risks – as well as the financial consequences of the risks. Actuaries are those who come up with the numbers for insurance companies and would work with underwriters as well as accountants to determine insurance rates.
For determining the premiums of insurance plans, an actuary would need to know about business and finance probability – as well as statistics and math. This would be used to calculate risk factors for events such as fire, flood, unemployment, accidents and other risks an insurance company would take by providing cover. Many actuaries will specialize in just one type of insurance – such as automobile, health or homeowners’ insurance – but you can also get certification in other areas.
