Careers
Economics majors have a wide range of choices when deciding on an interesting and challenging profession. Undergraduate economics majors are recruited by business firms, from small local companies to the very largest multinational corporations. Some of the career paths in the corporate world include:
- Banking and Finance -- work on Wall Street!
- Market Analyst -- get paid to study markets.
- Marketing -- sales makes the world go round.
- Human Resources -- put your labor economics to good use.
Public administration jobs with government and nonprofit organizations provide many openings to those with economics degrees. Examples of career paths in public administration and government include:
- International Agencies: Peace Corps, World Bank, United Nations -- they need economists!
- U.S. Government Agencies: Federal Reserve System, Treasury, Commerce, EPA, etc. -- they need lots of economists!
- State and Local Government Agencies: Labor, Economic Development, Budget Analysis, etc.
If the student's goal is to become a lawyer, economics offers excellent preparation. Many law schools believe that economics represents one of the best backgrounds for success because of its logical, ordered approach to problems. In fact a recent article in the Journal of Economics Education found that economics is the BEST major to prepare for law school, based on average LSAT scores.
A small share of economists (1 out of 10) are employed in colleges and universities as professors and administrators. Graduate degrees are required for such positions. Finally, economists engage in private research and act as consultants to large corporations and government agencies.
The best way to find out about these many varied opportunities in economics is by doing an internship. Click here to see a partial list of job placements for recent UO economics majors.
Pay in Economics
Pay for those with economics majors is above average across all possible majors. In addition, women's average salaries in the profession are on equal terms with men, which is still not true in many professions. The following article and chart shows how economics majors compare to other majors in terms of starting salaries , while these charts show salaries for economists by degree (Bachelor's, Master's and Ph.D.) and compared to other professions. This U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic's page provides very detailed employment and earnings information for those with economics degrees. The future (and present) is bright for fellow economists!
Career Preparation
Career preparation is a process and requires planning. It's not something that one should begin in the last quarter of your college education! You should realize that there are a lot of resources available to you here at the University of Oregon to help you. The main resource is the Career Center. You should be registered with the Career Center, attending workshops, and polishing your resume by your junior year. These services provided by the Career Center are free to current students and are services for which people pay quite a bit after graduation. So take advantage while you can!!
After some work with counselors at the Career Center you hopefully have a resume that looks close to this sample resume of a recent economics graduate. Extracurricular activities, internships, and community service greatly enhance one's resume and attractiveness to future employers. The UO now offers the chance to enhance your resume by getting a professional distinction, where a student takes coursework in an area that is complementary to their major and completes an internship in that area, all while building a professional portfolio that will give them a solid start in the work world after graduation. Finally, take the time to attend career-related events throughout the year. In addition to many workshops at the Career Center, the UO economics department sponsors an economics panel in the fall and spring. These economics panels have 3-4 alumni and recruiters talk about careers in economics and give insightful advice for landing a great job after graduation.