Careers in Economics
A student of economics will have a good understanding of how markets function. This knowledge is useful for a variety of entry-level jobs in government, industry, or finance. Many large corporations and labor unions employ economists to prepare forecasts and to examine developments in national or local markets that may affect future costs and profits. A rapidly growing area of employment for majors, especially those who have strong analytical skills in mathematics and statistics, is management consulting. Another is banking, both commercial banking and investment banking. Governments at all levels, including international organizations such as the United Nations, are also significant employers of economics majors for positions involving analyses of revenues and expenditures, cost-benefit studies of programs in education, health, and transportation, etc.
Higher-level positions in industry or government usually require at least a master's degree. A doctorate is generally required for academic employment and for the top echelons in business or government. The study of economics also provides a good preparation for a professional degree in business or law. However, majoring in economics is by no means a prerequisite for admission to either business school or law school.
A Career IN ECONOMICS...it's much more than you think!
This brief educational video, developed by The American Economic Association, will be of interest to students who are evaluating career options in economics or may have wondered what types of professionals utilize economics in various fields.
Career Projections
A survey of the graduating economics majors in the class of 2020 by Northwestern Career Advancement found that:
- 85% reported being employed full time by 6 months after graduation
- 12% were enrolled in graduate school
- 1% were completing some other activity including self-employment, part-time work, additional courses or military service
- 1% were still seeking employment.
A survey of the class of 2020 found that for those employed full-time:
- 46% were in finance, banking or business services
- 30% were in consulting
- 6% were in technology
- 4% were in communications, marketing & media
- 3% were in non-profit/government work
- 3% were in healthcare & pharmaceutical
- 2% were in education & teaching
- 2% were in research, science or engineering
Alumnae Interviews
Top: Christine Mulhern '13, Gabrielle Alves '13, Emily Vogt '18, Sree Kathiravan '13
Bottom: Jill Grewe '12, Lisa Grewe '15, Tricia Luko '15, Tulsi Patel '11
Research indicates that exposing successful economics alumnae to undergraduate women significantly increases the likelihood of those women persisting in the major. To highlight the array of career paths available to our undergraduate students, we invited alumnae from different areas, including research, product management, digital marketing, and more, to share their unique experiences. Each of the alumnae participated in a virtual interview, moderated by a founding member of our new Womxn in Economics club. Check out the highlight videos below!
Back to top