Gauri Chhabras
So you have just written your Std XII exam and are waiting for the result. Meanwhile, you are also wondering what to do next? You just scraped through studying Accountancy and other subjects but when it comes to Economics, there is a sparkle in your eye.
Are you straddled with the question- How do I make a career in Economics?
If yes, you will get all your answers here…
Jobs for economics majors are not just limited to those with “economist” in the title. Economics graduates can cast a much wider net in their job search. After all, those who complete economics programs can find work in a huge variety of industries, from banking and insurance to real estate and public service-and almost none of those jobs specifically ask for economists.
Courses:
* BA (Economics)
* BA(Hons) (Economics)
* B.Sc. (Economics)
* BA (Business Economics)
* BA (Developmental Economics)
* BA (Applied Economics)
What kind of Bachelor’s in Economics degree should you get?
The type of degree you should get depends on your career aspirations. If you want to use your economics degree in a business setting, you may be well-suited for a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Economics.
Alternatively, you can pursue a more general Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Most of these programs also offer specializations such as International Economics, Monetary Economics, Urban and Public Affairs, and Quantitative Economics. To become an economist, you will most likely need to pursue an advanced degree after finishing your bachelor’s.
Most entry-level jobs in economics require at least a bachelor’s degree, but you can choose to get either a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) or a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). A B.S. in economics focuses heavily on math and statistics, and it will prepare you for jobs that require advanced data analysis or modeling. A B.A. also has a math component, but it looks more at the behavioral aspect of economics and thus tends to incorporate more psychology or sociology in the mix.
You must have studied Maths at class 12 for taking admission in DU, Shiv Nadar, Ambedkar University, Jadavpur, Presidency and St Xavier Kolkata.
Institutescape:
* Delhi School of Economics
* Jawaharlal Nehru University
* Presidency College Kolkata
* University of Delhi, South Campus
* St. Stephen College, Delhi University
* University of Bombay
* Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata
* Sri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi
* University of Agriculture Science, Bangalore
* Gokhale Institute of Economics & Politics
* Symbiosis School of EconomicsMadras School of Economics
* IIT Kanpur
* Banaras Hindu University
* Ashoka University, students can pursue for 3 years or 4 years as per their wish.
* Shiv Nadar
* OP Jindal University
* BR Ambedkar School of Economics in Bengaluru offers the 5-year integrated course in Applied Economics
Career Pathways:
In the government sector, you may try for Indian Economic Services, jobs in Reserve Bank of India, PSUs and other public sector banks. Some examples include- Indian Economic Services (selected via UPSC); Economists (one usually needs to get a Ph.D.) with the Indian Government; Private Firms such as McKinsey, Deutsche Bank, etc.
Actuarist:
An actuary uses numerical analysis to calculate and manage risk. Your job is to analyze the likelihood of future events and identify ways to minimize the risk of negative outcomes. A bachelor’s degree will get you in the door; you will likely be partnered with more experienced actuaries who can guide your development. You will have to apply for membership in a professional actuarial society and pass a series of exams to be certified. You can start that process in your senior year of college; in fact, many employers expect students to have passed at least one of the qualifying exams before they graduate.
Financial analyst
Guiding companies’ investment decisions is the job of financial analysts. They use their skills in quantitative analysis to assess financial projections and evaluate investment proposals. You have to be skilled at deriving meaning from economic and business trends to be successful in this field. You can help keep the world’s financial systems on track by making sure that banks, credit unions, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions comply with applicable laws and regulations. Part of the role involves ensuring that borrowers are treated fairly and that the financial institutions are prepared to handle any unexpected losses. A bachelor’s degree in economics is a good foundation for you to embark on this career.
Supply chain analyst
Manufacturing firms, retail businesses, and transportation service providers rely on supply chain analysts (also known as logisticians) to make sure the process of getting products from warehouses to end users operates as efficiently as possible. These professionals collect data on costs and productivity to evaluate shipping processes and identify problems. You need to be good at strategic planning and resource allocation to succeed in this field.
Environmental economist
Do you have a passion for protecting the natural world? You might want to become an environmental economist. These professionals collect and analyze data to study the environmental implications of government policies on issues like alternative fuel use, soil conservation, and climate change. Their work helps decision makers plan activities related to environmental protection. Many of these positions require advanced training, but some entry-level jobs in government agencies are available for candidates with a bachelor’s degree.
Market research analyst
As a market research analyst, your job would be to survey a business segment to figure out what products will sell well, who will buy them, and how much companies can charge for them. You are responsible for conducting surveys and keeping abreast of industry trends. You also have to present your findings in a way that people can easily understand. In addition to having a firm understanding of marketing, you need to be detail-oriented and have good quantitative abilities for this work.
Research
An undergraduate student in economics can pursue a doctoral degree and become a professor/ research scholar. Some of the top universities of the world have produced Nobel laureates in Economics, who have contributed vastly to the research world. Besides, there are several broad areas of research that can be explored such as- Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, International Economics, Behavioural Economics, etc. Economics forms one of the strongest pillars of management courses such as MBA.
Banking & Finance
Graduates in economics often shift to banking and finance, owing to the overlapping nature of work. For eg, Dr. C. Rangarajan and Sh. I.G. Patel were renowned Economists before they went on to become Governors of RBI.
Going the multidisciplinary Route
Data Scientist
Now, this is quite multidisciplinary. At the face of it, it may sound that Economics degrees don’t teach programming and databases, neither do they come even close to machine learning. But let me tell you, specific skills aren’t the most important, though. Solid background is?-?a background that will let you learn the specific skills quickly. If you work as a data scientist anywhere in the “real world”, you’ll have to present your results to non-technical audiences?-?managers, marketers and copywriters, customers and clients. And you’ll have to be able to show why your results matter and how normal folk can use it and act on it. As an economist, you’ve written your fair share of papers, essays, reports, presentations and dissertations in your time at university. In fact, it probably puts you well ahead of most of computer scientists and mathematicians when it comes to presenting and explaining your work clearly?-?and putting together longer pieces of texts that have structure and logic behind them.
Economic Journalist
If you have solid oral and written communication skills and enjoy explaining complex concepts in plain language, you may find success as a business journalist. Your job is to make the worlds of economics and commerce understandable to the average person. Having an economics degree means you can position yourself as a subject matter expert; as long as you can demonstrate your writing ability, many news organizations will value your input-even if you don’t necessarily have much journalism training and magazines analyzing markets trends, changing the socio-politico-economic environment, etc.
Law
Combine your degree in Economics with a degree in law and you can explore career opportunities in the field of International Law such Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade.
Summing up:
The career choices go on and on.
Put another way, having a broad set of employment options is a really good thing, and being in demand, because you know how to analyze and assess even when the problems are messy, is equally beneficial, and this comes when you are armed with Economics.
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