How do you find a job with a BA in Economics

<p>Assuming the BA is from a good school ( University of Michigan), how would you find a job after graduating? I've been looking at Indeed and Monster and there are literally next to no jobs that require econ. Help please!</p>

<p>Are you a senior now, or looking for future reasons? My daughter boyfriend was an econ major (not at Michigan,but I went to Michigan and obviously an econ degree from there is a worthwhile degree). He started by looking for internships in his home city starting after freshman year. He managed to wrangle an internship with the SBA, then another summer he was a budget analyst for a government agency. After junior year he interned with one of the bigger consulting companies and accepted a full time offer after graduation with them. So the answer… start hustling for business-related internships early in your college career. </p>

<p>Also, you should be talking to the career office for LS&A. Companies come in and interview, and it is possible to sign up for interview slots with them. Pretty much anything looking for business background will also be feasible for an econ degree. Don’t wait for postings that ask for econ specifically, seek interviews even for jobs that don’t list econ as a specific requirement.</p>

<p>Thank you for your reply. I am a possible transfer student for fall 2014 ( junior standing).
Which would you says is the better option btw in terms of future job prospects (acct,consulting,etc)? UIUC accounting or the previously mentioned Michigan economics? Will both open the same doors or is there a significant difference due to the Michigan name brand? </p>

<p>Hey, I’m currently an Econ major at UIUC. I’m doing a summer internship at a major bank this summer. Michigan is not worth the out of state cost if you are an Illinois student. Where do you want to work after you graduate? I would wager that UIUC accounting will offer highly starting salaries that UMICH econ as well. </p>

<p>Honestly, I don’t know what I want to do yet, I’m currently looking to go to the school that will leave me a wider range of options for the future ( with good salary/career). UIUC accounting sounds promising but Michigan has always been my first choice school. Unfortunately, econ does not sound as promising as accounting. Can you please tell me what your route was to secure your internship? prior job experience, connections, etc? Thank you.</p>

<p>Connections mostly. The difference between UMICH and UIUC is totally not worth the OOS state cost, unless you are from a wealthy family. Unless you’re going into IB or a similar prestige driven field (although there are some IB banks that recruit at uiuc) then the name on your diploma isn’t likely going to matter a whole lot, especially between two big ten schools.</p>

<p>Accounting is quite specific, be sure you have taken some classes in the field before deciding to major in it. You can certainly make a decent living with either type of degree. I personally would not pay for Michigan from OOS if I were you (and as I mentioned above, I went there).</p>

<p>bump</p>

<p>Agree with the above, accounting is too specific, and if you go for a CPA you will forever be in finance ( not a bad thing if you like it) </p>

<p>I always suggest getting a more general degree ( it will give you more options for jobs and you will not be pigeon- holed as an accountant or finance guy) and doing a minor in accounting. Everyone in every department of every company needs a budget guru and most of us hate it. They will look at your CV and say hey you can handle my budgets I hat it! And if you get your degree in something that interests you ( finance, Environmental science, art history) you can work in that industry and be the budget guy.</p>

<p>Regarding Economics, most positions that require a BA in business admin or finance will take an Econ major. It is so math heavy its equivalent to Math as a business smartypants degree. And Econ with heavy math is all about Big Data, its the biggest highest paying thing and there are not enough people for all the jobs analyzing all the data that is being generated about buying behavior and all.</p>

<p>There is nothing wrong with Economics, whatsoever. Don’t expect any job postings to request your major, since no social science degrees really give you any professional training.</p>

<p>If you are only looking for jobs that request an economics major, you are going to find it VERY difficult to get a job… but if you expand your search, it’ll be much less taxing. Michigan has a strong on campus recruiting program, so I would probably use that if you wind up there. Recruiting for internships starts as soon as the spring semester starts your junior year, and recruiting for full time, entry level jobs starts the first week of fall semester of your senior year.</p>

<p>On campus recruiting is a great search tool that I would utilize if I were you. Also, talk to career services at your school to see some different options you have.</p>

<p>First off you’re searching for jobs completely wrong. If you pursue economics be sure to take quantitative classes and develop your analytical skills. Quantitative ability is valuable and needed in literally every industry. When searching for a job apply where you want and emphasize your quantitative skills and research. I promise you you’ll have no trouble getting a job. I should know I’m an econ major whose done it!!! </p>

<p>Now if you want to be an actual economist unless you’re going to work for the government you’ll need to goto grad school and at least get a masters. </p>

<p>Extremely few job titles have the word “economics” or “economist” in them. Accept that now. This is coming from someone with a bachelor’s and master’s in economics.</p>

<p>There a few career paths for an economics major:

  1. Financial analyst / i-banking
  2. Data Analyst, more of an IT route (me!) (my job has ZERO to do with economic theory, the economy, etc.)
  3. PhD in economics, work for a university or the government or a hedge fund, etc.
  4. Sales (completely unrelated to ‘economics’, but for people that like the ‘game of business’ more)</p>

<p>Become an Excel expert, an expert in statistical programming packages, SQL, etc., and you’ll be fine in terms of getting a good-paying job. </p>