Career Opportunities and Scopes for Economics

By Aakriti Jain

BasicsDefinition: Economics is the social science that describes the factors that determine the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services.

Meaning: Part of the social sciences group, economics explores the full spectrum of issues that impact on financial situations and decisions. From production to consumption, economics looks at how the world’s resources are used by and distributed among individuals and organizations. This involves studying areas of politics, sociology, law, psychology, geography and history, at local and global levels.

Major Streams of Economics: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Microeconomics looks at the behavior and interactions of individual agents, such as households, companies, buyers and sellers. Macroeconomics analyzes entire economies on a national or global scale, looking at issues such as unemployment, inflation, economic growth and monetary and fiscal policy.

Specializations in Economics

Economics degrees will start by introducing students to core economics topics such as microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory and econometrics (applying mathematics, statistical methods and computer science to economic data). Other core modules may include mathematics, statistics, history of economic theory and applied economics.Further on, students have the opportunity to choose areas of economics in which to specialize:• Development economics• Organizational behaviour• Labour economics• Science economics• Urban economics• Information economics• Education economics• Growth economics• Experimental economics• Regulation economics• Economics of tax policy• Game Theory..and so on

Are Economics Degrees Worth it?

Economics degrees are typically taught as a mixture of lectures and seminars, with written assignments to be submitted to seminar tutors. Depending on the institution, your grades may be determined by examinations, through coursework assignments or through project reports.

Confused between Studying Economics or Business Studies?When you are on the verge of making your choice between the major whether to choose Business Studies or Economics, evaluate yourself with following questions:• Big picture or detail?• Theory or hands-on experience?• Want to fix things yourself?• How realistic are your expectations?• Want practical skills?

Top Destinations to Study Economics are:• US• Europe (London, England; Paris, France)• Canada• Asia (Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Singapore; Hong Kong; Shanghai, China)• Sydney, Australia• New Zealand• Sao Paulo, Brazil

Salary Structure

Career ProspectsEconomics is an expansive field, and it is usual to graduate from your economics degree with a broad set of transferable skills that will put you in good employment stead – whether you want to pursue specific economics careers or take a broader approach. • Economist• Economic consultancy careers• Economics careers in banking• Financial analyst careers• Accountancy careers• Economics careers in the public sector• Actuarial and data analysis careers in economics

Other economics careers you might consider include roles in many interrelated sectors, such as actuaries (business professionals who deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty, providing an assessment of financial security systems); stockbrokers (look after the investment portfolios of their clients, buying and selling shares on the stock exchange for maximum return); and bankers (helping with the financial requirements of individuals and businesses, providing advice and financial services).Other career paths include roles in auditing, business intelligence, economic planning, insurance, international development, management, market research, poverty reduction, retail merchandising, statistics, social research, tax, human resource management, IT, journalism, law, PR, politics, sales or entrepreneurship.

Key SkillsCommon skills gained from a economics degree include:• Critically analyzing complex data sets• Constructing and presenting arguments• Approaching issues from multiple perspectives• Presenting complex information to audiences unfamiliar with subject• Strong numeracy and statistics skills• General IT skills, with emphasis on specialist economic software packages• General research skills• Critical evaluation• Problem-solving• Professional communication, written and spoken• Presentation skills• Producing written technical and non-technical documents• Influencing and negotiating with clients• Self- and time-management, including planning and meeting deadlines• Good awareness of current affairs