Economics is a fascinating major that helps you develop analytical skills that are applicable to a wide range of jobs. Economists work in Wall Street; banking, finance and insurance, all aspects of business; multinational corporations; real estate; utility companies; non-profits; regulation, city, state and federal government agencies; international agencies like the International Monetary Fund an
d the World Bank; sports, health and aging; and in academia. Slowly but surely, economic issues make their way to your pocketbook. Many pressing social issues have their roots in economics. Microeconomic principles set the foundation for business. Macroeconomic policies shape the destinies of nations. Keynes put it a little more eloquently when he said, “The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else.”
According to the National Association of Business Economists (NABE), “The key skills of the economic analyst compared to other business analysts is the ability to link industry/market developments to the overall economy, i.e., to see the forest as well as the trees. The broad training of economists provides a flexibility that allows them to turn their hand to a broad range of analytical problems – a critical attribute in a company experiencing a redirection of industry interests.”
Students pursuing graduate degrees in many other fields, such as the social sciences, business, public administration, public health, environmental studies, urban studies, law, and journalism find that economics is their best choice for an undergraduate major or minor, given the extensive economic content of these programs.
