Life After College
An Economics major provides students with many career options. Many high level positions require experience or a further degree such as an MBA or MA. However, there are many other economics- or business-oriented jobs awaiting the ambitious and energetic holder of the Economics A.B. degree. Surveys of salaries for students who attain an A.B. (and no further degree) based on information for salaries 2 and 15 years after graduation, find that Economics is ranked No. 5 among majors. The only majors that do better than the Economics A.B. are in the engineering fields. Economics majors 2014-15 PayScale College Salary Report: starting median pay is $42,115, and mid-career median pay is $91,089.
Students who choose careers or graduate courses apart from Economics will find the general preparation they receive as an Economics major will become an asset when they apply for a position with firms or admission to graduate schools. Therefore, it is wise to supplement an Economics major with broadly applicable courses, such as English, history, communications, art, philosophy, political science, etc.
Students who decide to work right after college can compete well. Recent Davis graduates work for Fritz, Prudential, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, and Wells Fargo. Many students obtain jobs in management training programs or in the marketing, sales and accounting departments of large firms or banks. Others secure positions as stockbrokers or in insurance or real estate companies as planners, auditors and appraisers. In addition, many larger organizations (banks, consulting firms, etc.) have entire economics departments that deal with economic forecasting, analysis and research.
Almost half of those students going directly into the work force upon graduation plan to attend a graduate business program later. Since many firms will finance post-graduate education for their employees, such students may benefit financially as well as through experience by exploiting such opportunities. Graduate education in economics is the gateway to top ranking jobs in the government sector, the economics departments of large firms, and the academic world. Jobs in the academic world generally require the Ph.D. for college and university levels, and the M.A. for junior college levels.
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) program is the most popular form of graduate education for Economics majors. A substantial number of Economics majors also enter law schools. Other types of graduate programs, such as urban and regional planning, international agricultural development, consumer economics, and international relations are also available to former Economics majors.
The preceding is just a sample of the opportunities available to Economics graduates. Do not take our word for it. Explore your options with peers, alumni and even current employers, and ask them for their impressions of the major and its usefulness in the working world. After all, people are our best resource.