Economics

• Studying: 17%
• Employed in graduate job: 43%
• Employed in non-graduate job: 18%
• Unemployed: 9%

• Average graduate salary: £25,722
• Average non-graduate salary: £16,237

A degree in economics provides you with a wide array of both subject-specific and transferable skills. All these skills are highly sought after by employers. A degree in economics will also provide you with the ability to apply economic principles and models to a wide range of issues while also understanding the larger driving forces shaping social policy. Consider the skills developed on your course as well as through your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile. 

View the best universities for economics degrees.

Prospects

In 2010, destinations information collected six months after graduation showed that nearly half of all economics graduates were in full-time employment and over a quarter were undertaking further study either as a full-time option or by combining work with study.

Economics as a degree places emphasis on numerical and problem solving skills. This is reflected in the destinations of economics graduates as six months after graduation, nearly 40% entered professions which fall within the category of business, finance and associate professions. A further 13% of economics graduates went into commercial, industrial and public sector management and 6% went on to become numerical clerks and cashiers.

Where are the jobs?

Economists are employed in a variety of settings in both the public and private sectors. The largest employer of economists is the Civil Service through the Government Economic Service (GES). The Bank of England also provides vacancies through the Analyst Career Training (ACT) Program (see Bank of England Jobs).

Economics graduates also find employment in the following areas:

• other government departments and think tanks;
• banks (high street and city);
• insurance and accountancy firms.

Jobs directly related to your degree

The main role you will be qualified to do with your economics degree is working as an:

• Economist

Jobs where your degree would be useful

You could also find your economics skills useful in positions such as:

• Financial risk analyst
• Chartered accountant, chartered certified accountant and chartered public finance accountant
• Actuary
• Statistician
• Civil Service fast streamer

Although some of the jobs listed here might not be first jobs for many graduates, they are among the many realistic possibilities with your degree, provided you can demonstrate you have the attributes employers are looking for. Bear in mind that it's not just your degree discipline that determines your options. Remember that many graduate vacancies don't specify particular degree disciplines, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Included with the permission of AGCAS and Graduate Prospects. For the latest version of this publication, see www.prospects.ac.uk. For permission to reproduce, contact copyright@agcas.org.uk. We would welcome your comments on this section of The Complete University Guide. Please email us at admin@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.