If you're interested in a job that specifically relies on economics, there are several career paths open to you, including economic or management consulting firms. You could be doing anti-trust work, macroeconomic or market analysis and projections, demographic analysis, or litigation support, to name a few. Most state and local governments have jobs for economists in the areas of tax policy, planning, energy and telecommunications regulation, and others. Economics provides a very good background for many different types of graduate programs.
Economics provides great preparation for a job in just about any field. You'll graduate with broad-based liberal arts degree and a set of tools and analytic techniques to analyze a variety of problems. An organization looking for a good liberal arts graduate will also be looking for an economics major: this includes government, marketing, sales, finance and research.
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Launching a career in public policy
Sarang Murthy ’17 was born in Dallas but graduated high school in Bangalore, India. He set his sights on attending college in New England, and discovered UVM online. “I instantly fell in love with the school. I had only seen pictures of UVM, Burlington, and Vermont. The first time I set foot in our state was when I got off the plane!” The financial crisis of 2008 motivated Murthy to major in economics. “I discovered that although I love macro-finance, macro-labor and public policy were two areas that I was drawn to." He worked at a social and public policy think-tank in New York City. "The position required me to use quantitative and analytical skills; my degree in economics prepared me for this very well.” Murthy cites his faculty mentors Nathalie Mathieu-Bolh and Stephanie Seguino as especially influential. “Without their support and guidance, I would never have conducted quantitative research on human capital theory and refugees, or even thought of applying to Ph.D. programs." Murthy is pursuing his graduate degree in economics at the University of Texas Austin, specializing in corporate sustainability.
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Law School
The average LSAT score for economics majors was the highest of any academic discipline. That's probably because economics teaches you how to systematically analyze a problem. Law and economics is also a growing field and you can take a specialized course Law and Economics (ECON 2750) in the economics department at UVM. Read more information on pre-law at UVM and our partnership with Vermont Law School through which you can earn a law degree.
Public Policy Programs
Many economics majors go on to get a masters in public policy. It's usually a two-year program and economics is a strong component of any MPP program. Students programs can focus on a wide variety of problems and issues, both domestic and international. These programs provide you with the training to be able to work for a variety of government or non-profit organizations.
MBA Programs
Some economics majors go to graduate programs to obtain a masters degree in business administration. There are also two-year programs that provide you with training to work in a business environment in a variety concentrations including finance, marketing, advertising, accounting, organizational behavior and IT. Many top-ranked MBA programs prefer to accept students who have a few years of business experience. Read a list of MBA programs and other resources.
Economics Programs
There are many masters and doctoral programs in economics and agricultural economics throughout the country. With a two-year masters degree, you can work in a variety of settings including government, higher education, non-profits and business. A Ph.D. program takes on average 5-7 years to complete and requires a strong mathematics background as well as economics. For those considering a graduate degree in economics, you may want to prepare by taking a number of additional math courses, beyond Math 1212, or getting a minor in mathematics.