Employment Prospects and Career Facts
Majors in economic sciences find employment in private industry, government agencies, and with non-profit organizations. Opportunities to work in foreign countries are also available. Graduates of each of these degree programs find a wide variety of career opportunities.
Career Facts
What can you do with this degree?
“Employment of economists and marketing research analysts is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations.” From Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
A degree in Economic Sciences can provide you with many valuable skills needed for specific careers in both private industry and the government. For example, your job may require that you conduct cost/benefit and environmental impact studies, create microeconomic scenarios for market penetration and competition, develop forecasts of key economic variables for planning, develop strategic plans to compete with firms in foreign markets, apply resource allocation models to manage personnel and resources. More, generally, an understanding of how the economy works, how firms compete, and how demand and supply shape the marketplace serve as foundations for virtually any career.
Recent studies also confirm that students who enter MBA programs after earning a bachelor’s degree in Economics or related fields perform better on average than students who earned a bachelor’s degree in business.
Career Opportunities
Among the many careers obtained by WSU economics graduates are: appraisers, auditors, broker floor representatives, budget analysts, buyers, claims examiners, comprehensive analysts, consultants, credit analysts, database administrators, economic analysts, efficiency experts, environmental planners, financial analysts, forecasting administrators, fund raisers, import/export agents, insurance agents, loan officers, lobbyists, managers, marketing administrators, real estate appraisers, research and sales analysts, sales representatives, securities brokers, statisticians, and underwriters. Graduates have career positions at many companies including: Boeing, Murphy-Favre, Merrill Lynch, Waddell and Reed, Microsoft, Go2Net, ConAgra, BF Goodrich, Paine Webber, General Cable Corp., Founder’s Asset Management Co., and Northwestern Trust.
Starting Positions
About 60 students receive a bachelor’s degree from the School of Economic Sciences each year. Most students find employment before they graduate. The average first-year salary of recent graduates is $32,000-$40,000 per year.