by Nic Edwards

Created on: February 25, 2009

Rather than look at what is studied in an economics degree (as I'm sure there are plenty of articles on that) I will focus on possible career options and what you need to bear in mind when looking for work as an economist. Jobs in economics can be broadly divided into two categories: public sector and private sector.

Jobs in the public sector vary widely in policy area and roles. There is a misconception that all government economists work for the Treasury, but any government department that has analytical work makes use of economists. Department of Transport economists look at the costs and benefits of airport expansion and provide an analytical base for the national transport plan. Economists in the Department for Work and Pensions forecast benefit expenditure and analyse tends in the labour market. The Ministry of Justice's economists look at the cost effectiveness of new crime initiatives. Economists that work for Ofgem, the energy regulator, look at market competition and green energy - the list goes on and on.

The advantage of working in the public sector is the variety of careers on offer. When you get your undergraduate degree you can decide what field interests you the most and work there. You have the motivation of working at the heart of government on policies that make a difference in people lives while (sometimes literally) working alongside ministers. There's also variety in the roles available - some mathematically-minded economists work in highly technical modelling of policy simulation models, while others work on policy documents and provide advice.

The largest area of work in the private sector is in finance. You can work for leading companies such as Citigroup and HSBC providing advice on private equity investment, asset management and valuations. You can also work as an economic consultant for one of the large consultancy firms such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers or KPMG. As well as providing advice to firms on tax assessment and mergers you also have the opportunity to work on policy areas the government has contracted out to the companies. Another large area of work is in energy, where natural resource companies are always looking for analysts to examine market trends.

Careers in the private sector tend to be well rewarded compared with the public sector and there are a variety of roles available. As a tradeoff, you should expect to work longer hours than in public sector jobs and job security (especially in the current climate) tends to one of the few luxuries not available to those working in finance/consulting.

An economics batchelors degree can be used for a variety of roles, not even necessarily in economics. There are several jobs such as accountancy and teaching it can also be used for. However, if you decide you want to work as an economist there are a couple of things to bear in mind. You need to be prepared to move quite far to get a job as the roles described above will obviously be concentrated in centres of government and finance (London in my case). The second difficulty is current economic crisis has reduced recruitment in the private sector. While government jobs are available, competition for them will be greater.

However, as a government economist I would very much recommend a career in economics. Whether its the financial reward, the feeling of making a difference or just the varied, interesting work I guarantee there will be something to interest you.

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