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Economic opportunities
Later, after I was accepted, I was very happy but I also realized how tough it was going to be, since the econometrics program at the UvA has an excellent reputation. The lecturers were very helpful and supportive but the program required a lot of hard work to understand the material thoroughly.”
Economics graduates are in demand.
Economics graduates are in demand. Whatever the core function of a particular business sector, key staff are expected to know how to forecast, build, manage and solve complex models, and apply state-of-the-art statistical methods to data in order to get the best possible results for the business in question. According to the Royal Economic Society’s Economics Graduate Employability 2007 report, specific knowledge relating to opportunity costs, equilibrium, disequilibrium and stability, incentives and their effects, are the three most critical areas economics graduates should offer.
Even in this current time of financial uncertainty, the employment prospects for masters students specializing in economics are good. Furthermore, such graduates tend to be amongst the most mobile of all international students and the core components of many programs ensure that students are employed in a range of careers. Investment banking, finance, public policy, accountancy, auditing, academia and professional economics are all sectors that are actively recruiting economics candidates. The annual US Department of Labour Occupational Outlook Handbook offers a positive prognosis for economics graduates. “The demand for workers who have knowledge and skill in economics is projected to grow fast, but these workers are often in occupations other than the economist. Job prospects will be best for those with graduate degrees in economics.” And the good news continues – in 2007, the median annual wage earnings for economists in the USA was US$86,700, with the highest ten per cent earning more than US$141,070.
The field of economics offers students a diverse choice in areas of academic specialization and potential career path. As books like Freakonomics indicate, the advanced study of the subject allows students to gain a greater understanding of the modern, interconnected world and see things more clearly. An invaluable skill for any future career.
