Career Planning and Course Selection in Economics
The economics major prepares students for a diverse set of careers. There is no one career for economics majors. Econ majors are all over the place! This is “both a blessing and a curse” for you, the economics major. This means that the skills you develop within your major are in demand by a wide range of employers and in various different industries. The bad news is that this means you will need to engage in some career exploration to find the path that is best for you.
One recommended approach is to select economics major electives that build an informal track. This track should be determined by your intellectual interests and career ambitions. You can find a list of informal tracks and popular course options here. You should take as similar approach to identifying internships, double majors, minors, and certificates. Explore the options that fit your goals — there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Some common career choices for economics majors include: actuary, credit analyst, financial consultant, wealth management advising, market research analyst, economic consultant, and lawyer. But these are just a few of the countless options. The Department of Economics recommends that you conduct some career exploration as early as possible. One great resource place to start is the AEA website (https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/students/careers); another great resource is CHOMP (https://www.crc.ufl.edu/students/chomp/).
Economics majors have also been very successful in gaining admission to the most prestigious graduate and professional schools in the state and the nation, including Duke University; Harvard University; New College of Florida; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Chicago; University of Florida; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Miami; University of Pennsylvania; University of Virginia.