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Economists work with numbers to understand the world and to propose policy to improve it.
Becoming an economist can be very rewarding, but it is a long journey and takes specific skills to succeed.
But What Does An Economist Really Do?
Economists study the relationship between a society's resources and its output at the local, national, or even global scale.
Day to day:
Collect data and conduct surveys.
Choose an appropriate mathematical method to investigate a relationship between societal measures.
Analyze social, political, and economics trends.
Present scientific reports.
Advise political leaders and policy makers.
Teach students and/or community members economic principles.
Review the latest economic studies and data.
Quiz
What question might an economist work to solve?
An economist works with many different questions to better understand society.
Where Is There? And How Do I Get There?
Economists typically work for universities, governments, large corporations, and policy think tanks.
Most economists have a Masters degree or Ph.D. and have studied advanced mathematics, statistics, history, public policy, and other subjects.
Did you know?
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Is This Career For Me?
Economists are...
Investigative: working with ideas and uncovering facts to solve problems
Conventional: following set routines and objective tasks like data input
Enterprising: designing and carrying out long term projects with a team
Skills needed...
Mathematical: calculating with algebra, calculus, and statistics
Analytical: evaluating cause and effect and complexity
Scientific: developing a hypothesis and designing measures to test a theory
This Isn't The Career For You if...
You have no desire to be sitting in an office all day.
You want to be in a person-facing role engaging with different people.
You don't enjoy working with numbers.
Take Action
Does being an economist sound interesting? Take these next steps to learn more.
This Byte has been authored by
Sam Schmoker
International Educator | Academic Advisor