The Top Three Jobs For Economics Graduates

Economics is widely regarded as a highly valuable degree within the financial world. Despite this, actual entry level jobs for economics graduates can sometimes feel hard to come by.

This is because, although economics can cover a wide umbrella of jobs, in practice most hiring managers want specialists, not generalists. That’s why many go on to do further degrees, qualifying them for more advanced roles.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of amazing entry level jobs out there for economics majors if you know where to look. Today we’ll be looking at three of the highest earning econ roles, the salaries you can expect, and what your career expectations could look like.

1. Data Scientist

It might not be the most intuitive match up in the world but the role of data scientists in the economics job market is huge and it’s only growing.

Naturally AI and machine learning are a huge part of that growth, particularly as speculation continues about the future role of AI in the industry as a whole. That said, even more traditional data scientists – people who work with predictive models to determine market probabilities – are undergoing a boom in demand at the moment.

Of course, the one down side to this is that an economics degree alone won’t cut it. To do data science you need to be confident with programming, at very least in low level languages like python. Then again, if it’s a skill you’re willing to pick up, then this is a path to a very high earning role.

How high earning? Well, in the US $70-100K is considered entry-level while seniors have been known to earn in excess of $250,000. That’s the benefit of having this uniquely lucrative skills combo.

2. Financial Analysis

For financial analysts, it’s all in the name. Focused on evaluating the value of companies and projects through a detailed breakdown of their earnings, investments, and assets, financial analysis is one of the most popular jobs for economics graduates, particularly at entry level.

Put simply, it’s a role that incorporates everything you’ll have studied during your degree without demanding massive outside skills like data science. Financial analysis is one of the most pure economics roles there is that doesn’t call for a masters or a PhD. If you’re looking for a way to get one foot on the ladder towards being a professional economist, then this is an ideal place to start.

In terms of earnings, you’re definitely looking at less than the folks working in data analysis. Incomes for financial analysts start at about $60K rising to around $120K on the more senior end of the scale. That said, financial analyst is also a great career to build out from if you’re interested in other finance roles.

3. Corporate & Commercial Banking

If you want to stay within the financial sector but prefer dealing with companies rather than individual stocks, corporate and commercial is an excellent choice. This path focuses on managing large-scale financial services, lines of credit, and loans for businesses ranging from mid-sized local operations to multinational corporations.

An economics degree is perfect for this because the core of the job relies on understanding macroeconomic trends, assessing market risks, and evaluating creditworthiness. It offers a structured career trajectory where your ability to analyze data directly impacts business growth without requiring the hyper-specialized technical programming skills that data science demands.

Starting salaries for entry-level credit analysts typically fall between $60,000 and $75,000 but that doesn’t quite paint the full picture. As you move up the ranks, you can expect to be earning $150-250K and that’s before you factor in performance bonuses that can as much as double that base pay.

In terms of pay this is probably the best choice of the three. Unfortunately, it does have a downside. Banking positions are inherently sales positions and with the contracts you’ll be handling, you’ll be seeing a lot of money changing hands. That’s a high-stress, high-responsibility environment. You’ll have to decide for yourself if you think the tradeoff is worthwhile.