Careers in Economics
One of the
questions that you should ask yourself early on in your college career is: "What will
I be able to do when I graduate?" Finding the right career can be overwhelming, but
luckily there are many resources available to help you with your search. Knowing which
resources are available to you on campus is a good start, and one of the best places to go
for career information is Career Services.
They can help you explore different fields of interest, let you know what kind of skills
you are going to need, help you with your resume and interviewing skills, and find
graduate schools. One of your professors or a college graduate you may know can help you
with these things, as well, and there are several resources on the internet that you may
also consult. Here is a
basic outline of the path you should be taking as you go through college, and some of the
web sites which may help you with your search. Good luck!
Step One: Explore
Before you decide on a career, you should do some research on what kind of jobs are out
there. You should be sure to find some faculty members or individuals already established
in a career that interests you and talk with them about what it takes to succeed.
You should also find an advisor that you are comfortable with - who may not be the
advisor to whom you were initially assigned. Your career is not a decision you want to
make alone and your first year offers you opportunities to begin developing a network that
will prove very valuable when you enter the workplace. You can do a web search on possible
areas that you may find interesting by using such search engines as Infoseek, Lycos, Yahoo, AltaVista,
or Excite.
How can economics help in your career plans? For those who are not economics majors,
economics courses can offer you a perspective on the world and set of skills that should
help you in a wide array of educational and employment paths. This is why it has been
required for so many majors at the University and why you may want to consider minoring in
Economics.
For those who major in economics, undergraduate training in economics does not generally lead to work after graduation as an economist, but it does provide a liberal arts education which prepares students for a wide array of interesting career options and advanced degrees. The undergraduate degrees are less vocationally oriented than undergraduate business degrees, but they provide an educational experience that allows economics majors to apply for many of the positions open to graduating business majors. The employment outlook for economists is good with surveys of college graduates indicating that the starting salaries of economics majors are among the highest for all business and social science degrees while employment and earnings growth are projected to remain strong. The economics programs also offer excellent preparation for graduate study in business, economics, law, and public policy. Recent graduates have found employment at American Power Conversion, National Economic Research Associates (NERA), Fleet, and have gone on for graduate work in economics, business, and law. For more on career planning, you should check out Career Services and the Department's Career page.
Some links with economics specific information are:
Step Two: Activities and Internships
It is a good idea to be participate in activities related to your potential career
throughout college - a way of setting yourself apart from the run-of-the-mill
student and an opportunity to build job-related skills. Two good ways to get some job
experience are an internship or a part-time or summer job. Career Services would be
a place to start the job search and you should check out RI Summer Jobs. For
those interested in internships, you should be sure to talk with the people at URI University Year for Action (UYA),
URI's main source for internship information. You should also set up a meeting with
the department's Director of Internships to
discuss the opportunities for departmental internships. The
Economics department at the URI recognizes the importance of internships which offer
students a chance to combine classroom learning with an apprenticeship in a field of
interest - an opportunity to bridge the gap between academia and the working world. You might also check out some on-line sources including
Step Three: Write a resume and web page
Once you have begun to assemble the skills and experiences needed to gain entry into your
chosen career, you will need to show them off by writing a resume. This sheet of
paper, and it should be one page for graduating students, is how the world will see you so
it had best be good. Once again there are many places to go for some help with
building good resumes. Most bookstores will have many "How To" books, but
you can find much the same information at Career Services or at the
Reference Desk at the university library. you may also want to check out the resumes of some of our students You can also find
some information on-line where you will find information that helps you to organize all
that information, as well as give you suggestions on how to present it all.
You may also want to create your own web page. To see what some of the other URI
students are doing you should check out the University's
and Department's listings of student web
pages.
Step Four: Look for jobs or apply to graduate school
Now it is time to work on your exit plan from the University - a plan to gain
admittance to graduate study or find employment in the "real" world.
For those going on to graduate school, you should certainly have developed a relationship
with at least one faculty member who you can help choose the right school for you.
This is a serious investment, and an expensive one, and you should be certain to assemble
the best information to make the best choice.
For those looking to enter the workforce, this is the time to use the network that you have developed while in school. Career Services offers on-campus interviewing and you should be sure to find out who is on campus and when. In addition to the University's services, there are numerous sites on-line that can help you find a job anywhere in the country, and perhaps even internationally. A few sites which should prove helpful are:
Step Five: Set up an interview
If the resume works, you will most likely face the final hurdle in landing that first job.
As with the resume, there are many"How To" books for interviews which you
may want to review. Career Services, in addition to having
some useful literature, also schedules on-campus interviews and you should check with them
early in the first semester to find out the specifics about the interview process.
Interviewing is like most things - you get better with practice so do not limit yourself
too severely when setting up interviews. There are also some on-line sites designed
to help you with some advice on interviews. A few potentially useful sights are:
Other On-line Resources
Excite Career Message Boards
