Using your degree: Economics

Using your degree: Economics

What do Cambridge graduates do?

In the most recent graduate outcomes survey, the top occupations for Economics graduates and postgraduates from the University of Cambridge were as finance and investment analysts and advisers, actuaries, economists, statisticians, management consultants and business analysts, natural and social science professionals and researchers. Alumni also went to work as higher education professionals, marketing associates and programme and software development professionals and found their own businesses.  

This survey only gives us a small picture of where Alumni work after they leave Cambridge, and we know anecdotally that graduates also go on to start their own businesses, work in development economics and go on to further study, as just a few examples. You may also like to consider careers in journalism, media and range of other fields by gaining the right experience.  

Will employers want my degree?

The majority of employers that recruit Cambridge graduates do not require a certain degree. They are usually more interested in what you can do rather than what you have studied. Want to know what role would suit you? Try looking for ideas for help with identifying your personal strengths and preferences. Then search Handshake for internships, jobs or graduate schemes you are interested in. Note that selection criteria may focus on "competencies" and "strengths" as much as on having studied a certain subject.  

The economics course aims to foster a variety of skills including the assimilation of complex arguments, the analysis of practical issues, logical thought, quantitative techniques, mathematical skills, and effective communication. 

There are employers are a looking specifically for a person with a degree in Economics. The Careers Service holds a careers fair for Economists each Autumn with employers just like these. These can include: Economics, finance and public policy consultancies, microeconomics consultancies, litigation firms, the Government Economics Service, research institutes, regulators (Ofcom), Office for National Statistics, audit, tax and professional services firms and strategic economics consultancies.  

You may like to look at jobs boards that are aimed at Economists to get a broader idea of roles available in real-time. These include: 

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Using my degree

Economics graduates who want to use their degree often think about working in economics consultancies, central banks or international organisations.  

These employers will all expect you to have a strong undergraduate degree and in some cases a postgraduate degree/work experience. So, if you are interested in a certain sector think about what you are good at and which roles might be a good fit for you. Network with alumni who studied economics. You can see what they do, their career to date and contact them for further information. Use LinkedIn in a similar way. 

Prospects.ac.uk have a suite of job profiles related to using your Economics degree which you can use to get more rounded in the responsibilities behind the job titles.  

You may like to read more about what Economics graduates do after graduation nationally. You can find a report on this from Luminate a graduate careers research organisation. You will find information about Economics graduates under ‘Business and Administration’ https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/what-do-business-and-administrative-graduates-do.