The fact is that economics is a complex subject which looks at complex systems. You'll need to be able to pull together information from different sources and different fields in order to be able to work with these complex systems. This obviously takes time, effort, and a little patience. Above all, it entails reading, a lot, in order to get yourself up to speed with the latest developments in these systems, meaning as a bonus characteristic, previously mentioned above being able to sift through dense scientific texts is an essential skill.
In order to be successful as a student, professor, or researcher, you need to have a strong sense of curiosity. What is unknown or unclear in your field? How do insights from other fields affect the understanding of your subject?
What topics are up for debate, and what are the arguments on each side? An interest in these questions is needed to motivate you to work your way through economics. While it's obviously important to have knowledge of other people's work and theories, to be truly successful as an economist you also need to have insights and ideas of your own.
The ability to think for yourself and to question what you know will allow you to take new directions and to come up with original research which will make you a better economist. Being an independent thinker will also stand you in good stead at conferences, seminars and lectures.
It's engaging to be controversial, or at least to play the devil's advocate, as it facilitates discussion and deeper thinking. You will need to be comfortable with uncertainty, as not every question in this field has a clear and unambiguous answer. Economics is good at throwing curveballs and doing things you hadn't predicted or expected.
And just like all the other social sciences, economics has the questionable characteristic of being one of those subjects in which there's rarely a 'right' or 'wrong' answer - everything is still being debated, and all is to play for.
This can be a scary thought when going in, knowing that there will be people who disagree with you all the way down to the dots on your 'i's, but also means the discipline is varied and exciting - linking back to the essential characteristic of being curious. It's no good having a great understanding of economics unless you can communicate that understanding to other people in a way which is meaningful.
Good written skills are essential for making sure that your articles, book chapters, and notes are useful and comprehensible to others. Unfortunately, in modern academia much writing is incomprehensible, made up of what linguist Steven Pinker calls 'academese', or the language of academics. Remember, simpler is always better, never use a long word where a short word will do, and remove any superfluous 'that's whenever you get the opportunity.
Read George Orwell for more on this. As well as written communication skills, you'll also need to be an effective presenter so that you can speak at conferences and teach classes.
You should be comfortable speaking in front of an audience and able to convey the essential points of your subject clearly and concisely. If you do this, and manage to become a clear and commanding speaker, people will take you more seriously and actually listen to you; there's nothing worse than having a speaker whose ideas are brilliant but the way he or she conveys them terrible. These skills also help with other social situations like job interviews , speaking to the media, or making contacts to build up your network at conferences and other events.
Being able to charm people or simply talk to them like a human being will be essential in the future for networking and for when you finally need to spread your work. Several economics undergraduate programs, both BA and BS, offer dual-degree options that pair with another field like mathematics or computer science. And even within a singular economics degree, many universities allow students to specialize in a particular area of focus by adding a concentration in behavioral economics, healthcare, finance, or environmental policy.
Building a solid base of foundational knowledge, while exploring possible concentrations and other areas of focus through free electives, can prepare an economist to select the next steps of their journey.
Relevant work experience is the best education one can get. These internships also include working alongside full-time employees, and working at the full pace of operations, which provides extremely valuable hands-on experience for later applications to graduate programs or other full-time jobs.
While this is an entirely optional step, the final years of an undergraduate degree up to the first year of a graduate degree program are the ideal time to begin researching and applying for economist internships. In a competitive market, differentiation is critical. An MBA provides a broad and generalist foundation of business knowledge, and the specialization in economics comes as a smaller and secondary learning priority. For example, the MBA with a specialization in economics at NYU Stern supplements its baseline MBA program with classes in econometrics, the economics of healthcare, the economy and financial markets, growth in the developing world and the global economy, as well as energy and the environment.
For example, the MBA in finance and accounting at Utica University prepares students to predict profit growth in a variety of industries and organizations. Students in this program take courses in advanced managerial accounting, managerial economics, and advanced financial management. There may be an industry bias towards the MS degree being more rigorous.
In any event, an MS or MA in economics is the ideal time for a prospective economist to choose which sub-discipline of economics they wish to work in. Those interested in working for the private sector will be looking in major metropolitan areas for opportunities with employers like oil and gas companies, utility companies, large financial institutions, and real estate firms.
Those more ideologically aligned will seek out work with green energy businesses, think tanks, governments, universities, and nonprofits. Economists of all sorts spend the majority of their time behind a computer, working with data analysis. But they also work side by side with policy experts, statisticians, and executives to dictate economic strategy.
Skip to main content. What it Takes to Think Like an Economist. What does thinking like an economist mean? There are three basic concepts that form the foundation of economic thinking: The Cost of Something is What You Give Up Opportunity cost is a fundamental economic theory and one of the most important to understand if you want to think more like an economist.
Opportunity cost teaches that nothing in life is free, even if it doesn't cost money. Understanding opportunity cost can help those who want to think like an economist to decide, for example, if going to graduate school is worth the cost. There are careers that use specific knowledge of economics, for example banks, insurance, accountancy firms, businesses and in government.
These jobs may involve identifying financial risks or making decisions about where a company or a government should invest its resources in the future, or even how to design a bidding platform for eBay. There are also roles for economists in think tanks and consultancies that advise governments and companies on public policy, such as how to deal with the Greek debt crisis.
More broadly, an economics degree helps prepare you for careers that require numerical, analytical and problem solving skills — for example in business planning, marketing, research and management.
Economics helps you to think strategically and make decisions to optimise the outcome. Especially in demand are people who have studied Economics and Finance as they are particularly well-prepared for jobs in banking and the financial sector, such as in accountancy firms. The well-developed methodologies used in the economics profession have helped the subject expand into providing tools for other disciplines, such as politics, law, health, education, management, and many others.
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