Other Than Getting a Job, Here Are 9 Things You Can Do With Your Economics Degree

Introduction

You've probably heard that an economics degree isn't the best way to get a job. And you're right: The unemployment rate for people with an economics degree is significantly higher than the average national unemployment rate.

However, there are plenty of things you can do with an economics degree once you've landed a job—and not all of them involve working in finance or politics.

Here's some inspiration for the direction your life might take after graduating college with an economics degree:

Become a real estate agent

If you're interested in real estate, an economics degree can be a great asset. Being able to understand the complex factors that affect housing prices and home purchases can help you better serve clients and help them make more informed decisions about buying or selling their homes.

As with any career choice, there are multiple ways to enter the field of real estate. You can work directly for a real estate agency (or start your own), specializing in commercial or residential properties. If you're self-employed, it's likely that you'll have flexible hours and be able to work from home; if not, then you'll need to commute each day as most people do during work hours—but this may be good for those who want extra income but don't want the full commitment of owning their own business yet.

Consider freelance writing

You don't have to take a job as a business analyst or market research associate to put your economics degree to use. You can also consider freelance writing, which is one of the top industries for full-time writers who work from home. Many companies will hire you as an independent contractor and pay you per project, so there's no need for you to quit your day job—at least not yet!

The best part about freelancing is that it allows for a lot of flexibility in terms of hours and location. You can write from anywhere with WiFi access, including coffee shops or cafes if you prefer working outside of the house (and away from distractions). Some writers even manage their own blogs while working full-time jobs or going to school part-time.

Learn how to code

You might not be the type of person who can imagine a career in coding, but it's one of the most valuable skills you can learn. With so many different programming languages out there, no matter what kind of work you want to do, there will be a language for it.

If you're someone who is already familiar with one or more programming languages and wants to expand their knowledge base further by learning other languages, this is the perfect option for you! It doesn't necessarily even have to be a skill that helps your job prospects; learning to code makes it easier for anyone who wants to start an online business or even just create things that they wouldn't normally be able to without knowing how the software works first hand (e.g., making art).

Teach abroad or become an ESL teacher

One of the best things about a career in economics is that it makes you a great candidate for a number of different teaching jobs, including being an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher or working abroad. Although becoming an English teacher will require some additional training and certification, you can still get started by taking a few courses in college—many universities even offer them for free!

After acquiring all the necessary training and certification, economics majors are perfect for teaching anything from finance to business law to global trade—not only in high schools but also at universities and even on university campuses abroad.

You might even consider becoming an ESL teacher if your degree isn't quite advanced enough. It's possible to get hired as an English as a Second Language instructor without having a master's degree just yet, so don't be discouraged if this path doesn't seem right for you right now. As long as you have a bachelor's degree in arts or science, it should be very easy for you to find work with private tutoring companies like Kaplan or Rosetta Stone International (as well as other public schools).

Go into consulting or start your own consulting business

Consulting is a great way to learn and apply new skills. You can consult for profit or for free, with the latter being more common. You can also choose a specific industry or area of expertise in which you want to specialize. Consulting opportunities include phone calls, meetings, site visits, and other types of engagements that bring you in contact with clients. If you need more structure, consider working for a consulting firm. You can also take a job as an intern at one of these companies and learn valuable skills while still making money.

Become a professional coach, mediator, or counselor

While you're in college, if someone tells you that an economics degree is useless, don't listen. If you're good at helping other people and have a knack for numbers and reasoning, there are plenty of jobs out there for economics majors. One of the many options is to become a professional coach or mediator. These jobs involve listening to people's problems and helping them solve them through coaching or mediation techniques such as negotiation and conflict resolution.

If working with people in person isn't your thing but you still want to help them improve their lives through coaching or mediation, don't worry—you can also do it online! A growing number of companies use online coaches to help their clients with career development, financial planning, life choices (like whether they should get married), and mental health issues like depression or anxiety. You name it! The examples below show just how diverse these careers can be:

Enter the financial industry

One of the most well-known and lucrative careers you can pursue with your economics degree is finance. You might be thinking "finance." "Isn't that just a fancy word for "banker"?" Well, yes and no—it depends on what area of finance you want to get into.

Financial analyst: someone who helps companies make sound decisions by analyzing their financial situation, often using computer models or other tools.

Financial advisor: works with clients to help them make smart financial decisions about saving money, investing money (in stocks, cryptos, etc.), buying insurance coverage, getting mortgages, etc. This person should have good knowledge of different kinds of investments, as well as how interest rates work and how stocks work so that they can offer good advice when needed.

Set up shop as a virtual assistant.

A virtual assistant is someone who helps their clients with a variety of tasks, including administrative work and general research. The skills required to be successful in this field are the same ones you use to succeed as an economics major: excellent organization, communication skills, and problem-solving.

The benefits of being a virtual assistant are plentiful. You can work from home or wherever you want; decide how many hours per day you want to work; control when you take breaks and how long they last; choose which projects or clients to take on; charge less than other VAs because of your lower overhead costs (no office space); and make more money than most people with bachelor's degrees do by working fewer hours.

So how much can you make? It depends on where you live, but according to Zippia, virtual assistants make about $39,915 per year—or $19.19 per hour—in the United States.

Launch your own food-related business

If you’re a foodie, you might want to consider starting your own business. You can make money from your passion by launching a food-related business. However, it’s important that you do your research before plunging in headfirst. It is essential for you to know the local market and understand how consumers think about their food choices. This will help in developing products that are likely to succeed in this environment. Additionally, understanding how businesses operate will enable you to make better decisions when planning out your own venture. Furthermore, understanding what factors influence production costs, as well as sales prices, will help keep expenses low while also making profits high enough so that everyone involved gets paid fairly (including yourself).

Conclusion

Whether you’re just starting out on the path to career success or already well into your journey, we hope these tips have inspired you in some way. Whether it’s by learning how to code or becoming a professional coach, there are so many ways that a degree in economics can open up doors for you—and give you the flexibility to follow whatever path feels right for your own life goals. While there are plenty of challenges to go along with the benefits, we hope that you’ll find ways to make a career in economics work for you—and continue to enjoy all that life has to offer!