🏛️
Government & Public Policy
Congressional Budget Office, Federal Reserve, U.S. Department of Labor
Economists
Economists study how people, businesses, and governments respond to incentives by turning data into forecasts and policy advice. In this role, the work often centers on comparing the costs and benefits of rules, programs, or market changes, especially when the consequences are spread over years rather than days. The tradeoff is clear: the pay is strong and the work is intellectually demanding, but the field is small, highly credentialed, and you often have to defend assumptions in messy real-world situations that do not fit a neat model.
Also known as EconomistApplied EconomistResearch EconomistPolicy EconomistStaff Economist
Median Salary
$115,440
Mean $130,910
U.S. Workforce
~16K
0.9K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+1.2%
17.6K to 17.8K
Entry Education
Master's degree
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Economists sits in the Science category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~16K workers, with a median annual pay of $115,440 and roughly 0.9K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 17.6 K in 2024 to 17.8K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with Master's degree in Economics, Applied Economics, or a related field, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Research Assistant / Junior Analyst and can progress toward Chief Economist. High-value skills usually include Critical Thinking & Economic Reasoning, Mathematics & Statistical Analysis, and Reading Comprehension & Research Synthesis, paired with soft skills such as Active Listening, Judgment and Decision Making, and Active Learning.
Core Responsibilities
- Collect data from surveys, databases, and reports so you can compare what is happening across different industries or regions.
- Clean and organize large datasets, then look for patterns in prices, wages, output, or environmental impacts.
- Build economic models to test what might happen if a policy, regulation, or market condition changes.
- Estimate the costs and benefits of different options so leaders can choose the most effective one.
Keep exploring: more Science careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Collect data from surveys, databases, and reports so you can compare what is happening across different industries or regions.
02 Clean and organize large datasets, then look for patterns in prices, wages, output, or environmental impacts.
03 Build economic models to test what might happen if a policy, regulation, or market condition changes.
04 Estimate the costs and benefits of different options so leaders can choose the most effective one.
05 Write memos, reports, and slides that explain the findings in plain language for non-specialists.
06 Present your conclusions and answer follow-up questions from managers, clients, or public officials.
Industries That Hire
🧩
Consulting & Advisory
Deloitte, PwC, ICF
💹
Finance & Banking
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley
💻
Technology
Amazon, Google, Microsoft
🩺
Healthcare & Insurance
UnitedHealth Group, Kaiser Permanente, CVS Health
🔬
Research & Think Tanks
RAND, Brookings Institution, National Bureau of Economic Research
Pros and Cons
Advantages
+
The pay is strong: mean annual pay is $130,910, and the median is still a six-figure $115,440.
+
The typical entry point is a master's degree, and the role requires no prior work experience or on-the-job training, so the path is clear once you have the credential.
+
The work is genuinely analytical, with a heavy focus on data, models, and evidence instead of routine administrative tasks.
+
Economists can move across sectors like government, consulting, finance, healthcare, and tech, which gives the career unusual flexibility.
+
You often get to shape decisions that affect budgets, regulations, pricing, or public programs, so the work can have real policy impact.
Challenges
-
Growth is weak at just 1.2% from 2024 to 2034, so this is not a fast-expanding occupation.
-
Annual openings are low at about 0.9 thousand, which means competition can be stiff even when salaries are good.
-
The field has a high credential barrier: 45.37% of workers hold a master's degree and 34.72% hold a doctorate, so a bachelor's degree alone is often not enough for the best jobs.
-
A lot of the work depends on budgets, politics, and shifting research priorities, so you may not control the question, the timeline, or whether your recommendation gets used.
-
Some of the technical work is becoming easier to automate, so the long-term value of the job increasingly depends on judgment, interpretation, and communication rather than just number-crunching.
Career Progression
Research Assistant / Junior Analyst
0-2 years
$55K-$80K
Supports senior economists by gathering data, checking numbers, and helping with literature reviews and basic analysis.
Economist
2-5 years
$90K-$135K
Builds models, writes reports, and turns data into recommendations; this is the core role, and the salary band includes the $115,440 median.
Senior Economist THIS ROLE
5-9 years
$140K-$185K
Leads projects, reviews methods, and presents findings to executives, clients, or public officials.
Principal Economist
10-14 years
$190K-$250K
Sets research direction, oversees complex studies, and often becomes the go-to expert for a specific policy or market area.
Chief Economist
15+ years
$255K-$350K
Advises top leadership, shapes strategy, and represents the organization’s economic views in public or high-stakes settings.
Education Paths
Master's degree in Economics, Applied Economics, or a related field
This is the most common entry point, held by 45.37% of workers in the occupation.
Doctoral degree in Economics
A major path for research-heavy, academic, or senior policy roles, held by 34.72% of workers.
Bachelor's degree with strong quantitative coursework
An alternative route, held by 15.97% of workers, but many people in this group later continue on to graduate study.
Post-doctoral research or fellowship
A specialized advanced route, held by 3.94% of workers, usually for people targeting highly focused research positions.
Key Skills
Technical
Critical Thinking & Economic Reasoning 77%
Mathematics & Statistical Analysis 77%
Reading Comprehension & Research Synthesis 77%
Writing & Policy Briefs 77%
Econometrics, Forecasting & Scenario Modeling 72%
Python, R, Stata & Excel 70%
Soft Skills
Active ListeningJudgment and Decision MakingActive LearningSpeakingCollaborationAttention to Detail Job Outlook and Trends
+1.2%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
0.9K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 17.6K to 17.8 K over the next decade, representing 1.2% growth. Around 0.9 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently High availability. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.