An undergraduate degree fromDuke University is a door-opener in and of itself, but it is widely acknowledged that aneconomics degree can be even more marketable — andprofitable. Graduating with a degree in economics can serve as a strongsignal to potential employers that you have analytical and reasoning skills — applicable to both qualitative and quantitative data, and the ability to think critically and draw inferences. The most popular destination for economics majors are careers in business and finance; however, recent graduates also have entered a broad range of careers, including medicine, law, teaching, government, and policy.
AlumnaSusan Athey(B.A. '91), an economics of technology professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, hosted aQ&A session on Quorato discuss the future of economics, as well as potential career opportunities for undergraduate economics majorsin both academia and industry.Read more about our alumni and the value of an undergraduate degree in economics.
Academia & Graduate Studies
Approximately 10 percent of economics undergraduates plan to eventuallyattend graduate or professionalschool. Onaverage, 40.6 percent economics students surveyed at graduation reported that they have plans to pursuea master's in business administration.Students who are interested in pursuing graduate studies in economics should plan to take courses at the Departments of Mathematics and Statistical Science, as most competitive programs are quantitatively rigorous. Useful coursesinclude multi-variable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, real analysis, and introductory statistics and probability. Students contemplating a career in academia or economic research are strongly encouraged toconsider participating in the Duke EconomicsHonors Program, through which they have the opportunity to engage in a meaningful, sustained research project — and graduate with honors.
Industry
For the last five years, an average of 80.8percent of students have accepted full-time jobs by graduation, with 64.3percent going into finance, 16.1 percent into business and management consulting, and 6.9percent into business services such as accounting and marketing. Students considering a career in finance should consider getting a minor or concentration in finance through the Department of Economics and acquaint themselves with programs and events organized by theDuke Financial Economics Center.
PayScalecompilesa list of college majors by salary potential. Economics and finance-related majors rank highly in the survey, competing with STEM fieldmajorssuch as engineering, mathematics, and computer science.
