A career in Economics

They say that economics is what economists do. What it connotes is the fact that the canvas and contour of economics is so vast that it cannot easily be bound within the boundary of a few definitions and concepts, the fact which was also endorsed by George Bernard Shaw when he had said, “If all the economists are laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.”

However, economics is traditionally a subject of humanities and commerce but pragmatically it is no way less than a science stream because it encompasses mathematics and applications of various mathematical tools in the derivation of models of growth of an economy and measurement of national income and its various derivatives.

It also includes social science, psychology, welfare economics and philosophies- all blended so beautifully and subtly interwoven in it. And that is why it is considered as an evergreen subject the importance and dynamics of which has even more increased especially in the aftermath of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation of the 1990s.

Economics has grown as an interesting and immaculately professional subject from the point of view of career and job opportunities with the pace of time. From the early days of Adam Smith, who is known as father of economics, to the sophisticated modern world of the 21st century,

the canvas and contour of economics has exponentially grown to be the subject of promising careers and key job opportunities both at home and abroad. The demand for the graduates and postgraduates candidates is fast rising to fulfil the rapidly increasing need of the various segments of not only Indian economy but also the economies of the nations across the world.

Economics courses and eligibility
Though the teaching of economics starts only from ninth standard but at this stage it is merely the induction of students into the virtual world of economics but the pure economics syllabi are covered only from eleventh and twelfth classes which include, among others,

the study of microeconomics, macroeconomics, statistics, fiscal policy, monetary policy, markets, production, costs and revenues, consumer’s equilibrium, producer’s equilibrium, methods of measurement of national income, income and employment theory, balance of payment, banks and other monetary agencies of the governments across the globe.

Twelfth pass certificate in economics proves to be the passport of entry of the students into the world of specialised study of the subject at the college and university level. From honours course in B.A, B.Sc the students can further opt for postgraduation and Ph.D degrees in the subject which further qualify them for more of the employment opportunities and career options.

Career prospects in economics
In the wake of the post-reformed world economies, the job prospects in the realm of economics have increased beyond any one’s imagination. Both the private and public sector undertakings are opening up a string of opportunities for the economics graduates and postgraduates in a number of positions with beautiful perks and compensation.

The government sector offers jobs to the economics professionals in commercial banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other public sector undertakings whereas in the private sector these professionals of economics are offered jobs in the private commercial and multinational banks, BPOs (Business Processing Outsourcing), KPO (Knowledge Processing Outsourcing), newspapers, business journals and other marketing segments of the consumer products.

Universities and colleges
1. Delhi School of Economics
2. Jawaharlal Nehru University
3. St. Stephen College, Delhi University
4. University of Delhi, South Campus
5. Banaras Hindu University
6. Sri Ram College of Commerce
7. Symbiosis School of Economics
8. Madras School of Economics
9. IIT Kanpur
10. Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
And last but not the least, London of School of Economics is the first choice of the students for the study of economics globally.

Government sector
The government sector offers an array of prestigious and privileged employment opportunities to the economics aspirants. The graduates and postgraduates in economics can choose economics as an optional in the mains of the civil services examinations and make career as an IAS, IPS, IFS or various other allied services officials of the central government.

Indian Economic Services, Reserve Bank of India, National Sample Survey Organisation, Planning Commission (Now replaced by NITI Aayog), Ministry of Economic Affairs, National Council for Applied Economic Research and various other departments provide prestigious employment opportunities to the candidates with economics as a major in graduation and post graduation levels.

Indian Economic Services, Indian Civil Services, Indian Statistical Services and Investigators’ examinations are conducted every year by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Under the IES the economics graduates are offered the opportunities to work in the erstwhile Planning Commission and various other Central government departments.

However, if an economics graduate has an aptitude for datas and figures the job opportunities in various advertising and research companies are very abundantly available. These departments provide the jobs which are closely concerned with the collection, analysis and research of various types of datas. Apart from this the State Public Service Commissions of various state governments are also conducting examinations for the selection of various administrative posts for which one can choose economics as one of the main optional papers.

Private sector
In the global scenario the employment opportunities in the private sector too have increased manifold. The private sector firms are offering various positions like those of economists, marketing executives, economic advisers, business analysts, consultants, marketing researchers, economic research analysts, and stock market analysts to the economics graduates with specialization in some of the branches of economics.

National and international financial institutions
The Reserve Bank of India each year conducts examination for the appointment of Grade ‘B’ officers. The international financial institutes like those of World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank, NABARD, International Labour Organization (ILO), World Economic Forum, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and other institutes recruit graduates and postgraduates with specialization and Ph.D for the various prestigious positions.

Besides, the commercial organisations like The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade organisations of the country, The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), an association of business organizations, also appoints the eminent economists on their management board.

Teaching jobs
Economics, in fact, is considered as a very tough and rather monotonous subject among the humanities and commerce subjects. But academically diligent and mentally sharp postgraduates with degrees in teaching, M.Phil and Ph.D can opt for the teaching jobs at various levels and make the subjects easier and more interesting to the students.

Though teaching jobs in economics start only at secondary and senior secondary levels where the graduates and postgraduates with B.Ed and Diploma in teaching are supposed to take up the task of teaching economics to the students of ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth classes. However, it is not the end of the jobs’ prospects in the field of teaching.

Rather it is the beginning of the entry of the economics professionals to the teaching careers which also include teaching at the college and universities levels. All the management institutes also require teaching faculties in economics, especially business and marketing economics, and which provide very good package and perks. Only added required qualification is that of Ph.D and specialisation in one or more of the branches of your choice of economics.

Job of research analysts and economists
Job opportunities are also in abundance for those economics graduates and post graduates who can take up the job of equity researchers or analysts in various firms of brokerage, Mutual Fund and foreign institutional investment.

These analysts seriously study the various types of datas regarding the trading of shares and investments of companies and their profit and losses accounts. The research course in economics can be taken from the Institute of Development Research, Delhi, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development research, Mumbai, International Institute for Population Studies and Institute for Social & Economic Change, Bangalore.

In today’s globalised and liberalised economy, the multinational companies and big corporate and quasi-corporate houses and financial institutes have the post of economists who work as advisors for the Management Board.

These economists study the cost and benefit datas and ensure that the companies earn the profit and help meet the targets and stay ahead of the rest. Preparing charts, tables and graphs of the vital economic issues and growth indices is also the job of an economist.

By: Shreeprakash Sharma
The writer is PGT Economics, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Birauli, Bihar