The benefits of studying economics
Why Study Economics? is a website that encourages students from all educational backgrounds to study economics as their first degree. It also provides information to teachers and parents.
Where can students study economics? Over 95 departments across the UK offer an Economics degree. Some of these are straight (‘single’) Economics degrees. Normally they are simply called Economics, but sometimes they are more specialist, e.g. Agricultural Economics or Business Economics. Other degrees combine Economics with another subject (‘joint degrees’). The titles of these joint degrees includes: Economics and Management; Economics and Finance; Economics and Philosophy; Economics and Accounting; Economics and Business; Economics and History; and Economics and Politics.
What will economics students do at university? Most economics students will experience a generic first year at university which builds a solid foundation. The most important modules for a first-year economics student are Introductory Microeconomics, Introductory Macroeconomics and Quantitative Methods for Economics (statistics/mathematics). The concepts taught in these three modules will be used throughout an economics undergraduate degree. In their second, and particularly third, year at university, economics students will have a number of optional units. Students will be able to specialise in Development Economics, Managerial Economics, Labour Economics, Monetary Economics and so on. If students are on a joint degree they will have modules in their other subject in all three years, some of which will be compulsory. Students on either single or joint economics degrees may also be able to do an optional module in another subject area such as a modern language.
“Until studying a course like economics not a lot of people are aware of how the world works, including industries, businesses and governments. You realise that it’s very important to be educated in this type of thing even if it gets to the stage where you become annoyed with family and friends for moaning about taxes!”
The workload at university is generally heavier than at A-level. Students can expect around 10 – 15 hours of contact time a week, consisting of a mixture of lectures and tutorials/seminars/workshops. In addition to this, students will be expected to put in a minimum of 20 hours per week of independent study. The number of contact hours will normally fall between years one, two and three but the amount of independent study will rise (at least it should do!).
Why do students enjoy economics? Economics is the perfect combination of numbers and words, problems and essays, calculations and interpretations. It is both an art and a science subject. Students have the opportunity to build models which give insights into the real world, and then to critique these models on the basis of their assumptions. There is rarely a right answer in economics but any argument put forward must be backed up by quantitative evidence. Students ultimately enjoy economics because it allows them to employ and develop analytical and evaluative skills.
“My decision to pursue an Economics degree has been the single most valuable investment I have made to date. It sharpened my ability to critically assess information, deliver disciplined and well structured arguments and become a more confident team player.”
What do students need to have studied to read economics at university?
Some universities have A-level Maths as a prerequisite for their economics degrees. Even if it is not required, A-level Maths is still very useful for university level economics, especially those degrees with a heavy number of quantitative modules. Those institutions that do not require A-level Maths still require a good GCSE in Maths. Furthermore, some universities may look more favourably on candidates with other quantitative subjects, such as Physics or Accounting. No university requires students to have studied A-level Economics, but it helps if they have. Aside from the subjects studied, students should only choose to read economics at university: if they enjoy keeping up with current affairs; if they are comfortable working with numbers; and if they are willing to write a number of essays.
But how can a student, who has never studied economics before, prepare for their degree? One way is through work experience, especially when this involves handling money or making any form of economic choice. Reading economic articles in newspapers and/or subscribing to The Economist will give students an edge over their peers when it comes to writing their first essay. Students could also read a couple of the books on their course’s reading list, particularly those that give lots of background information (e.g. “Fool’s Gold” by Gillian Tett). Alternatively, a lot of the popular economics literature, such as the Undercover Economist or Freakonomics, will show students that economics can be used to explain virtually any phenomena.
“Economics places a key role in all aspects of life and is an important subject worth knowing more about.”
To get an idea of the level of maths involved in their economic modules, students should have a flick through a first year textbook and have a go at some of the problems set. Finally, students should brush up on their statistics either by going back to their notes or, if they did not study maths, by working through some problems in an A-level statistics textbook. Statistics is vital for students to understand econometrics, a technique used by many authors in a number of economic journals.
And what can students do after an Economics degree? Economics graduates are well equipped, having analytical and problem-solving skills, numerical and computer skills, as well as the ability to work well either alone or within a team. All of these skills are very transferable allowing economics graduates to branch into anything from investment banking and financial services, business and public-sector management and research, to working with charities, teaching or the media. There is little restriction on what students can do afterwards.
“By the end of the degree you emerge as a student who can read as well as a law graduate, compute as well as an accountant, and analyse data as well as a statistician.”
And of course there is money. Economics graduates typically earn £4000 more than the average graduate in their first position.
October 16th, 2014 at 8:27 am
This sounds interesting and motivating….I like the fact that it covers all sector and especially the Politics part of it.
October 16th, 2014 at 8:33 am
This is a good article that can help a lot of high school learners to make good choices for their future.And I’ve learnt a lot from it.
October 16th, 2014 at 8:54 am
I really appreciate this site. it has taught me alot about economics and I would also like to propose another follow up blog on how students are coping with economics now that we are ready to kick start it. Thank you Economics in action i much appreciate this site.
October 16th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
very good information on this certain subject, particularly the advise/information on how people who did not do economics in high school may approach the subject if they wish to pursue it in varsity
October 16th, 2014 at 4:09 pm
quite an interesting theory on Economics but the truth is, not everybody likes it, infact, most university students don’t like it. I can mention so many reasons why they don’t like it.the first one being that it has way too much work load and nobody likes writing essays, it just takes too much time however let me not take anything away from those who could benefit from this and those that actually love the course,we all want jobs that pay well and that we actually love at the end of the day, everybody has a choice.
October 16th, 2014 at 4:59 pm
This is a very awesome article. It is true that studying economics makes you be aware of what is going on around you, I have economics as a module it does give a bigger picture about the world from finance to polices. Although it has lot of work it is interesting and it sharpens your understanding.(y)
October 16th, 2014 at 9:32 pm
As an economics student it’s easy to relate to the findings and Principles of this article. It was very well written. Thank you
October 20th, 2014 at 11:41 am
Economic is vital in the understanding of how the world and its systems operate as it builds problem solving skills and develops one’s logical way of understanding problems. It gives a clear understanding on the concept of demand and supply, which is the fundamental basis of economics. It serves to ensure stability in the dispersion of goods and services since resources are scarce therefore cannot meet everybody’s demands simultaneously therefore it creates a balance between usage and maintenance or creation of resources by making informed and calculated decisions on what to produce, how to produce it and who to produce it for at the given point in time. Economics is responsible for the determination of prices for goods and services including things like land, buildings, stocks and bonds. It helps determine how scarce resources should be deployed to people, how much formal education one requires to be considered adequate enough in a specific field and provides techniques on how to handle or disperse your savings and investments. It also deals with the idea of tax, how the tax system affects the people and its implementation to help aid government operations and survives for taxpayers. It also gives insight on how the government’s budget is drawn up so as to meet the objectives of the nation through fulfilling the demands of the people and how debt can affect these processes and the economy of the country.
October 20th, 2014 at 11:53 am
Thanks so much for your article. I am not totally agree with to be a master in mathematics in order to study economics but is important because is the way that economy explains the things that happen in the economic world.
October 20th, 2014 at 1:25 pm
Economics is vital in the understanding of how the world and its systems operate as it builds problem solving skills and develops one’s logical way of understanding problems. It gives a clear understanding on the concept of demand and supply, which is the fundamental basis of economics. It serves to ensure stability in the dispersion of goods and services since resources are scarce therefore cannot meet everybody’s demands simultaneously therefore it creates a balance between usage and maintenance or creation of resources by making informed and calculated decisions on what to produce, how to produce it and who to produce it for at the given point in time. This includes looking at factors or issues that can be caused by production of products and other resources such as pollution and emission of dangers gases during production. Economists come up with ideas and policies on how to curb these issues so as to make sure that resources and the environment in which they are sourced from are sustained in a way that will preserve these environments for use by future generations.
Economics is also responsible for the determination of prices for goods and services including things like land, buildings, stocks and bonds. It helps determine vital systems to which help ensure that people are secured financially and have the required expertise or knowledge to survive in today’s civilisation such as how much formal education one requires to be considered adequate enough in a specific field and provides techniques on how to handle or disperse your savings and/or investments. It also deals with the concept of tax, how the tax system affects the people and its implementation to help aid government operations and survives for taxpayers. It also gives insight on how the government’s budget is drawn up so as to meet the objectives of the nation through fulfilling the demands of the people without exploiting or depleting the resources available to help meet those objectives. It also explains how debt of the country as a whole or its citizens can affect these processes ultimately affecting the economy of the country as a whole. Economists therefore advise governments on how to manage and avoid issues such as inflation, pollution and unemployment. Economics is therefore a science that helps maintain and improve living standards by taking consideration of all the factors involved in that and ensuring there’s balance and sustainability in the processes required to meet all those objectives
October 20th, 2014 at 8:43 pm
I liked your article, it is straight forward and gives alot of information of what a person can expect from studying economics. I agree that it is a good degree to have behind your name, as it informs you of almost all aspects within a business and how the economy is run today and the challenges it faces.it sets for a good job oppertunity and a wealthy lifestyle that never goes out of fashion. Does anyone disagree?
October 26th, 2014 at 7:34 pm
This blog has been very insightful as it has given me insight into the economic flied of studying and understand the complex nature of this subject In this blog. They give us many examples which helps the reader identify how and where this blog can be helpful in understanding demand and supply, inflation rates and more, which affect the us directly and indirectly everyday.
I now have a better understand as to why individuals choose to study economics as it gives a broad understanding of the various areas discussed above and how there is a need for skilled economists in our country.