What Is the Average Starting Salary for an Economics Major?

Although it does not prepare you for a specific job or career path, an economics degree can lead to a well-paying first job after college. Economics majors find employment in business or education, as consultants and at government agencies. The American Economics Association reports that starting salaries for economics majors exceed those of most other academic majors.

Average Starting Salaries

The Wall Street Journal reported in 2008 that economics majors had average starting salaries of $43,419 a year. This placed economics fourth among a field of majors, trailing only engineering, computer programming and mathematics. Engineering topped the list, with people majoring in that field earning average starting salaries of $49,707 a year, according to the Journal.

The American Economic Association, a national organization of economists, reported average starting salaries in 2007 for bachelor's degree recipients in a variety of majors. The average for economics majors stood at $48,483 a year.

Exceeding Business Degrees

The average starting salary for economics majors exceeds starting salaries for business majors, including finance, management, accounting and marketing. Economics also exceeded the liberal arts and the other social sciences, such as psychology and sociology, in average starting salaries, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Business Economics

Many economics majors, especially those who specialize in finance or other business-oriented areas, find employment in the corporate sector. The National Association for Business Economics, a national organization for the profession, reported in a 2010 survey that its members had median starting salaries of $58,000 a year. The association added that more than 40 percent of employers preferred a master's degree for employment.

Potential

In addition to a competitive starting salary that exceeds even those of business majors, an economics degree offers the potential for even higher earnings. The degree provides excellent preparation for a master of business administration (M.B.A.) degree, which can lead to high-paying jobs with some of the world's largest corporations. Graduate-level study in economics, meanwhile, can lead to employment as an economist in academia, business or government.

Academic Economist Salaries

The American Economic Association reported that tenured economics professors earned annual salaries in 2007 ranging from $80,000 to $128,000 a year. Full professors at Ph.D.-granting universities could earn as much as $204,800.

References

• The Wall Street Journal: For Class of '08, a Scramble for Jobs
• American Economic Association: Careers
• National Association for Business Economics: Business Economics Career Center

Resources

• American Economic Association
• National Association for Business Economics