Econ student

Why study economics?


What is economics?

Scarce resources. The flow of goods and services. Individual and collective behaviours and interactions. 

Economics is the study of how economic activity is organized when land, labour, capital—even things like clean air and water—are scarce.

We train our students to be able to see, understand, and analyze economic forces in action—in short, to think like economists.

Why study economics?

Economics graduates are powerful intellects. Employers value their skills and capabilities. They are logical and abstract thinkers. They're effective communicators. They understand the operation of markets and the logic of optimal decision making.

In Canada, economics graduates usually find work as financial consultants, sales representatives, insurance brokers, financial managers, banking, credit, and investment managers, economists, researchers, consultants, financial analysts, and securities agents.

Where could an economics degree take you? We asked our graduating class of 2017 what they're up to—find out what they've told us.


What have our graduates done with their Economics degrees?

There are many doors open to those with an Economics degree whether you enter the workforce with an undergraduate degree or you continue to pursue graduate studies. Opportunities range from economics, to finance, business, or law.

Economics student and their business

What do Economists do?

  • Use economic theory to determine effects
  • Collect, analyze and interpret data
  • Test and advise on government policies and corporate strategy
  • Evaluate past and present issues and forecast future trends
  • Communicate their discoveries to many different stakeholders and decision makers, including senior management, government, the public, and the press

Fields and industries

  • Public finance
  • Regulation, competition policy, and strategy
  • International trade and development
  • Environmental economics
  • Health economics
  • Resource and energy economics
  • Behavioural and experimental economics
  • Managerial economics
  • Monetary and fiscal policy

Honours degree

Our honours alumni are valued and recruited by the best graduate programs in Canada.

They study at institutions like UBC, Toronto, Queen’s, and Western University, and funding can be extensive, with some receiving funding packages of up to $35,000/year. After graduation, master's degree salaries average between $93,000 and $127,000.

Our honours graduates have also gone on to study at the London School of Economics, leading to careers at

  • KPMG-UK in London (Competition Policy)
  • Oxera in Berlin (Competition Policy)
  • London Economics in London (Space Infrastructure)

as well as Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, which has lead to careers at Compass Lexicon in Brussels (Competition Policy).


Economics Alumni

Within a year of graduation, 92% were employed, and the average salary one year out was $56,000

This aligns with Stats Canada data from 2016, which showed that economics degrees yield the strongest average salaries of all of the social sciences, with average annual salaries ranging from $78,000 (for women) to $105,000 (for men).

So, what are our graduates up to? Here's what we found out:

Companies

Agrium Inc.     
Altus Group     
ATCO Electricity     
Axiom Foreign Exchange     
Brion Energy     
Canadian Western Bank     
Cenovus Energy Inc.     
City of Calgary     
Deloitte     
Enbridge Pipelines Inc.     
General Electric     
Global Affairs Canada     
Golder Associates     
Government of Alberta      
HSBC Bank     
Morneau Shepell     
Palantir Economic Solutions     
Precision Drilling     
Royal Bank of Canada     
Shell Canada     
SunLife     
TD Canada Trust     
TransAlta     
TransCanada Corporation     
WestJet Airlines     

Roles

Accounting analyst
Actuarial analyst
Banking specialist
Business development analyst
Commodity program analyst
Consultant
Data analyst
Data manager
Economic analyst
Energy market analyst
Financial advisor
Foreign exchange analyst
Investment banking analyst
Investor relations associate
Personal insurance advisor
Portfolio administrator
Project controls analyst
Property tax analyst
Real estate analyst
Regulatory analyst
Research analyst
Revenue and pricing analyst
Risk management analyst
Supply chain/procurement coordinator
Underwriter