Economist
Works out what is actually causing what in an economy, and what a policy would really do. Far more mathematical than students expect, and employable well beyond government.
- Work environment
- office, remote-capable
- Typical hours
- predictable ~40h
- Stress
- moderate
- People contact
- constant colleagues
- Income
- strong
- Degree needed
- YesUK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
Stress. Analytical and deadline-driven rather than acute. The particular pressure is being asked for a confident number when the honest answer is a range with caveats, and having that number quoted without the caveats afterwards.
Hours. Published as 37 to 39 hours, typically between 8am and 6pm. Genuinely reasonable — this is one of the better-paid analytical careers that does not demand your evenings, outside fiscal events and publication deadlines.
People. Small analytical teams with substantial briefing of non-economists. Explaining a finding to someone who wants a different finding is a large part of seniority.
Income. Good and rising steadily, with a wide spread by sector. Financial and consultancy economists earn considerably more than public sector or academic ones for the same qualification.
What they actually do
The real tasks, not job-description language.
- Build and test models of how markets, sectors or whole economies behave.
- Analyse data to establish what actually caused an outcome, rather than what merely correlates with it.
- Forecast — and explain honestly how wide the uncertainty around a forecast really is.
- Evaluate policies and interventions: did this do what it was supposed to, and at what cost.
- Write briefings and reports for people who will act on them and have not studied economics.
- Advise on pricing, competition, regulation or investment depending on the sector.
- Interrogate data quality, because most economic conclusions fail on the data rather than the method.
- Present findings and defend the assumptions underneath them.
A day in the life
Examples, not measurements. Real days vary; these are what people describe as typical.
A working dayO*NETO*NETFrom the O*NET occupational database.
- 08:45Read overnight data releases and check whether anything changes the current analysis.
- 09:30Model work. Clean the data, specify the estimation, discover the series has a break in it.
- 12:00Team discussion — is this effect real, or an artefact of how the sample was constructed.
- 14:00Write the briefing. Two pages for people who will read one.
- 16:00Brief a senior stakeholder who wants a single number. Give the range and explain why.
- 17:15Finish on time, which this field generally allows.
Education pathway
What it actually takes, with realistic time at each stage.
United KingdomSchool to independent practice: 3–5 yearsUK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
- A-levels including maths or economics2 yearsUK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
The National Careers Service lists "2 or 3 A levels, or equivalent, including maths or economics". In practice maths matters more than economics.
- Economics degree, or a joint degree with substantial economics3 yearsUK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
Government economist schemes require "a degree in economics or a combined degree, with at least 50% economics" — a real constraint if you were considering a joint honours with only a minor in it.
- Master's, expected for most professional economist roles1–2 yearsreportedreportedConsistently reported across multiple independent credible accounts. Not a measured statistic.Based on 4 independent accounts.A master's in economics is consistently described as the practical entry standard for professional economist positions, with the bachelor's alone sufficient mainly for analyst roles.
- Economist0 yearsUK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
Licensing
None. No registration or protected title.
Notes
Degree apprenticeship routes exist and are salaried. Government fast-stream economist schemes are a distinct and well-regarded entry point worth researching separately.
Saudi ArabiaSchool to independent practice: 4–8 yearsestimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Degree plus postgraduate study where taken, inferred from the standard structure rather than a Saudi-specific published figure.
- Secondary school, either track3 yearsestimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Standard Saudi secondary structure. Both tracks feed economics programmes, though the science track supports the mathematical content better.
- BSc Economics4–5 yearsreportedreportedConsistently reported across multiple independent credible accounts. Not a measured statistic.Based on 3 independent accounts.Saudi economics degrees are consistently described as four to five years including a preparatory year.
- Master's or doctorate, frequently abroad on scholarship2–5 yearsestimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred from the structure of Saudi scholarship programmes, which commonly fund postgraduate economics study abroad for public sector and central bank roles. No published typical-duration figure was obtainable.
- Economist0 yearsestimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Employment follows qualification; there is no licensing stage.
Licensing
None.
Notes
The central bank, ministries, sovereign funds and the major consultancies are the main employers. Postgraduate study abroad on scholarship is a well-established route into the senior public sector positions.
What to study now
Subject choices made at fifteen or sixteen decide what is still possible at eighteen.
Saudi curriculum track
Neither track closes economics, but be aware the subject is far more mathematical than its school-level version suggests. The science track is genuinely helpful preparation even though the administrative track is the conventional route.
Doors that close without these
- Without maths at A-level or IB Higher Level, competitive economics degrees are closed, and postgraduate economics becomes very difficult.
- A joint degree with less than half economics content closes government economist schemes specifically — check the composition before choosing a combined course.
- Nothing else closes this route; there is no licence and no protected title.
A-Level
- MathematicsrequiredEffectively required at any serious economics department, and the single biggest predictor of whether you cope with the degree. Students who take economics and drop maths have it backwards.
- EconomicsusefulHelpful but not required, and universities teach from scratch. Never choose it over maths.
- Further Mathematicsstrongly recommendedGenuinely advantageous at the strongest departments and for postgraduate study.
- History or Politicsuseful
IB
- Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches (Higher Level)required
- Economicsuseful
Degrees that lead here
The whole route on one page →- Accounting and FinanceReachable with a quantitative master's, for those who find the theory more interesting than the practice.
- EconomicsThe direct destination in government, central banking, consultancies and international institutions.
- MathematicsModern economics is mathematics applied to human behaviour, and this is a strong entry to it.
- Political Science and International RelationsReachable with quantitative methods and a master's, and political economy sits between the two.
- StatisticsApplied econometrics is statistics under another name.
If any of those systems is unfamiliar — or you have not chosen between them yet — the exams and qualifications section covers what each one is, which subject inside it opens which degree, and when to sit what.
Getting in: how competitive
Students consistently underestimate this part.
Degree entry is competitive at strong departments and achievable more widely. The real filter is mathematical: economics is far more technical than school economics implies, and a substantial number of students discover this in the first term. Government economist schemes and central bank roles are competitive; the wider market — consultancies, regulators, banks — hires more readily.
What selectors actually weigh
Two or three A-levels including maths or economics for a degree, with government schemes additionally requiring at least 50% economics content in a combined degree. Employers weight quantitative and econometric competence heavily — a candidate who can actually estimate and interpret a model outperforms one with a better classification who cannot.UK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
Exams in the way
- Numerical and analytical testing for graduate schemes
- Technical interviews covering econometrics for research roles
How many attempts is normal
Applying across government, regulatory and private sector schemes simultaneously is normal.
Reality check
Both columns are required. A career page with no difficult parts is an advert.
The good
- Genuinely reasonable hours for a well-paid analytical career, which is a rarer combination than it sounds.
- The work influences real decisions — policy, pricing, regulation — in a way most analytical jobs do not.
- Employable well beyond government: regulators, consultancies, banks, technology companies and international institutions all hire economists.
- The intellectual discipline is genuine. Causal inference done properly is hard and valuable.
- The skills transfer readily into data science, policy and finance if you change direction.
The difficult parts
- It is much more mathematical than school economics suggests, and this is the most common source of disillusionment in the first year of the degree.
- A master's is effectively expected for professional economist roles, adding time and cost.
- Your careful conclusions get simplified into headline numbers you would not have written, and then attributed to you.
- Forecasting is genuinely difficult and being publicly wrong is part of the job.
- Public sector economics pays substantially less than the private sector for the same work.
- Politics shapes which questions get asked, and sometimes which answers are welcome.
Who this suits
This suits you if
- You are genuinely comfortable with mathematics and statistics, not merely tolerant of them.
- You are curious about why economies and people behave as they do.
- You can communicate uncertainty honestly under pressure to be definite.
- You want analytical work with reasonable hours.
- You are interested in policy questions rather than only in commercial ones.
Think twice if
- You liked economics at school for the discussion rather than the modelling — the degree is the opposite balance.
- You dislike mathematics, because it is the substance of the discipline.
- You want your conclusions to be acted on faithfully, which in policy work they frequently are not.
- You need the highest pay available for your quantitative ability — finance pays more.
- You would find being publicly wrong about forecasts hard to absorb.
Salary
Ranges, not a single figure. The median matters more than the ceiling.
United Kingdom · GBP per year
- Entry
- £28,000–34,000UK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
- Mid-career
- £34,000–48,000estimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred by interpolating between the published starter and experienced figures. The National Careers Service publishes only two points, so the middle of the range is reasoned rather than quoted.
- Senior
- £48,000–60,000UK NCS 2026UK NCS 2026From the UK National Careers Service.UK National Careers Service — Economist job profile
What drives the spread
The published range runs £28,000 to £60,000. Sector splits it sharply: economists in financial services, competition consultancy and technology sit well above the top of this range, while public sector and academic economists sit within or below it. Choosing where to work matters more to your earnings here than seniority does.
How pay is structured
Salaried, with bonuses in the private sector. Public sector and regulatory roles pay less but offer better hours and, in the case of central banks, unusual intellectual freedom.
Saudi Arabia · SAR per year
- Entry
- SAR 120,000–200,000estimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred from Gulf public sector and financial analyst package levels, and from demand created by economic diversification planning. No published Saudi occupational wage statistic was obtainable.
- Mid-career
- SAR 200,000–380,000estimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred from mid-career positions at the central bank, ministries and sovereign funds, where economics expertise is scarce relative to demand.
- Senior
- SAR 350,000–750,000estimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred from senior positions at sovereign funds and international consultancies. The upper end reflects those employers rather than typical public sector outcomes.
What drives the spread
Estimated rather than measured. Saudi demand for economists is concentrated in the central bank, ministries, sovereign funds and consultancies, and the sovereign fund and consultancy end pays substantially more than ministerial positions.
How pay is structured
Package-based with allowances. Public sector follows grade structures; sovereign funds and consultancies negotiate individually.
United States · USD per year
- Entry
- $67,360–89,330BLS 2025BLS 2025From US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage statistics.Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — Economists (19-3011)
- Mid-career
- $89,330–174,720BLS 2025BLS 2025From US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage statistics.Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — Economists (19-3011)
- Senior
- $174,720–238,060BLS 2025BLS 2025From US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage statistics.Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — Economists (19-3011)
What drives the spread
Percentile bands across only 17,790 economists at one moment — a genuinely small occupation — not a career track. Median was $124,720, which is high for a field most people picture as public sector. That figure reflects the shift described above: economists increasingly work for regulators, consultancies, banks and technology firms rather than only for government, and those employers pay well above ministerial and academic scales.
How pay is structured
Salaried, with bonuses in the private sector. Public sector and regulatory roles pay less and offer better hours.
The Saudi picture
Specific to Saudi Arabia, shown whichever country is selected above.
Does this field actually hire here
Genuinely strong and structurally driven. Economic diversification is the organising project of Saudi policy, and it requires people who can model, forecast and evaluate it — the central bank, the ministries, the sovereign fund and the international consultancies all recruit economists. The pool of Saudi nationals with strong postgraduate economics training is small relative to that demand, which is a real advantage for those who have it.
Government vs private
Unusually balanced. The central bank, ministries and the General Authority for Statistics offer stable public sector careers with defined progression. Sovereign funds and international consultancies pay considerably more. Banks employ economists in smaller numbers.
Saudization
Economics and policy roles in public institutions are effectively national positions, and scholarship programmes for postgraduate study abroad exist specifically to build this capability. For a Saudi national with strong mathematics, this is a well-supported route.
Licensing and foreign degrees
None. No registration, no protected title, no recognition process — so postgraduate study abroad carries no risk on return, which is a meaningful advantage over the licensed professions.
Vision 2030
Among the most directly relevant fields on the site, since the programme is fundamentally an economic transformation and requires economists to design and evaluate it. Unlike consulting, the demand sits inside permanent institutions — the central bank and statistics authority will need economists regardless of which specific programmes proceed.
Provenance for this sectionestimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Reasoned from the institutional structure of Saudi economic policymaking, published diversification objectives, and the absence of licensing requirements. No occupational employment or wage statistic for Saudi economists was obtainable.
Career progression
A realistic ladder, with the years each rung usually takes.
- Economic analystyears 0–3reportedreportedConsistently reported across multiple independent credible accounts. Not a measured statistic.Based on 3 independent accounts.Entry roles consistently described as data work and supporting analysis within a defined programme.
- Economistyears 2–7reportedreportedConsistently reported across multiple independent credible accounts. Not a measured statistic.Based on 3 independent accounts.Independent ownership of analysis and briefing consistently described as following the analyst period, usually after a master's.
- Senior economistyears 6–14reportedreportedConsistently reported across multiple independent credible accounts. Not a measured statistic.Based on 3 independent accounts.Leading analytical programmes and advising senior decision-makers consistently described as accruing with substantial experience.
- Chief economist or head of analysisyears 12–25estimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred from organisational structures in institutions employing economists, where the most senior analytical positions are reached well after senior level.
Specialisations
One job title can contain very different lives.
- Macroeconomics and forecasting
- Whole economies. Central banks, ministries and international institutions.
- Competition and regulation
- Market structure, mergers and pricing. Highly technical and among the best paid outside finance.
- Development economics
- Growth and poverty across countries. International institutions and NGOs.
- Financial economics
- Markets and asset pricing. The highest-paying direction and the closest to quantitative finance.
- Applied microeconomics and evaluation
- Did this policy or product change work. The most methodologically rigorous branch and closest to data science.
How this field is changing
You enter this workforce in five to twelve years, not today.
Demand: growingestimatedestimatedInferred by reasoning, not measured. The basis is given below.Inferred from the observable expansion of economist employment outside government, particularly into technology and competition consultancy. No published occupational projection or US employment count was obtainable for this occupation.
Demand has broadened well beyond government — regulators, technology companies and consultancies now employ economists in numbers that did not exist twenty years ago, largely because causal inference on large datasets became commercially valuable.
What automation actually changes
Data handling and routine estimation are heavily automated already, and machine learning is very good at prediction — which is a real overlap with part of what economists do. Where the discipline holds its ground is causation rather than prediction: working out whether a policy caused an outcome, and designing an analysis that could distinguish the two. Machine learning is largely silent on that, and economists have spent decades on it. The practical effect is that econometric and causal skills have become more valuable while descriptive forecasting has become more commoditised.
Are requirements drifting
Upward. The master's has become the practical entry standard for professional economist roles where a bachelor's once sufficed, and doctorates are increasingly common in research and financial positions.
How much has really changed
The discipline is stable and its methods are cumulative. What has changed substantially is where economists work — the shift from predominantly government and academia toward regulators, consultancies and technology firms is a genuine structural change within a career span.
Sideways from here
The most useful direction on this site. Going deeper only tells you that medicine contains cardiology.
If you like this, consider
- Policy AnalystThe same questions with less mathematics and more institutional politics.
- Data ScientistOverlapping quantitative skills in a much larger commercial job market.
- ActuaryComparable quantitative work with a protected credential and more predictable progression.
- Quantitative AnalystThe highest-paying destination for the same mathematical ability.
- StatisticianThe methods without the economic subject matter.
Same interest, different trade-off
Careers driven by what draws you here, with a materially different length, cost or lifestyle attached.
- Data ScientistSame quantitative toolkit, commercial rather than policy.A far larger job market, higher pay outside government, and no master's expectation. You work on prediction and product questions rather than causal and policy ones, which is a genuine loss if the policy is what interests you.
- Policy AnalystSame policy questions, less mathematics.Reachable without heavy econometrics and closer to the decisions themselves. Lower pay and less analytical authority — you assemble the argument rather than producing the evidence underneath it.
- ActuarySame mathematical ability, protected profession.An exam-gated credential with legally mandated demand and very predictable progression, paid throughout. Narrower subject matter and years of professional exams, but far more certainty than an economics career offers.
- External AuditorNumerate professional work with a portable qualification.Shorter route, paid while qualifying, and internationally mobile. Much less intellectually open-ended — verification rather than analysis — but no master's and no uncertainty about the first job.
Where Economics (BSc) can take you
The same degree, other destinations. Choosing this subject does not commit you to this job.
What next
Sources for this page
Last researched 2026-08-17. Every figure above carries the label of where it came from — hover or tap one to see which.
- O*NETO*NET 30.3 — Economists (19-3011.00)accessed 2026-08-17
- UK NCSUK National Careers Service — Economist job profileaccessed 2026-08-17
- reportedConsistently described across economics graduate and practitioner accountsaccessed 2026-08-17
- BLSOccupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — Economists (19-3011)accessed 2026-08-17