Career prospects with Bachelor Economics

Supra- and international institutions

Economists can provide advice in supra- and international organisations (e.g. European Commission, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation). They work closely with high-level decision-makers to produce economic and statistical analyses and develop new economic policies (e.g. in the field of financial markets, public finance, economic integration and development or international trade).

Using data analysis and research results, economists can also contribute to development aid projects, for example on topics such as agriculture, public sector governance or climate change.

Policy institutions and consulting

Economists can draw up strategic plans, advise politicians and make forecasts about the economic effects of political measures. The demand for economists' analysis and advice is diverse and ranges from federal and state ministries to regulatory authorities (e.g. Federal Network Agency, Federal Cartel Office). As critical thinkers in the tradition of evidence-based policy, economists can advise on very different economic policy fields, e.g. the labour market, education, urban planning, transport, trade or equality. Economists are also employed in the administration to support, among other things, the modernisation and digitalisation of the administrative apparatus.

Economists can work as research assistants or consultants in ministries, political parties, associations or foundations. They are responsible for factually related topics, support member companies or carry out external lobbying work. Furthermore, economists can be employed in trade union organisations. Economists advocate for workers' rights and try to bring about change in complex structures.

Educational and research institutions

With a successful degree in economics, you can also choose a career at university. Thanks to their solid methodological and statistical training, economists can also work in statistical offices and research institutes. The focus of their work is on collecting and analysing empirical data in order to verify assumptions about economic developments and relationships with the help of mathematical methods and to make economic policy recommendations.

(Large) companies

Graduates of economics also have very good career opportunities in the private sector. Economists can work as management consultants, for example. As external service providers, they analyse processes and structures in the company, for example, in order to increase profitability or to secure and expand the economic success of the company. In human resources management, economists provide services for companies in the search for and selection of suitable specialists and managers, they maintain personnel statistics or develop concepts for incentivising employees.

With the corresponding postgraduate studies, economists can also act as auditors, audit companies (e.g. annual audit) and advise clients on business management and tax issues.
In the insurance and reinsurance market, economists take on tasks in risk management and risk analysis. They identify, analyse and evaluate possible risks that could jeopardise the successful further development of a company and create complex reinsurance concepts and coverage models. Banks also demand the analytical skills of economists.

Economists not only prepare macroeconomic forecasts as a basis for decision-making for the management of (large) companies, they also conduct analyses for market research departments. Especially in the data age, economists with their analytical and statistical know-how are also used for decisions in finance and accounting and for procurement and sales management.

As an economist, there is also the opportunity to pursue business journalism as a career.

IT sector

Economists are increasingly in demand in the IT sector. In the course of computer-controlled production processes to maximise profits, economists are in a position to analyse and optimise these processes. They take on the role of mediator between IT and management and design application-oriented solutions for technology-based systems within a company.
Economists can also work in an interdisciplinary and fast-growing field such as data science. Because of their analytical skills and their confident handling of data, economists can not only collect, understand and analyse complex and unstructured data, but also interpret the results and communicate them to the relevant stakeholders.

Environment and sustainability

A growing employment of economists can also be found in the environmental and sustainability sector. Companies and initiatives in the field of alternative energy have a need for economists, e.g. to illustrate the long-term savings that result from the use of alternative technologies. Furthermore, economists can make sustainable decisions about the production and use of scarce resources, taking into account resource supply and environmental conditions in the future. The aim is to balance the costs of producing goods with the benefits these goods provide today and in the future.

Non-profit organisations and organisations for economic development

International non-governmental organisations (e.g. Red Cross, Doctors without Borders) and country-specific non-governmental organisations (e.g. German Society for International Cooperation) aim to promote the economic development of specific areas and regions. Economists are needed, among other things, to draw up strategic plans and calculate the economic impact of measures on the basis of data analyses. Jobs in this field are suitable for economists who are particularly committed to a specific region and its local politics and culture.

Health Care

In the wake of demographic change and the challenges of health care, economists are increasingly in demand in the health sector. Economists bring an analytical perspective to the health sector and understand the allocation of medical goods as a market determined by supply and demand. Economists maintain an overview of health economic relationships and are able to weigh the efficiency of measures and therapies against their costs.

Felix Kersting, bachelor graduate in Economics at Leuphana College, reports on his master in Economics at Humboldt University in Berlin.

Master Programme

At the outset, the formal mathematical approach of the program must be emphasized. This is different and also demanding compared to the experience at Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

Otherwise, apart from the usual three compulsory courses on microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics and three elective courses, which are mainly related to microeconomics, the master's program leaves a lot of freedom. For example, it is possible to take some courses on behavioral economics. Also dominant are courses on labor economics, econometrics and - which is rather rare in Germany - economic history.

In addition, a quarter of the programme can be chosen completely freely. On the one hand, this makes semesters abroad possible, and on the other hand, all master's courses can also be taken by all other faculties - a perspective that is exciting for Leuphana bachelor's graduates.

An advantage is the possibility to attend courses of the other Berlin universities. With the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) and the Science Center Berlin (WZB), there are good opportunities to be active in the research field while studying.

Compared to the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, the support falls off in some places. If mathematics is not a deterrent, the master's program offers a variety of opportunities in an exciting environment.

Gabriel Schultze and Marten Kürschner, bachelor graduates in Economics at Leuphana College, report on their Master studies in Economics at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel.

Master's Programme

In general, the master's programme is highly recommendable. The structure of the programme provides that three out of eight economic focal points are chosen. Within each focus, a significant number of wide-ranging lectures are offered. In addition, one seminar must be taken in each concentration.

One advantage is that all lectures are held in English, which should not be a deterrent in any way. The supervision ratio is adequate and since the master's classes are manageable (Economics: about 45 people), you can get in touch with professors and their research if you want to.

However, the mathematical orientation of economics is a challenge. For graduates from Lüneburg, this can already mean that some prerequisite skills have to be worked up in the beginning of the master's degree, which, however, is not an insurmountable hurdle.

Due to this quantitative orientation, the interdisciplinarity and application-orientedness of economics, which we value and which is given higher priority at Leuphana, is not as emphasized. For those interested, the master's programme "Quantitative Economics" is also offered, in which the focus is even more on the areas of statistics and econometrics.

Perspectives

The master's program in Kiel offers a good education in quantitative research methods and thus also for a subsequent doctorate.

Cord-Henning Wente, bachelor's graduate in Economics at Leuphana College, reports on his master's studies in Economics at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster.

Master's programme

The studies at the WWU in Münster were to my complete satisfaction and I felt well prepared for the Münster master's with the training of the Lüneburg economics studies (Major). In particular, the good quantitative training (mandatory econometrics in the 3rd semester) benefited me in the master's programme.

The economics master in Münster is characterized by the fact that four compulsory modules consisting of two different courses are offered, of which three modules are mandatory.

Studying at a university like the WWU with many economics master's students offers great opportunities for choice: Thus, there were a variety of elective modules from day one. I focused on studying transport economics, time series analysis, international trade economics (in English), applied microeconometrics, fiscal policy, and alternative measurement of wealth, value added, and happiness.

My master's thesis was on the topic, "The Problem of Federal Government Debt: The Impact of Bailout Expectations from a Game-Theoretic Perspective." I handed in my master's thesis at the end of February 2013. As expected, I will receive my Master's degree in the course of spring.

Perspectives

In the Wirtschaftswoche university ranking, the WWU has a very good position. From this, it can be concluded that my studies were certainly not easy and that one has the best chances on the job market with the Münster master's education.

The economics master's program at the WWU - according to a staff member at the examination office - is supposed to be less of an aptitude for a career in business enterprises compared to VWL master's programmes at other universities.