Your future career
Careers in Accounting:
Accountants are information specialists and major decision-makers in a wide range of organisations. Opportunities for graduates exist for a rewarding career in professional practice, industry and commerce, public administration, local government and financial services; specific areas include the media, entertainment, sports promotion, industry policy and travel management.
Careers in Economics:
Economists work in a wide variety of careers. This occurs because the training one receives as an economist can either focus on the economy or on economic aspects of a wide range of issues.
Career Paths
The standard training of an economist in Australia is based around the undergraduate degree in economics, commerce, business or some cognate discipline. At the completion of such a degree, economists have two major career paths to follow.
One of these options is to gain employment in a position which combines both economic and general functions. These tend to be in large organisations which need a good supply of generalist managers and include government departments and large businesses in the public or the private sector.
A second option is to undertake further study. This could involve studying at the Honours level, a path which involves deepening your knowledge of economics and undertaking your own research project. Studying to this level has the effect of opening up the path of higher studies in economics to a Masters degree or to a PhD, but also has the effect of signalling to employers that you are an extremely able student. Completing a four-year degree at the Honours level labels you as excellent and some important employer groups prefer only to look for Honours graduates and/or fast track such graduates within the organisation.
It is also possible to undertake a wide variety of Graduate Diploma courses rather than follow the path to Honours. The idea of most of these courses is to pursue specific applied educational goals. Thus you might go on to a course in international trade, management, business administration, public policy, etc. This extra qualification will often provide a better chance of employment in a particular niche than the completion of an undergraduate degree alone.
Those who want to study economics, the economy or some economic aspects of society more deeply will usually go on to higher degree studies such as a Master of Economics or PhD. These studies provide employment opportunities in major corporations or in the academic field.
Market Flexibility
Economics is extremely flexible. You can make of it just about anything you want. Most importantly you do not have to choose to study some narrow area, e.g. forestry, and be stuck with it for the rest of your career.
As an example, consider this list of topics covered in research papers recently published in the Economic Record.
- federalism
- earnings differentials between Australian workers
- the technology gap between countries
- risk and information in the housing market
- the market for bank bills
- trade unions in an open economy
- efficiency of electricity plants
- the Australian pension scheme
- managing natural disasters
- agricultural trade reform
- wages and immigration
This is a sample of the diversity on offer.
Career Prospects
The career prospects for economists are very good. Economists have high starting salaries and move even higher up the wage scale after a few years experience.
Careers in Finance:
Graduates of this course are provided with a comprehensive business education
and specialists skills in finance. They are equipped with vocational skills
to pursue a challenging career in the expanding field of finance.
