Economics & Statistics
Economics and Statistics
About
Economics and statistics graduates can offer a range of skills highly sought after by employers.
Careers advice
- Prospects: what can I do with my degree?
- Bright Network: What can I do with an Economics degree?
- Royal Statistical Society
- PSI - includes information and advice on statistical careers in medical research and the pharmaceutical industry. See also Careers in Pharmaceutical Statistics (PDF: 1.6MB)
Industry news
Publications for the sector include The Economist, Financial Times and Royal Statistical Society.
Professional bodies
These represent people working in the sector, providing training and networking opportunities. They often provide careers support for students and graduates.
They also provide development for people already working in the sector. Follow them on LinkedIn, or visit their websites for news, contacts, work experience and vacancies.
The main professional associations for this sector include:
- Society of Professional Economists
- Royal Economic Society
- Royal Statistical Society
- Association for Clinical Data Management
Find professional bodies outside the UK on GoinGlobal by selecting ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each of the individual country guides.
Making contacts
Making contacts is essential for success in this sector. Many jobs come through networking and speculative applications.
You could start with:
- Newcastle alumni on LinkedIn – find out what our graduates did after graduation and contact them for advice
- Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project - both platforms aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Sign up to be connected for a one hour meeting
Social media, particularly LinkedIn and Twitter, is useful for making contacts, finding employers and opportunities. Find out more about how to use social media for your career.
Events
Recruitment events, open days, employer and sector insights and other events can provide opportunities to make useful contacts.
Regular events for this sector include The Economics Network and PSI's Medical Statistics Careers Event.
Related sectors
You may also be interested in Accountancy and Tax, Banking and Finance, Management Consultancy and Actuarial, Insurance and Pensions.
See our other Explore Occupations pages for more options.
Roles
The following job profiles include descriptions of typical duties and entry requirements.
Economics
Economist
Health economist
Skills employers look for
Employers are looking for:
- excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex information
- strong research skills and the ability to analyse complex information
- organisational and time management skills
- the ability to prioritise tasks, work under pressure and meet deadlines
- the ability to work well in a team and build good working relationships
- an excellent understanding of business and economics, as well as IT, statistical and numerical skills
Statistics
Clinical data manager
Financial risk analyst
Statistician
- Prospects
- National Careers Service - data analyst-statistician
- targetjobs
- The Royal Statistical Society - includes job profiles for environmental, forensic, government, sports, market research and pharmaceutical statisticians
Skills employers look for
Employers are looking for:
- excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence others
- the ability to explain complex information to non-statisticians
- excellent statistical, analytical, mathematical and IT skills
- an ability to work in a team and on your own, taking responsibility for prioritising workload to meet deadlines
- high levels of accuracy and attention to detail
- good problem-solving skills
Gaining Experience
Finding a job in economics and statistics is competitive. Relevant work experience is invaluable in developing expertise and demonstrating commitment.
Opportunities are available in a wide range of organisations, including government bodies, economic consultancies, banks, financial services, utilities and healthcare companies.
The UK's largest recruiter of economists is the Government Economic Service (GES), which employs over 1,500 economists across more than 30 government departments and agencies. The GES offers summer internships and placement years to penultimate year students.
Other organisations which recruit economic students and graduates include:
- banks - for example, the Bank of England offers a range of work experience opportunities, including industrial placements, internships and PhD internships
- financial service companies and consultancies such as Deloitte, EY and PwC
- think tanks and policy institutes, such as Chatham House, which offers internships. The site w4mp often advertises internships with thinktanks, research bodies, charities and political parties
- international organisations, such as NGOs and global economic groups
- media, including financial newspapers and websites. The Economist offers paid internships
Applications for internships and placements with larger employers generally open around August - September the year before the work experience starts. Closing dates are as early as October and November. The majority of advertised opportunities are aimed at penultimate year students.
Work experience with smaller companies is not always advertised. You may need to contact the employer with a speculative approach. See Finding companies below to help you search for relevant employers.
Finding work experience
Use the following sources to find advertised opportunities:
- Search for vacancies on MyCareer
- targetjobs
- RateMyPlacement
- Prospects
- Bright Network
See Internships, placements and shadowing for more sources of vacancies.
Finding companies
Smaller organisations often don’t advertise opportunities, but they may consider an application on a case by case basis. Find organisations that interest you and get in touch - with a named contact where possible. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.
Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. If you haven't had a response after around a week or two, try following up with a polite phone call or email to show that you’re keen.
Use the following resources to help you find companies to approach:
- MyCareer - click ‘Search' then 'Organisations’ to find companies the Careers Service has worked with. Can filter by keyword, sector and region
- researching employers via company profiles, business directories and databases
- LinkedIn: Alumni tool - try using the keyword search to find relevant companies and explore graduates' career paths - what kind of experience did they have, where else have they worked etc
- SPE Membership directory - full details are available to members only, but you can see the name of the employers
Other ways to gain experience
For more ways to develop skills, or if you have difficulty finding relevant experience:
- complete a free virtual internship, eg with Forage. Options include data science/analysis and finance
- sign up for a free online course to develop new skills and demonstrate an interest in your field
- look out for employer events - see About for details
- join a professional body such as The Society of Professional Economists (SPE) or the Royal Economic Society to demonstrate your interest in economics and to make contacts. The Royal Statistical Society offers free membership to all students in full-time education (and those completing a PhD on a full or part-time basis) with an interest in statistics and data science.
- use competitions for developing skills and connecting with employers
- volunteer. Oxfam Finance Office in Newcastle, for example, offers voluntary work to students. See Volunteering for more opportunities
- become active in student societies
- think about part-time work. Part-time jobs can help you to develop relevant skills in communication, team work and leadership
Finding Jobs
Competition is strong, especially for entry-level positions.
Competition is strong, especially for entry-level positions. Use the following resources to find advertised vacancies and also research employers for speculative applications.
- Search for vacancies on MyCareer and Graduate Jobs
- For opportunities outside the UK, see GoinGlobal and International Jobs
- Occupational profiles on the Prospects website link to employers and vacancy sources for specific jobs
Economics
- efinancial Careers
- Government Economic Service
- Civil Service Jobs
- Bank of England
- Econ-Jobs.com – includes PhD studentships and international vacancies
- The Economist
- EconomistJobs
- EuroBrussels - includes jobs in economics and monetary affairs
Statistics
- Gradcracker - jobs accepting statistics graduates
- Government Statistical Service
- Office for National Statistics
- Royal Statistical Society: jobs
- StatsJobs
- Careers in Risk
- PharmiWeb.jobs - includes clinical data management vacancies
- NHS Jobs - medical statistician
- Jobs.ac.uk - statistics vacancies, post-doc positions and PhD studentships
For opportunities in data science and analytics, see Information Technology: Finding jobs.
Finding companies
Not all jobs are advertised. You can approach employers or find work through networking in the industry.
Find companies that interest you and get in touch, always with a named contact. Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for.
Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills. Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply – follow up with a phone call or email to show you’re keen.
- Society of Professional Economists: Member directory
- PSI: How to find a job – scroll down to view companies working within the pharmaceutical industry
- ABPI: Pharmaceutical Recruiters
- PharmiWeb.jobs: list of companies
- Find organisations on MyCareer - click on ‘search organisations’ under the Vacancies tab
Specialist recruitment agencies
Recruitment agencies often advertise graduate and entry-level positions. They also have a wealth of industry knowledge, eg Datatech Analytics.
Search Agency Central for a list of specialist recruitment agencies.