Whether you are a seasoned researcher or a new economics student, it pays to know which journals are the most prestigious and well-known for certain topics. They can help you find the right papers for a literature review, stay on top of the latest research in the field, and even help you set your own publishing goals.

If you're thinking about which direction to take your research career, one possibility is the professor route, teaching and researching in a university context. This is one of the most desirable jobs among young academics, and something that people often strive for. But what are the pros and cons of working as a college professor?

There are now more online learning options than ever, including courses which are - thank you Internet - absolutely free. Whether you want to prepare for your upcoming university course, need to pick up some extra skills to help with your job, or you are just interested in a subject and want to learn more, there will be an online course out there that can help you achieve your goals. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many of us to spend more time indoors and less time on campus or at evening classes, online courses can be a great way to carry on your education while minimising risk. Here are some of the best the internet has to offer in the area of statistics and data analysis.

If you're working on a degree in economics with a specialisation in finance, or if you're considering doing such a course, then you might be wondering about the career options that it will open to you. Here are some of the top career paths for financial economists.

Innovation Economics is a branch of economics that focuses on (rather predictably) innovation, alongside the study of technology, knowledge, and entrepreneurship. It aims to understand where new ideas come from, and how we can put forward policies which will encourage the development of new ways of thinking. As many nations move away from an industrial model of production and towards a knowledge-based economy, the economics of innovation becomes more and more relevant. Although it is a fairly new field, innovation economics has risen to prominence quickly over the last few years. The following is a list of links and resources to help teach you and keep you up to date on all the latest developments in innovation economics.

When discussing jobs in the government, the type of work that comes to mind is most likely influenced by your particular background. In countries in which large segments of the economy are nationalized, it’s possible to become a civil servant in nearly any field. In other places, your options might be more limited.

Studying macroeconomics, as many INOMICS users have done, opens doors to countless different jobs down the line. Companies are always looking for people who understand a bit about the world and how it functions, particularly when it comes to economics, remaining, as it does, one of the most revered disciplines of the age (for better or worse). If you have specialised in a particular area of economics, then you can use this information to narrow down your options to the kind of roles which will best fit your skills and interests. And there are, perforce, plenty of options available even once you have isolated your particular skillset. Here we've listed the top jobs that specialisation in macroeconomics and monetary economics will make available to you!

Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming an engineer. From playing with LEGO to being an active member of my high-school robotics team, I loved building things and breaking them down to learn how they worked. This being said, I have kept an open mind about a position in management down the road and from this perspective it was important to me to prepare for a career in both business and engineering. My answer: a dual degree program whereby I completed a BA in economics alongside a BSc in Mechanical Engineering.

When it comes to choosing a career path, pragmatic people know that they shouldn't select a job purely based on how interesting they find it. In order to have a stable, long-term career, the job path chosen should be based on the needs of the market as well as the interests and skills of the individual. For this reason, we've rounded up some potential jobs for economists which are highly in demand today.

If you're doing an economics degree and thinking about ways to maximise your career prospects once you graduate, there are lots of courses outside the realm of economics for you to choose from.

When you apply to present at an economics conference, you'll often be asked to provide a letter of motivation along with your abstract and CV. This is used to decide which applicants will be invited to give a talk or poster presentation at the conference. But what information should this letter of motivation contain, and what's the best way to increase your chances of being accepted to present?

Before you start considering what crazy lucrative job you are going to get with your economics degree, consider this fact: a lot of rich people don’t like their money. Many complain about not knowing what to do with it all, yet simultaneously having huge anxiety they’ll lose it. They moan about their friends treating them like walking bank accounts, being judged for not looking the part, and no longer being able to visit - how to put it delicately? - less refined establishments. Many work like dogs in jobs they don’t find fulfilling to top up the coffers, only to realise they never have any time to have fun with it. And all jokes aside, some studies suggest that, while earning more money than the national average does improve life satisfaction, once you get past a certain salary threshold, money stops making you any happier. (Depending on where you live, this is around $100,000.)

If you’ve ever researched how to write a cover letter, you probably know  that career experts from all over the internet agree you should never address your cover letter with a generic introduction like “To Whom It May Concern.”

You are educated, qualified and consider yourself reasonably intelligent. You have handed in countless papers, proposals, and at least one thesis. You probably have some experience under your belt, maybe already landed a pretty good job with good prospects. You are confident of your ability, ready to work evenings and weekends, and keen to impress. 

Here at INOMICS, we’ve always been dedicated to trying to help you, the economist (fledgling or otherwise) get the most out of your education and career. Whether that be offering you the best new courses and conferences, nudging you towards the perfect university degree, or helping you apply to jobs once you’re done studying, we’re there to give advice and present opportunities you may not have otherwise found.

While you may be used to the daily routine of graduate school or teaching, presenting at a conference, or even just attending one, can be a whole different activity. The preparatory checklist is long enough as it is, without having the added conundrum of worrying about your appearance. If you’re in business school, perhaps you’re used to ironing your button-down shirt and slacks every day, but most academics cringe when they hear the term 'business casual'. But fear not. We, the gracious folks at INOMCS, are here to help.

Everyone knows about the hard skills you need to be able to succeed in economics or in academia in general: excellent writing and proofreading skills, the ability to extract information from what are often dense scientific texts, and being able to evaluate and analyse data effectively, among other things. But they aren’t the only skills you need to have. There are, of course, the dreaded soft skills – a slippery term that can mean anything from being able to clearly communicate your ideas to another human being to more abstract concepts like emotional intelligence. But what are the most important soft skills to have, and how can you develop the ones that need some more work?

If you're an economist and you're thinking about working in the field of international economics, you might be wondering what kind of career options are open to you. Here are a few suggestions for jobs which you could do.

Brexit may have created a great deal of anxiety and business uncertainty, yet the UK is enjoying a golden period of employment. With more people in jobs and less out of work jobseekers, the UK is experiencing record employment levels not seen for decades. Some of this achievement is down to a job boom in the north of England and in the two biggest Scottish cities.

If you've got a conference coming up that you want to attend, you'll know that there are lots of costs associated with a trip. You'll need to pay for travel and accommodation as well as the cost of conference attendance, which can all add up to a large amount of cash. Often, your department will pay for conference trips, but what if you run out of travel budget, or you don't have this option? In that case, you might want to consider applying for a conference scholarship. These are awards of money given to fund travel and attendance at a conference, usually for students or early career researchers. Often these scholarships will require that you're actually presenting at a conference, but not always - some have different criteria, such as where you are a resident and whether or not you're a student. In any case, there are large databases available to find scholarships for conference; here is a short list to get you started.

If you've applied to do a PhD but have been unsuccessful, don't despair! Although having an application rejected can be disheartening, it isn't unusual, and it can often take people a couple of tries until they get accepted onto a course. Here are a few tips on what to do if your PhD application is rejected. If you plan to improve your PhD application this autumn, download our free guide "How to successfully apply to a PhD in Economics"

Given the highly competitive nature of funding opportunities and the ever-increasing cost of higher education, a part-time job is seemingly an unavoidable part of the student experience. Whether it be to earn some more money to put towards tuition fees, or the cost of living expenses or even having a little aside for entertainment and leisure activities, students find themselves increasingly obliged to find a part-time job whilst at university.

Whether you’re still a student, a recent graduate, or already years into your career, mastering the art of cover letter writing is useful at every level. In one form or another, cover letters are a required component of applications to jobs, study programs, conferences, scholarships and many other important opportunities along your career path.

Esteemed economist, Princeton Professor, and friend of INOMICS, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, generously took time out of his busy schedule to take part in the second INOMICS Handbook Questionnaire. Opposite him, in his customary role of quizmaster, was Professor Marcel Fratzscher, president of the DIW Berlin, and one of Germany’s leading voices in macroeconomics. Keeping with tradition, and as a nod to the heavyweight reputations of those involved, we dubbed the encounter ‘Fratzscher v Rossi-Hansberg’. What played out proved illuminating and often personal, the dialogue shedding light on the inner workings of the mystery that is the ‘economist’s mind’. For anyone even loosely connected to economics the following conversation will make an interesting read.

You know that there are a ton of career prospects open to someone who has studied economics, spanning from academia and the finance industry, all the way to management consulting. A big advantage of studying economics is that it gives you a skill set which is applicable and transferrable to many different fields. One particular area of work open to economists is the non-profit sector. Many are drawn to this sector for social reasons; the desire to make a positive impact on the world. It is a highly admirable area to work in, and something that we at INOMICS massively endorse! So, what kind of non-profit jobs are actually available to economists? Here are our suggestions that may be applicable to you.