Here's a big question that's on the mind of many master's and undergraduate students: should I do a PhD? The idea of dedicating three years or more of your life to original research is both exciting and terrifying, and the experience can be either exhilarating or harrowing, or usually a mix of both.

When you apply to present at a 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 chance of being accepted to present?

Building a brand used to be just for companies and universities – but now a personal brand is something that every student and academic needs to work on. While many academics are hesitant to brand themselves too actively, you should remember that not working on your brand is in itself a kind of branding, and not a positive one. So you’re going to have to spend some time building your personal profile as a researcher – but there are some tips that can help to make this process smoother and more efficient. Here are effective ways economists can build a personal brand.

When you are applying for a postdoc position, as part of the process you'll need to have an interview with the PI of the group you are applying to work with and others in the department. Here are some steps you should take to prepare for this interview. 

Your phone is one of the most useful tools you’ve got, whether you’re studying or working in the field. Try out these apps to help you with both your studies and your research in economics... To find this list of apps and other pieces on economics, click the button below to download the latest INOMICS handbook. ➲ Download the 2018 Handbook now!

Esteemed economist, blogger and friend of INOMICS, John H. Cochrane, kindly took time out of his busy schedule to take part in our Handbook questionnaire. However, this was no regular questionnaire, far from it. At its helm, assuming the role of quizmaster was none other than Mr Marcel Fratzscher: president of the DIW Berlin, and one of Germany’s leading voices in macroeconomics. Such is the reputation of these heavyweights we dubbed the encounter ‘Fratzscher v Cochrane’ – our personal nod to the pair’s professional standing.

The following is an analysis of data taken from the INOMICS Salary Report 2018 - downloadable for registered users here. Specifically, it looks at the average salaries of PhDs, Post-Docs, and Full Professors, working in economics over the last 5 years, in the U.S, the U.K, Germany, and Italy. It is the 4th instalment in a series of insights handling the Report’s findings.

The following is an analysis of data taken from the INOMICS Salary Report 2018 - downloadable for registered users here. Specifically, it looks at the average salaries of economists working in academia and the private sector according to their level of seniority.

Once you've submitted your paper to a journal, you have to wait to hear a response. Sometimes, your paper will be rejected. If that happens, what should you do next?

The following is an analysis of data taken from the INOMICS Salary Report 2018 - downloadable for registered users here. Specifically, it looks at the average salaries of economists working in academia and the private sector across the world. It is the second instalment in a series of insights handling the Report’s findings.

Now in their second year, the INOMICS Awards 2018 once again recognise the career and study opportunities offered by universities and institutions around the world, measuring their reputation and attraction for INOMICS users. This year, however, we are dividing up the awards into categories to showcase the different qualities we recognise as important for our users, to better help advise them with their academic careers and acknowledge different institutions with different strengths.

When you submit your paper to a journal, as well as the paper itself you will need to include a cover letter. This cover letter is addressed to the editor of the journal and acts as a guide to the contents of your paper. In many ways, the cover letter can be as important as the paper itself in terms of getting accepted to a journal. So you should take your time with your cover letter and make it as good as possible. Here are tips on polishing your cover letter for a journal submission.

If you're doing a degree in economics with a specialisation in public economics or economic policy, you might be thinking about what career you would eventually like to pursue. Here below are some of the top careers paths for graduates in this area. For a comprehensive list of available jobs check our jobs section.

Microeconomics is one of the most prominent subfields of economics and is one which many people studying economics find themselves drawn to. But if you are studying economics now and you decide to specialise in microeconomics, what kind of career options would be open to you?

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: Work as an analyst One of the most popular career paths for economists generally, and for international economists specifically, is working as an analyst. This is a broad term which refers to anyone who performs work in which data is analysed in order to find particular patterns or to determine the best course of action.

Are you a labour or demographic economist wondering about the career options which are open to you? Then you should consider these jobs.

If you are working on a degree in the field of industrial organisation, then you might be wondering what career paths are open to you in the future. Here are some of the top career options:  

Are you studying health economics, or thinking about studying it at university? If so, you might want to know what career options you could pursue your health economics degree. Recently we've been sharing a series of articles on top career paths for various specialisations within economics, and today we're looking at health. Read on for more information about where you could work with a degree in health economics.  

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:  

If you're a current economics student and you've chosen to specialise in environmental economics, then the good news is that there are a ton of job opportunities in this field. With the growing awareness of environmental issues and concern for sustainability, you can find work in all sorts of areas. But what are some of the specific jobs that you could do as an environmental economist? Today we're looking at possible career paths to give you some ideas about the kind of work which you might like to do once you graduate.  

One of the great things about studying economics is that it gives you a wide range of skills: from writing to data analysis to critical thinking. With these skills, you are well set for all sorts of different careers. But you might be wondering what the best career path for you is. To help with this, we're producing a series of articles on top career paths for economists. To let you find the right career for your specific skill set, we're breaking the topic down into different specialisations within economics.

Continuing our series of posts on top career paths for economists, today we're looking at possible careers for those who want to work in economic law.  

Are you studying economics, and wondering what career options are open to you? We're doing a series of articles on career paths for various specialisations in economics, and today we're looking at econometrics. With a degree in econometrics, you could of course go and work in the finance industry or for the government. But there are other options you might not have considered:  

For this week's top career paths article, we're looking at the potential careers which are open to those who have studied economic history.