Economic Analyst
Uses economic data and frameworks to understand markets, industries, or policy questions.
Business & Money
Economics major, explained.
Study how people and institutions make choices under constraints.
Economics uses models, data, and careful reasoning to examine decisions, incentives, markets, public policy, growth, inequality, and the allocation of resources. Programs can range from highly mathematical to more applied and policy-focused.
You might enjoy this if
Notice what feels familiar.
You ask why people respond to incentives.
You like using data to examine large systems.
You enjoy arguments where assumptions and tradeoffs matter.
The study experience
What the work may feel like.
Programs differ by college. These labels describe common areas of emphasis, not a score or universal rating.
Reading
Frequent
Writing
Frequent
Quantitative work
Central
Labs or hands-on work
Limited
Design and making
Limited
People and collaboration
Some
Questions you may keep asking
What incentive is shaping this behavior?
Who benefits and who bears the cost?
What does the data support?
MicroeconomicsMacroeconomicsEconometricsPublic economicsBehavioral economics
What can you do with this major?
One major. More than one direction.
These are example connections, not guaranteed outcomes. Many careers welcome more than one major, and some require additional education or licensure.
Policy Analyst
Evaluates public problems, possible interventions, and their likely tradeoffs.
Data Analyst
Finds patterns in data and communicates findings that support decisions.
Research Assistant
Supports studies through data collection, analysis, literature review, and documentation.
Advanced economist roles often require graduate study. An undergraduate economics major also builds analytical preparation used across business, policy, finance, research, and law.
Try it before college
Projects that make Economics more real.
Reading helps you understand a field. A Compass project helps you discover whether you enjoy doing the work.
Each project includes a step-by-step plan, custom AI prompts, reflection guidance, and a finished creation for the student’s portfolio.
See how Compass works
Compass project
30–56 hours
Track Inflation in Your Own Life
Build a personal price index and see why the headline inflation number may not feel like your actual life.
- You will create
- personal inflation index and economic explainer
Compass project
18–35 hours
Build Your Future Cost-of-Living Dashboard
Design a personalized financial dashboard that compares what life really costs after high school.
- You will create
- Financial Blueprint & Interactive Dashboard
Compass project
30–56 hours
Follow the Money in a Public Budget
Trace where public money comes from, where it goes, and what every choice leaves unfunded.
- You will create
- public budget decoder and priority analysis
Keep exploring
Related majors worth comparing.
Sources and important context
Compass presents a curated collection of 100 widely studied and commonly searched undergraduate majors. The collection is not a statistical ranking. Major names and CIP connections follow common US college usage and the NCES Classification of Instructional Programs. Study patterns are editorial summaries of common program structures and vary by college. Career directions are examples, not guaranteed outcomes. Students should compare actual curricula, admission rules, accreditation, and licensing requirements at colleges they are considering.
NCES CIP codes: 45.0601
- NCES Classification of Instructional ProgramsNational Center for Education Statistics. Official US taxonomy for fields of study and instructional programs.
- Field of DegreeUS Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal career exploration resources organized around broad college fields.
- O*NET OnLineUS Department of Labor. Detailed descriptions of occupations, tasks, knowledge, skills, and work activities.
Turn this interest into something real.
Explore Compass projects