Career Opportunities in Economics
What can I do with a major in Economics?
Students who major in Economics can pursue job opportunities in government; private industries, such as finance, real estate, and insurance; and non-profit organizations. Economics majors may be employed as stock brokers, data mining specialists, statisticians, financial or market analysts, public policy consultants, researchers and purchasing managers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a “rising demand for economic analysts in virtually every industry,” which should be due, in part, to the “growing complexity of the global economy” and the “increased reliance on quantitative methods for analyzing and forecasting business, sales, and other economic trends.”
For those students who wish to pursue a graduate education, an Economics major is a versatile degree that can serve as preparation for entry into economics master’s or doctoral programs, Master’s in Business Administration programs, such as Heidelberg’s MBA program, and law school.
Alumni Accomplishments
Recent Heidelberg graduates have continued their education or begun their careers at:
Graduate Schools
Indiana University
The Ohio State University
Law Schools
Capital University
University of Toledo
Consulting Firm
Putnam, Hayes & Bartlett, Inc.
Government
Industrial Development, Cleveland
Alumni Profiles
Don Graves, ‘00
Don graduated from Heidelberg in May 2000 with a B.S. in Economics. He then went on to serve as an Industrial Development Manager for the Cleveland Industrial Retention Initiative (CIRI) from 2002-07, while completing his MBA at Capella University.
He currently is the Workforce & Economic Development Specialist for the Workforce Institute of Lorain County. His responsibilities include managing a Business Services Team to promote services to Lorain County businesses and serving as first point of contact for local, state and federal workforce development incentives.
Don shared the following about his experiences at Heidelberg:
The ability to have flexibility in course selection within the academic programs at Heidelberg was one of the key elements that has made me successful within my various career and life pursuits.
Within the Economics program I took a variety of coursework that diversified my knowledge base on topics from standard Micro and Macroeconomics to more specific Urban & Regional Economics and Environmental & Natural Resource Economics (a personal favorite course)…these last two courses were particularly helpful when I worked for CIRI and was the point person for a substantial industrial expansion project that required understanding city, county and state politics and financial/economic development incentives, navigating zoning requirements and performing an environmental survey and clean-up effort.
Were I not able to touch on all of these areas during my studies at Heidelberg I would not have been properly prepared to lead my team in this project and probably would not have had the knowledge to get the job with CIRI in the first place!
The diversity of coursework also kept my mind engaged on a broad range of topics of interest that helped develop me as a person. For example, I found my love of photography through Heidelberg, taking several photography courses and growing an interest into a hobby that I still actively participate in today and that my wife and I have an “unofficial side-business” with, occasionally doing photo shoots for local horse farms and various friends and family.
Also, the interaction with such a diverse population of students, faculty and staff really teaches you how to interact with all “levels” of people in the “real world.” I suspect much of my professionalism came from working on campus with faculty and staff.
Additionally, this challenging and diverse coursework helped me through taking graduate coursework full time while working full time. The skills I learned at Heidelberg in respect to time management, multi-tasking, professional writing (thanks Dr. Keener and Dr. Chudzinski!) and proper research kept me on task and on target to achieve my goals.
Honestly, it was the broad base of knowledge that I was able to gain through the Economics program that helped to get me into the field of economic/community development and thrive within it that I value most. Had it not been for this I doubt that I would be as successful and adaptable to the various aspects of this field that I have worked in/am currently working in. Touching on several different “fields” within the field helped steer me toward areas of interest that ultimately led me to a career path that I love.
[I’m glad that I chose Heidelberg because of] the people, the place, Tiffin, I could go on and on. I absolutely love the small, historic small campus atmosphere that Heidelberg has. When I first set foot on Heidelberg’s campus, I knew immediately that this was the place for me. The people were extremely friendly and helpful, the diversity of academic programs was outstanding, the community/town of Tiffin fit my personality perfectly (I was a small town guy born in the city…my wife and I now reside in a small farm community thanks to our time spent in Seneca County) and I loved the history of the college and surrounding area. The size of the school and faculty to student ratio made getting the quality education I wanted very easy, allowing for more intense interaction between students and professors. And, of course, the friendships that I made and experiences that I had helped me to grow into the person that I am today.
Scott Ruthsatz, ‘97
Scott graduated from Heidelberg in 1997 with a major in Economics. After graduating from Heidelberg, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from The Ohio State University in 2002. He then went on to complete the MBA program at the University of Notre Dame, graduating with honors in 2006.
He is currently the president of two different companies; he bought Polar Pure Carbonics in 2002 and the majority share of Polar Pure Distributors – Sandusky Ice Co. in 2007.
He shared the following about his experiences at Heidelberg:
Heidelberg gave me a solid foundation of business, and majoring in Economics especially helped me understand the ramifications and consequences of the economy and its ability to affect even the smallest of businesses. I felt well-prepared, and I believe that is one of the main reasons for our company’s success over the past several years.
At Heidelberg the biggest value for me was the accessibility of the faculty and staff. I usually have a lot of questions, and the ability to meet with faculty one on one really benefited me.
I am glad I chose Heidelberg because the faculty, the campus atmosphere and the ability to participate in varsity athletics really helped me develop not only from an educational standpoint, but personally and professionally as well.