Do you want to make money while studying economics?
Good news: there is no shortage of part-time jobs for economics students. In fact, employers like to hire economics majors because they have great communication skills and can handle basic administrative tasks.
In the article, we have gathered entry-level and part-time jobs for economics students who want to make some money on the side. These first jobs are great for gaining real-world experience and kick-starting your career.
1. Economics Research Assistant
- Salary: $22 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 10 economics research assistant jobs are available on
Economics professors often hire graduate students to help with their academic research. Some active research fields in economics include:
- Applied Microeconomics
- Econometrics
- Healthcare Economics
- Development Economics
To find open research assistant positions, you can browse the economics faculty website of your university.
Requirements
It can be very challenging to land an economics research assistant position. It is usually necessary to connect with a professor who supervised one of your semester projects.
- Required: Have a Bachelor's degree in economics with excellent grades.
- Preferred: Academic or work experience related to the field of research.
- Preferred: Have strong technical skills in statistics and data analysis.
2. Administrative Assistant
- Salary: $16 per hour.
- Workload: 74% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 966 administrative assistant jobs are available on
Administrative assistants perform routine clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, update administrative databases, and support other staff.
It is not so difficult to find part-time administrative assistant positions. It is even easier if you have followed a business administration course.
Requirements
- Usually required: High school diploma or equivalent.
- Preferred: Excellent communication skills.
- Preferred: At least one year of relevant work experience.
3. Doing Homework For Others
- Average Salary: depends on how well you negotiate with other students (a fair salary is $16 per hour).
Some websites actually pay you to do homework for other people.
The good news is that math, finances, and physics homework earn the most.
Doing homework for other people can be deemed unethical, especially when completing graded assignments. Make sure answers to homework questions can only be used as a tutoring aid or a reference.
Requirements
- Preferred: High school diploma or equivalent.
4. Marketing Assistant
- Salary: $16 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 111 marketing assistant jobs are available on
Marketing professionals often rely on assistants to carry out support duties. The role of marketing assistants is to help with clerical, administrative, advertising, sales, distribution, and research duties.
As an economics student, you might have followed a market analysis course. This might come in handy when helping with market research.
Requirements
- Preferred: Administration, sales, or marketing experience.
- Preferred: Understand how to read and interpret data analytics.
5. Summer Internship
- Average Salary: paid internships can pay up to $20 per hour.
- Workload: 92% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 998 internships are available on
Summer internships are by far the best way to prepare for your future career as an economist. Attending an internship program will strengthen your resume and give you the opportunity to earn a letter of recommendation.
Here are the types of companies that have summer internship programs for econ students:
- Government agencies such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Department of Health And Human Services, the Department of State, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Transportation
- Accounting and auditing firms such as Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young, and KPMG
- Firms that offer financial services
- Actuarial consulting firms
Requirements
- Preferred: Letters of recommendation from your professors.
- Preferred: Strong communication skills and analytical skills.
- Preferred: A Bachelor's degree or Master's degree in economics.
6. Tutor
- Salary: $20 per hour.
- Workload: 43% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 2,219 tutoring jobs are available on
Economics students can make money by tutoring high school and college students.
At the high school level, parents often hire economics students to teach algebra, calculus, trigonometry, statistics, accounting, and personal finance.
At the university level, economics students can tutor for topics where undergraduate students struggle the most such as financial accounting, business analytics, human resource management, microeconomics, computer modeling, and financial mathematics.
Requirements
- Required: Have extensive knowledge of the topic.
7. Virtual Assistant
- Salary: $12 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 19 virtual assistant jobs are available on
Virtual assistants are administrative assistants from home. Their job involves:
- Scheduling appointments
- Making phone calls
- Responding to emails
- And more: bookkeeping, writing, marketing services, etc.
Requirements
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Preferred: prior experience as an administrative assistant.
8. Teaching Assistant
- Salary: $12 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 175 teaching assistant jobs are available on
Teaching assistants support the professor in charge of the classroom. They also assist students with homework, test preparation, and other academic duties.
TAs typically work between 10 and 20 hours a week which makes it a great student job that will boost your resume if you are interested in academic jobs. However, TA positions are usually reserved for the best students.
Requirements
- Required: In-depth knowledge of the subject.
- Preferred: Previous experience as a tutor is a plus.
9. Data Entry Clerk
- Average Salary: from as little as $5 up to $25 per hour.
- Workload: 10% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 685 data entry jobs are available on
Data entry jobs are exactly what they sound like! They’re jobs that involve entering data, such as:
- Describing or identifying images
- Entering up-to-date prices
- Transcription of audio notes
- Subtitling
- Tagging and annotating data
- You name it!
You are typically asked to perform on-demand tasks that computers are unable to do.
Requirements
- Preferred: High school diploma or equivalent.
- Preferred: Completing a qualifier to validate transcription/subtitling/tagging skills.
More Part-Time Jobs for Economics Students
This list is, of course, non-exhaustive. Read these articles to find more employment opportunities for economics students: