What can you do with a Economics degree from Southern Methodist University?

First, some facts. Of the Economics graduates from Southern Methodist University we've analyzed , here's how many have used (or NOT used) their degree in their career:

These are estimates based on AI analysis of 13 LinkedIn profiles (see below).

The verdict? Significantly below average. Overall, with an average relevance score of 55%, Economics graduates from Southern Methodist University have a much lower likelihood (-12%) of finding work in this field compared to the average graduate across all fields:

And for comparison, here's the chart for all profiles we've looked at across all degrees.

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Also, after graduating, only 15% of these graduates have pursued further education other than another Bachelor's degree (such as a Masters degree or other), compared to the average across all profiles of 35%. This suggests a Bachelors degree is enough for most Economics graduates, and it's normal to look for work straight after graduation.

See the details:

• What jobs can you get with a Economics degree from Southern Methodist University?
• What do Economics graduates from Southern Methodist University do 1, 5 or 10 years out?
• How hard is a Economics degree from Southern Methodist University? How long does it take?
• How much money can you make with a Economics degree from Southern Methodist University?
• What are the best colleges for Economics?

View a random Economics graduate from Southern Methodist University and our analysis:

Relevance score: 69% We think this person has gone into a career only somewhat relevant to their degree. DEGREE INFO Graduated in 2021 from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Science - BS in Economics. Also pursued further education since (see below). JOB HISTORY SINCE GRADUATION Full Stack Engineer Freelance Jan 2023 - Dec 2023 The full stack engineer role may involve problem-solving and analytical skills that could be beneficial from an economics background, but it does not directly require economics knowledge as a core qualification. Founder Kite Inc Jan 2024 - Present As a founder of Kite Inc, the role likely utilizes analytical skills, economic principles, and strategic decision-making directly tied to the knowledge gained in the economics degree, making it highly relevant. FURTHER DEGREES DONE SINCE GRADUATING Masters DePaul University Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media 2021 - 2022 ABOUT Languages: Typescript, Go, HTML, CSS, SQLFrameworks: Nextjs, Expressjs, React, EchoCloud Services: Vercel, Firebase, DigitalOcean, AWSOther Technologies: Docker, Nginx, RabbitMQ, Redis, PostgreSQL/PgAdmin, GraphQL, Three.js, TailwindCSS, Turso/SQLite, HTMX, Terraform

What jobs can you get with a Economics degree from Southern Methodist University?

The top 10 most common jobs done by the graduates we've analyzed (ranked most common to least) are:

• Founder
• Realtor
• Graduate Assistant
• Analyst
• Associate
• Sales Associate
• Loan Servicer
• Disbursement Analyst
• Residential Builder Finance Specialist
• Transaction Coordinator

After looking through all those LinkedIn profiles of people who graduated with an Economics degree from Southern Methodist University, it seems that many of them have landed jobs that aren’t exactly a direct match for what you’d typically think of as “economics-related.” A lot of roles, like Loan Servicer or Client Success Manager, lean more toward customer service, sales, or even administrative tasks. While some of these positions might touch on economic concepts—like understanding market trends or financial behaviors—the day-to-day work mainly focuses on skills that don’t require in-depth economics knowledge. For example, real estate roles are common among these graduates, but they primarily emphasize client relations over analytical economic work.

However, there are some standout positions that really show off the skills and knowledge gained from an economics background. For instance, roles like Acquisition Manager and Senior Associate Relationship Manager strongly align with economic principles since they require market analysis and financial decision-making. Other jobs, like Analyst positions in various industries, do utilize economic concepts and analytical methods but aren’t solely focused on economics. Overall, while a fair number of graduates have jobs that overlap somewhat with their degree, many are in areas where economics isn’t the main focus, indicating a mix of relevance and divergence from the traditional economics path.

Here is a visual representation of the most common words in job titles for Economics graduates (this is across all Economics graduates we've analyzed, not just those who went to Southern Methodist University):

What kind of career trajectories do Economics graduates from Southern Methodist University have? What do they do 1, 5 or 10 years out?

Looks like Southern Methodist University (SMU) graduates with an Economics degree have really mixed career trajectories over the years. For many, the first jobs after graduation tend to be in financial services, real estate, and even marketing, which makes sense given the analytical skills and economic principles they learned during their studies. A significant number of them broke into positions like analysts and coordinators relatively quickly, while others took the path toward roles in real estate, which can be quite lucrative if you get the right connections and clientele. So, they’re starting off on pretty solid ground in jobs that relate to their degree.

Fast forward five to ten years later, and many graduates have climbed the ladder into managerial roles, especially in real estate and finance. You see people transitioning from analyst roles to acquisition managers and even vice presidents. However, it’s not all roses as some individuals have drifted into unrelated fields, like retail or sales, which might not fully utilize their economics background. Overall, despite a few detours, many of these SMU graduates seem to be carving out good careers, often landing in positions that are impactful and financially rewarding. It's a solid mix, but there’s definitely a trend of leveraging their economics background effectively in various industries.

How hard is a Economics degree from Southern Methodist University?

Getting a Bachelor's degree in Economics at Southern Methodist University (or anywhere, really) can be a bit of a mixed bag. Generally, economics is considered to be on the challenging side because it involves a lot of analytical thinking, math, and understanding complex concepts about how markets work and how people make decisions. At SMU, you’ll likely be exposed to a good amount of theory and application, which can be tough if math isn’t your strong suit. That said, if you’re genuinely interested in the subject and willing to put in the work, it can be pretty rewarding and not impossible to manage. So, while it’s definitely demanding, it’s not insurmountable if you're motivated.

How long does it take?

Most commonly, in the LinkedIn profiles we've looked at, it takes people 4 years to finish a Bachelor degree in Economics.

Do Economics graduates from Southern Methodist University tend to make good money?

Looking at the job paths of these SMU Economics grads, it seems like they’re generally doing pretty well for themselves, especially considering the varying job markets they’ve navigated over the years. The ones who graduated earlier have trickled into roles like Vice Presidents and licensed professionals, which usually means they're raking in decent salaries, especially in real estate and finance. Even the more recent grads are starting off in roles that could lead to good money down the line, like business development and analytics. Sure, there are some roles like collections and internships that might not pay as well initially, but overall, they seem to be on a pretty solid financial trajectory—definitely not struggling!

What buzzwords do Economics graduates use to describe themselves?

Here is a visual representation of the most common words seen in the "about" section of LinkedIn profiles who have a Bachelor degree in Economics (this is across all Economics graduates we've analyzed, not just those who went to Southern Methodist University). This may or may not be useful:

What are the best colleges for Economics?

Here are all colleges offering a Bachelor degree in Economics (ordered by the average relevance score of their Economics graduates, best to worst) where we have analyzed at least 10 of their graduates:

College	Score	Count
University of Chicago	83	22
Northwestern University	80	26
Middlebury College	79	13
Davidson College	79	11
Miami University	78	10
Columbia University in the City of New York	78	10
University of Notre Dame	75	11
University of Maryland College Park	74	32
Villanova University	74	14
Dartmouth College	74	16
Indiana University Bloomington	73	15
University of Michigan	73	51
University of California, Berkeley	73	56
The University of Texas at Dallas	73	12
Boston College	73	33
Harvard University	73	20
The Ohio State University	72	26
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	72	26
Binghamton University	72	18
Rutgers UniversityNew Brunswick	71	11
Hillsdale College	71	13
Penn State University	70	51
Clemson University	70	17
University of Utah	70	19
University of Minnesota	70	13
Duke University	70	13
The University of Texas at Austin	69	44
Michigan State University	69	33
The University of Georgia	69	12
University of Pennsylvania	69	18
Yale University	69	15
Florida International University	68	18
Hamilton College	68	14
University of North Texas	67	14
Brigham Young University	67	26
University of California, Los Angeles	67	44
Colorado State University	67	15
Boston University	67	13
University of Massachusetts, Amherst	67	10
Vanderbilt University	67	19
Arizona State University	66	30
UC Santa Barbara	66	19
William & Mary	66	11
University of Massachusetts Boston	66	10
College of the Holy Cross	66	17
University of South Florida	65	15
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	65	24
James Madison University	65	11
University of Colorado Boulder	65	26
University of Southern California	65	24
University of Maryland	65	23
Syracuse University	65	11
University of California, San Diego	65	15
Fordham University	65	15
Stanford University	65	12
University of Wisconsin-Madison	64	48
University of Houston	64	19
San Diego State University-California State University	64	13
University of Florida	63	35
New York University	63	37
University of Virginia	63	30
University of Connecticut	63	23
University of California San Diego	63	11
Texas A&M University	62	46
University of Pittsburgh	62	20
Northeastern University	61	16
Cornell University	61	18
University of Miami	61	14
University at Albany, SUNY	61	18
University of California, Davis	60	33
University of California, Santa Cruz	60	11
University at Buffalo	60	16
Virginia Commonwealth University	59	11
Texas Christian University	59	16
Tufts University	59	10
Spelman College	59	12
Occidental College	59	11
Florida State University	58	37
University of Oregon	58	24
UC Irvine	58	13
Stony Brook University	58	10
The George Washington University	58	14
Emory University	58	11
University of Iowa	57	13
Santa Clara University	57	11
University of Washington	56	29
Rutgers University	56	15
Loyola Marymount University	56	11
University of Central Florida	55	12
University of Arizona	55	16
University of Hawaii at Manoa	55	12
Southern Methodist University	55	13
Georgia State University	54	17
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	54	16
Denison University	54	13
California State University-Sacramento	53	19
George Mason University	53	22
University of Delaware	53	11
San Diego State University	51	17
Northern Illinois University	51	12
University of California, Irvine	51	10
University of Georgia - Terry College of Business	51	10
Queens College	50	16
The University of Texas at Arlington	48	12
University of California, Riverside	48	14
North Carolina State University	46	10
San Jose State University	45	16
University of Nevada-Las Vegas	44	10
Baruch College	44	11
Wake Forest University	44	11
University of South Carolina	38	10
Temple University	35	11
United States Military Academy at West Point	23	15