What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Economists in the U.S. earn more than $124,720 a year — the middle 80% land between $67,360 and $238,060. About 17,790 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Economists”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$124,720typical pay / year
17,790people in this work
$238,060+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Analysing6
Analyse statistical data
+Analyse the quarterly household income and employment datasets, test hypotheses about wage growth using…
Analyse statistical data
+Analyse the quarterly household income and employment datasets, test hypotheses about wage growth using appropriate statistical models, flag anomalies or missing values, produce a one‑page summary with key coefficients and policy‑relevant interpretation by Wednesday noon.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsESCOjob descriptions
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Write about economic policy
+Draft a 1,200‑word brief arguing for a targeted minimum wage adjustment, synthesize latest unemployment and…
Write about economic policy
+Draft a 1,200‑word brief arguing for a targeted minimum wage adjustment, synthesize latest unemployment and productivity estimates, cite three recent studies, quantify distributional impacts across quintiles, and deliver a version for internal review by Friday afternoon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordESCOWikipedia
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Forecast economic trends
+Produce a three-year GDP, inflation, and unemployment forecast under baseline and downside scenarios using…
Forecast economic trends
+Produce a three-year GDP, inflation, and unemployment forecast under baseline and downside scenarios using historical quarterly series, explain the main model assumptions, and deliver a one-page executive summary for the forecasting committee on Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelIBM SPSS StatisticsESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Evaluate policy impacts
+Estimate the short- and medium-term effects of the proposed tax rebate on household consumption and labor…
Evaluate policy impacts
+Estimate the short- and medium-term effects of the proposed tax rebate on household consumption and labor supply, run counterfactuals, check robustness to alternative elasticities, and draft a policy brief for the deputy director by Friday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.
+Prepare a 75-minute lecture that summarises core micro and macro theories with two applied examples, include…
Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.
+Prepare a 75-minute lecture that summarises core micro and macro theories with two applied examples, include problem sets with answer keys and a slide deck for next Tuesday’s seminar, and note common student misconceptions to address.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptionsO*NET
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Analyze market activity and trends
+Analyze last quarter’s retail and online transaction data to identify three emerging market trends, calculate…
Analyze market activity and trends
+Analyze last quarter’s retail and online transaction data to identify three emerging market trends, calculate growth rates by segment, flag outliers, and prepare visualisations and a short memo for the strategy team by Friday afternoon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Power BIMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsWikipedia
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The daily work14
Study how societies allocate resources
+Produce a concise briefing that compares how households, firms, and governments in the United States allocate…
Study how societies allocate resources
+Produce a concise briefing that compares how households, firms, and governments in the United States allocate scarce resources across consumption, investment, and public goods using recent data, flagging three policy levers that would raise overall welfare.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Study international trade and global economics
+Compile an executive note on recent shifts in international trade patterns: quantify changes in export and…
Study international trade and global economics
+Compile an executive note on recent shifts in international trade patterns: quantify changes in export and import composition for the US, China, and Germany over the last five years, identify two supply‑chain bottlenecks, and recommend one tariff or trade policy change.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.
+Produce a sectoral data appendix and short memo analyzing output, employment, and productivity trends in US…
Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.
+Produce a sectoral data appendix and short memo analyzing output, employment, and productivity trends in US agriculture for the past decade, highlight two statistical anomalies that need deeper investigation, and attach the data tables.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Review documents written by others.
+Review the draft literature review on labor market polarization from Maria Santos and return a marked version…
Review documents written by others.
+Review the draft literature review on labor market polarization from Maria Santos and return a marked version with three clear methodological critiques, one suggested additional citation, and a list of empirical tests to validate the claims.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordO*NET
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Supervise research projects and students' study projects.
+Set up supervision notes for Priya and two graduate students: list each student's research question, their…
Supervise research projects and students' study projects.
+Set up supervision notes for Priya and two graduate students: list each student's research question, their current data status, the next three milestones with deadlines, and the resources or econometric methods they must use.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.
+Draft an expert report summarising the economic damages in the Smith v. Industrial Co. case, present the…
Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.
+Draft an expert report summarising the economic damages in the Smith v. Industrial Co. case, present the counterfactual model, the calculations for lost profits with assumptions, and a concise appendix of data sources and reproducible steps.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Advise on product feasibility
+Assess the new product's market feasibility by modelling demand, inputting our 36 months of sales and price…
Advise on product feasibility
+Assess the new product's market feasibility by modelling demand, inputting our 36 months of sales and price elasticity estimates, run sensitivity on cost and adoption scenarios, and deliver a one‑page recommendation with projected NPV and break‑even date by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelESCO
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Advise on tax policies
+Produce a concise advisory on the proposed tax changes: estimate revenue impact using our taxpayer cohort…
Advise on tax policies
+Produce a concise advisory on the proposed tax changes: estimate revenue impact using our taxpayer cohort microsim, simulate behavioural responses across income groups, quantify distributional effects and marginal rates, and prepare a two‑page memo for the finance committee meeting next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsESCO
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Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources.
+Produce five-year forecasts for renewable resource production and consumption and for non-renewable resource…
Forecast production and consumption of renewable resources and supply, consumption, and depletion of non-renewable resources.
+Produce five-year forecasts for renewable resource production and consumption and for non-renewable resource supply, consumption, and depletion using historical series 2000–2025, explicit assumptions on technology and price paths, and include sensitivity runs for high and low demand.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelO*NET
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Collect financial and socioeconomic data
+Assemble a cleaned dataset of financial and socioeconomic indicators for 2010–2025 by pulling national…
Collect financial and socioeconomic data
+Assemble a cleaned dataset of financial and socioeconomic indicators for 2010–2025 by pulling national accounts, labor statistics, trade balances, and household surveys, document sources and variable definitions, and flag missing or inconsistent entries for review.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Accessjob descriptions
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Communicate findings via reports and presentations
+Draft a clear findings report and slide deck that explains methods, key results, three policy implications,…
Communicate findings via reports and presentations
+Draft a clear findings report and slide deck that explains methods, key results, three policy implications, and two visualisations each for production and consumption so a finance director and an energy policy lead can present them next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions
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Participate in think tanks and publish research
+Prepare a publishable paper for the think tank: write abstract, literature contribution, methods, results…
Participate in think tanks and publish research
+Prepare a publishable paper for the think tank: write abstract, literature contribution, methods, results with robustness checks, and a one‑page policy brief aimed at journal reviewers and the institute director for internal review by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions
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Conduct financial statement analysis
+Perform ratio, trend and variance analysis on the latest audited financials to isolate profitability,…
Conduct financial statement analysis
+Perform ratio, trend and variance analysis on the latest audited financials to isolate profitability, liquidity, and leverage drivers, produce a one‑page memo with three red flags and recommended follow‑up data requests for accounting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelWikipedia
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Study trends
+Analyse sectoral and macro trends using quarterly series since 2015, identify three persistent shifts, test…
Study trends
+Analyse sectoral and macro trends using quarterly series since 2015, identify three persistent shifts, test statistical significance, and produce charts and a short narrative that senior economists can use in the upcoming strategy meeting.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsESCO
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses