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How to Become an Economist: Degree, Steps & Salary (2026)
Key takeaway: Becoming an economist means earning a quantitative economics bachelor's degree and then, for nearly every job that carries the title, a master's or PhD -- there is no license or exam, but the graduate credential is the real gate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $124,720 for economists (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national median).
“Economist” is one of the few occupations where the honest answer to “what do I need?” is uncomfortable: an economics bachelor’s degree, on its own, rarely gets you the job title. It gets you into analyst, research associate, and data roles – valuable work, often with an economics team – but the person whose business card reads Economist has usually completed graduate study in the field. Federal agencies, central banks, consultancies, and research institutes all screen on that basis.
That does not make the undergraduate degree a detour. It is the mandatory first leg, and how you build it – specifically how much mathematics and econometrics you take – determines whether graduate programs will admit you at all. This guide lays out the path in the order you will actually walk it, and is blunt about which steps are genuinely required versus merely common.
Step-by-step: how to become an economist
Step 1: Earn a bachelor’s degree with real mathematics in it
Start with a bachelor’s degree in economics. The choice between a BA and a BS matters more here than in most majors. A bachelor’s in economics awarded as a BS typically requires calculus through multivariable, linear algebra, and a full econometrics sequence; the BA often stops at one calculus course. Graduate admissions committees read transcripts for exactly those courses, so a BA without supplemental math coursework is a common reason strong applicants are turned away.
If your program offers a choice, take the mathematics. If it does not, add the courses as electives or through another institution. Statistics, real analysis, and programming in R, Python, or Stata are the coursework that separates admitted applicants from rejected ones.
Step 2: Understand what the bachelor’s alone qualifies you for
Before committing to graduate school, be clear about the intermediate stop. A bachelor’s in economics qualifies you for research assistant, policy analyst, pricing analyst, and business or data analyst positions. Many economists spend one to three years in a research assistant role at a bank, agency, or research institute before applying to graduate programs, and that experience is treated as a genuine credential by admissions committees.
There is one meaningful exception to the graduate-degree rule. The U.S. federal government hires under the GS-0110 Economist series, and its published qualification standard can be met with a bachelor’s degree that includes a specified minimum of economics coursework plus courses in statistics, accounting, or calculus. Federal hiring is the most realistic route to the economist title without a graduate degree – but the standards, coursework counts, and grade levels are set by the Office of Personnel Management and change over time, so verify the current standard for the specific announcement you are applying to rather than relying on any summary.
Step 3: Earn a master’s degree
For most private-sector, consulting, and government economist positions, a master’s in economics is the working credential. Master’s programs run one to two years and deepen microeconomic and macroeconomic theory while pushing econometrics well past the undergraduate level. Applied master’s programs – applied economics, economic policy, financial economics – are the practical choice if you intend to work rather than pursue a doctorate.
There is no license, board exam, or certification to sit for at this stage. Economics is an unlicensed profession. What gates you is admission and completion, not an exam.
Step 4: Decide whether you need a PhD
Research economist positions at the Federal Reserve, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, top consultancies, and any academic post require a PhD. So does most work that involves publishing original research under your own name. A doctorate typically takes five to seven years and is a research apprenticeship, not extended coursework.
If your goal is applied analysis inside a company or agency, a master’s is usually sufficient and the PhD is optional. If your goal is to produce research, it is not optional. Make this decision deliberately, because the two paths diverge early: PhD-bound students should be taking real analysis and mathematical statistics as undergraduates.
Step 5: Build the technical portfolio and enter
The final step is practical rather than credentialed. Economists are hired on demonstrated ability to work with data: cleaning it, modeling it, and explaining what the model does and does not support. Build that record through research assistantships, a thesis, replication projects, or published policy work. Entry titles include economic analyst, research economist, and associate economist, and the technical screen is typically an econometrics or data exercise.
What degree do you need to be an economist?
Two degrees, in sequence, for most people.
The economics bachelor’s degree is the foundation and should carry as much mathematics as your program allows. It is the credential that qualifies you for analyst work and makes graduate admission possible.
The master’s in economics is the credential most economist job titles actually require. Beyond it, a PhD is required for research and academic economist roles and is unnecessary for most applied ones.
Accredited online programs award the same degrees as campus programs. For the full picture of what the field covers at each level, start with the online economics degrees guide, and see what you can do with an economics degree for the full range of roles the major opens – most of which are not the economist title itself.
How much do economists make?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $124,720 for economists (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national median). Half of economists earn more than that figure and half earn less; pay varies substantially by employer type, with federal, financial, and consulting employers generally at the higher end of the distribution and nonprofit and state government roles lower.
View the data behind this chart
| Percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $67,360 |
| 25th percentile | $89,330 |
| Median | $124,720 |
| 75th percentile | $174,720 |
| 90th percentile | $238,060 |
View the data behind this chart
| State | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $167,590 |
| New Jersey | $167,550 |
| Delaware | $159,120 |
| Maryland | $144,680 |
| Kansas | $138,790 |
| Virginia | $137,590 |
| New York | $136,660 |
| North Carolina | $136,150 |
For comparison within the same quantitative family, the BLS reports a national median annual wage of $105,650 for statisticians and $88,940 for operations research analysts (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians) – both roles that economics graduates frequently move into.
How long does it take to become an economist?
Add the steps honestly:
- Bachelor’s degree: four years, or less on an accelerated or transfer track. See accelerated economics options.
- Research assistant or analyst experience (optional but common): one to three years, and frequently the difference between a rejected and an admitted graduate application.
- Master’s degree: one to two years.
- PhD, if you need one: five to seven years beyond the bachelor’s, typically absorbing the master’s.
That puts the realistic total at five to seven years to a master’s-level economist role, and nine to twelve years from the start of college to a research economist position requiring a doctorate. There are no exams to schedule and no supervised-hour requirements, which makes the timeline more predictable than licensed professions – but the graduate admissions bottleneck is real, and it is why the mathematics you take as a freshman matters.
Frequently asked questions
What degree do you need to be an economist?
A bachelor’s degree in economics is the starting point, but most positions carrying the economist title require a master’s degree, and research economist roles require a PhD. Build the bachelor’s with calculus, linear algebra, statistics, and econometrics, because graduate programs screen transcripts for exactly that coursework.
How long does it take to become an economist?
Roughly five to seven years for a master’s-level economist role: four years of undergraduate study plus one to two years of graduate work, often with one to three years as a research assistant in between. A PhD-track research economist position typically takes nine to twelve years from the start of college.
How much do economists make?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a national median annual wage of $124,720 for economists (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national median). Pay varies by employer type and by whether the role requires a doctorate.
Do you need a degree to be an economist?
Yes. Unlike some analytical occupations, economist roles are effectively closed to candidates without formal economics training, because the theory and econometrics are not readily self-taught to the level employers test for. There is, however, no license or certification exam – the degree is the credential.
Do economists need a license or certification?
No. Economics is an unlicensed profession in the United States. There is no board exam, no continuing-education mandate, and no state-by-state variation to navigate. What varies is employer expectation, and that expectation is almost always a graduate degree.
Can you become an economist with only a bachelor’s degree?
It is difficult but not impossible. The most realistic route is federal employment under the GS-0110 Economist series, whose qualification standard can be met with a bachelor’s degree containing specified economics, statistics, accounting, or calculus coursework. Confirm the current standard with the Office of Personnel Management for the specific position, since the requirements are set federally and can change.
Next steps
- Start with the field. The online economics degrees guide covers what the discipline includes at each level and how BA and BS tracks differ.
- Build the foundation. Compare economics bachelor’s programs, then map the graduate step with the master’s in economics guide.
- See the wider role set. What can you do with an economics degree? covers the analyst, policy, and finance roles the major opens beyond the economist title.
- Weigh the investment. Is an economics degree worth it? puts the cost against the outcomes.
- Compare adjacent paths. Two quantitative alternatives with different credential structures: how to become a statistician and how to become an actuary.
Wage figures on this page are national median annual wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025. Federal qualification standards are set by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and can change; verify requirements against the specific position announcement.
Data verified: August 12, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.