Internships & Careers

For a couple great sites to check out career opportunities and resources see:

The American Economic Association (AEA) and Zippia

The AEA site has many great resources, plus a great list of graduate programs. The site also has information on preparing for graduate school.

Zippia contains a career map for Economics majors. This tool can be used to explore the most popular jobs your peers have taken after graduation, plus it shows a career pathway according to your first job. The data is based on the job history of millions of previous Economics majors. This can assist you in being more informed and making calculated decisions as you begin your post-grad career.

People talking at a career fair

Economics Internships

This valuable professional experience can be gained through working as an intern in any company or accounting firm. By fostering these relationships you can gain valuable industry connections, experience, and possibly even a job offer.

Benefits An internship gives you the chance to earn academic credit while also gaining professional experience at the same time. For every 40-80 hours of your internship, you will receive one credit up to a maximum of 10 credits.

Eligibility To apply for an Internship in Economics one must meet the following criteria:

  • Be an economics major,
  • Be making acceptable progress towards the degree,
  • Have completed ECON 206, ECON 207 and three upper-pision economics courses, and
  • Be registered at Western.

Steps towards applying

  1. Identify: Find a potential employer to sponsor your internship.
  2. Request/Receive Permission: From a faculty member to serve as your internship coordinator / faculty supervisor.
  3. Internship Contract: The student must complete the Internship Guidelines form and have it signed by the employer/supervisor and a faculty supervisor.
  4. Submit: The internship contract and documentation that shows you meet all the prerequisites, to the Department Manager Diane Brearley.
  5. Register: Sign up for ECON 390 for the quarter you have arranged your internship.

Lastly, once you've completed your internship, you are expected to complete a written report and oral presentation, describing the specific accomplishments, the general experience, and the degree to which these fulfilled the original internship objectives.

Additional Resources

Documents

Internships Guidelines

Finding an Internship

Past internships by economics student were completed at prestigious companies, such as

Contact

Diane Brearley
Academic Department Manager
Parks Hall 315
Phone: 360-650-4363
Email: Diane.Brearley@wwu.edu