MS Career Resources
There are so many places to work as an economist that it might seem hard to know where to begin looking. Use this guide to sort through the information available to narrow your job search. Set up an appointment in Handshake with our Career Counselor with any questions regarding your career search. Students who have enrolled in the program may also join our LinkedIn Alumni group and reach out to GW alumni for career advice.
Graduate students may apply for on-campus jobs through our Student Employment Services website.
Recent Alumni Employers
- American Road & Transportation Builders Association
- Banco Central de Brazil
- Boeing
- Brookings Institution
- CBRE Group
- China Investment Corporation
- The Coalition for Government Procurement
- Edgeworth Economics
- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- The Federal Reserve Board
- Florida State University
- Freddie Mac
- Global Financial Integrity
- Huawei Technologies
- The International Monetary Fund
- Irish Aid
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kazakh-British Technical University
- National University of Singapore
- Nordic Degrees
- The Small Business Association
- Summit Consulting
- University of International Business and Economics
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Labor
- The World Bank
Global Career Service Opportunities
GW Career Services provides many resources for students seeking international employment and volunteer opportunities, including:
- GW Passport: An exclusive online career resource for exploring opportunities around the world. To access, log in to your Handshake profile and look under Resources for Global Job & Internship Opportunities.
- AIESEC: An international, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that provides young people with leadership development and cross-cultural global internship and volunteer exchange experiences across the globe. Use their network and tools to find both salaried and volunteer opportunities in more than 100 countries.
- GoinGlobal provides expert knowledge on the global job market. The database includes over 80,000 pages of content curated by local industry experts, providing country-specific career and internship resources for students and professionals interested in working domestically or internationally. Sign into your Handshake profile for access.
International Financial Organizations
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a hub for applied macroeconomists and research assistants with graduate degrees in economics. The IMF also has a page that describes its general recruitment process.
- The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association make up what’s known as the World Bank. The bank has a graduate student internship program for students who have completed their first year of graduate study. With sufficient work experience, you may also be eligible for the World Bank’s Young Professionals Program. The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) focuses exclusively on the private sector in developing countries and keeps a list of sample positions.
- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has many career and internship opportunities.
Technological Skills
Brush up on your analytic and quantitative skills outside the classroom. All GW students get free access to LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com). The platform offers virtual training on topics such as Excel, Powerpoint Power Shortcuts and R Statistics Essential Training. A good way to figure out what software skills you need to develop is to look at the required skills for a job listing at a place where you would like to work.
Additionally, create a LinkedIn profile and follow people and companies that interest you. Many employers go to LinkedIn to see a job candidate’s profile, so you want to make sure that you keep your profile up to date. You can also post interesting articles and participate in discussions.
Bloomberg Terminals
Set up your Bloomberg account and complete the Bloomberg Market Concepts course for free!
GW manages the Bloomberg terminals in the Business School, and all GW students have free access to set up an account and use the terminals. We encourage students interested in finance career paths to complete the Bloomberg Market Concepts course, which can be done for free if using GW's terminals.
Internships
Visit GW Career Services or use their online Handshake portal to search for internships in Washington, D.C., and abroad. For more internship advice, review the Locating and Applying for Internships guide from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Pro Advice on Interviews
Economics Professor Anthony Yezer is an expert on helping students find jobs. He has put together a short document that outlines essential tips on the job search and interview process.
The most important step? Plan ahead! Prepare for an interview the same way that you would prepare for an exam or a tennis match. People who find jobs aren’t lucky. They practice and they plan ahead. Don’t go into an interview without knowing what the company does, and certainly don’t ask questions that could be answered with a simple Google search.