Economics is a subject that many students don’t get to experience at a younger age as schools don’t tend to teach until you study for your A-Levels or go to college. In fact, a recent survey showed that some 87% of high school students rated their knowledge around economics as “fair” or “poor.” This means that there are a lot of students who didn’t choose it as an option (like me) who didn’t really know what economics was about.

This introduction to the subject is aimed to give you an insight into the topic; some history behind economics, the importance of the subject and how it affects everything and everyone! There are potentially career options you can pursue, as well as the transferable skills learning about economics will give you - which you can use across a range of industries and disciplines. 

What is Economics?

In its simplest form, economics is the study of how society uses its limited resources to thrive in everyday life. Economics looks at all the steps within this process; the production, distribution and consumption of goods as used by society. This means that while economics as a subject has been around since the 1700s, it continues to be relevant in every society and there will always be a need to analyse the distribution of wealth. 

In 1776, Scottish philosopher Adam Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This book primarily focuses on the division of labour, efficiency and surplus of wealth in communities. A key theme that runs through his writing is the idea of an ‘invisible hand;’ Smith uses this metaphor to describe how the economic system is automatic and is able to regulate itself. However this ‘self regulation’ is threatened by tax preferences, lobbying groups and other privileges extended to certain members of society at the expense of others.

This quote from Smith’s text best summarises the core meaning behind his economic theory:

“Consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production.”

Smith is suggesting here that all societies function on the understanding that labour and the production of goods which are produced to be sold or directly consumed. And this is what keeps the society running. 

This is what the study of economics evaluates; the production of wealth in work and labour, the distribution of wealth to people in the society and the consumption of the wealth, as well as how the money is spent in the society. 

There are two main fields of study in economics; macroeconomics, and microeconomics. They are the two central  principles that students will explore and are the most relevant when students are looking to gain a basic understanding of the subject. 

Microeconomics

Microeconomics, put simply, is the study of supply and demand and other elements that affect price levels of goods and services that we as individuals use and purchase. Microeconomics studies individuals, households and businesses’ decisions while considering things like taxes and government legislation. In other words, microeconomics tries to understand human behaviour, decision-making, and how this affects the allocation and availability of resources. 

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics, on the other hand, is the study of the economy as a whole, trying to determine its course and nature. While investors will use microeconomics in their investment decisions, macroeconomics is an analytics tool for creating fiscal policy by governments - essentially, what spending and taxation they will implement during their term. Macroeconomics will look at a country or state, as opposed to an individual or company. 

Why is Economics important?

As we mentioned earlier, economics affects every society and in turn, every individual too - including you and me. Learning about the subject will help you understand things like tax inflation and interest rates which are constantly evolving and affecting our daily lives. 

Economics provides answers to a range of health, social and political issues that impact communities. It is important to understand how this works so we can see patterns and trends within the subject and hopefully learn from mistakes in the past to create a better society for the future. Through training in the industry, economists can also work to predict trends that will potentially affect the community, and be reactive when surprises come up to keep the economy as stable as possible. 

A primary reason as to why economics is so important is that it deals with issues of scarcity. When we refer to scarcity, we mean access to resources. Humans need goods and services (like food, shelter, health care etc.) however, there is a finite number of resources to produce these for everyone (like housing, availability of funding, and even crude oil and natural gas). All of society must decide where to use their resources. This includes families deciding whether to spend their money on a holiday or getting a new car, or governments deciding whether to put their funding into schooling or into healthcare services. 

A great part about studying economics is that you get to debate these issues of scarcity and decide what you would do in this situation. Day-to-day you will make choices like this all the time without even realising it - do I get a takeaway for dinner or save my money for the weekend? Decisions like that won’t affect you or society in a major way (except that you might not have money at the weekend now). But when the decisions get bigger and the stakes get higher - is it better to fund mental health services or public transport? The decisions get harder to make. 

As economics has such an impact on our everyday lives, we believe that everyone should have an understanding of the subject. Relating it to your life (takeaway or save your money) can make understanding the topic easier!

Is A-Level Economics hard?

As mentioned before, you’re really lucky if you were able to get the chance to study Economics before A-level or college level as most schools don’t offer this subject at GCSE. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean you will find the subject harder than one you have been studying for years (like English, for example). 

In fact, it can even work in your favour if you haven’t studied Economics before A-Level as the teacher will start from the beginning, knowing that the students in the class don’t have much (if any) prior knowledge of the subject. This means that before you dive into the harder content, you will start with the basics and first ensure your understanding of the very foundations of the subject. 

A lot of what makes up economics is Maths and English. You don’t have to be an expert in these subjects or even be taking them at A-Level or alongside Economics; the maths is supposedly as hard as GCSE maths is and English is needed for essay writing, which can be learned during your time studying. To qualify for an A-Level economics course, you need at least a C (4) in Maths and English at GCSE, however some schools may require higher grades. 

There is a lot of overlap between macro and microeconomics at A-Level, the two main principles of the subject, which also will help you when studying as you won’t need to learn too many different theories or fields of the subject. 

As economics looks at society and the wider world, a level of common sense is required to understand the basics of the subject. You will need a passion for debating issues using evidence, be able to think critically and have a mind for problem solving. A lot of those traits, including the essay writing skills, will be taught to you during your A-Level course, but having a passion for these beforehand can only help. 

What can you do with an Economics degree?

There are plenty of varying job roles that you can go on to do after completing an Economics degree. And as the subject is so relevant in all societies and companies, you can do these jobs anywhere in the world. We have researched and compiled our top job opportunities for Economics graduates to help you get inspired.

Accountancy 

A degree in economics will have provided you with analytical and numerical skills which are perfect for a career in accounting. Accountants work in all areas of business, including volunteer and public sectors, but in the private sector a lot of accounting involves auditing. 

Auditing primarily involves visiting clients and reviewing their financial records to verify their accounts. You can probably already see the similarities between this and looking at elements that affect a company's economics as you would when using microeconomics. 

Public Sector and Defence

Public sector and defence careers all involve working for the government. There are many different career options in this sector, including police officer or civil servant. With a degree in economics and the skills you will have learned in problem solving and critical thinking, this could be the career path for you!

The benefits of working in this field is that it affects people on a day to day basis, so this area to work in is often very rewarding as you are providing a public service. 

Charity

Working in the charity sector after graduating is a very popular decision as there are many different roles available. If you want your job to benefit people's lives, then working for a charity can be highly rewarding and will help a lot of people. 

A particular field of charity work that might appeal to your economist mind is fundraising. This job would loosely involve using your critical thinking and analytical skills to help a charity gain awareness and raise money. This would suit you if you enjoy problem solving and working in a target-driven environment. 

Journalism 

If you loved the essay writing aspect of your economics course, then a career in journalism might be the pathway for you. The knowledge you will have gained through your economics degree in industry and commerce will help you to thrive in this job role, especially if you go into financial journalism. 

There are many different career options under the umbrella of journalism, you could be involved in the gathering and presenting of news to the public, or train to be a specific correspondent. If you have enjoyed the analysis of your economics degree, you could even train to be a newsroom's economics correspondent. 

Digital Marketing

With the rise of social media and the world going online throughout the pandemic, digital marketing has become a very popular career path in the last few years. The analytical skills you will have learned while studying economics will help you in this role, especially in understanding elements such as Search Engine Optimisers for your company. You will also have an awareness of consumers and current affairs which will help you in a marketing career to be reactive to news. 

These are just some of the career options available for an economics graduate. If you pursue economics at university, it’s important to consider doing a summer internship or taking a placement year during your studies. A lot of companies, including in the careers listed above, will be looking for a student who has some experience in the field, so make sure you take advantage of this and make yourself the best possible candidate for jobs! 

Why study Economics? 

Another reason as to why you should study economics is that it will help your personal and career growth. Economics primarily  provides you with greater business insight, so if you’re a budding entrepreneur, learning about how the economy works will help you understand how consumers behave. Even if you’re not interested in going into business building, economics impacts all industries, as we’ve seen above. Every industry has to rely on economics which means that through studying the subject, you are open to many career possibilities. 

Not only are there career options to think about, but studying economics provides students with transferable skills to be used in any workplace. Some of the specific skills you could learn through studying the subject include:

• Communication 

You will learn how to communicate in different ways depending on your audience and using evidence to support your findings. Your ability to write essays and reports in an easy to consume way will increase through practice at university. 

• Numeracy

While studying Economics you will get used to handling complex data and techniques of mathematical and statistical analysis. This will subsequently help you in getting used to using mathematical evidence to support your ideas. 

• Problem Solving

Problem solving is a big part of Economics and is something you will need to use in your day to day life whether you pursue Economics or not. Often in Economics you will need to problem solve in a fast paced environment while also using critical thinking to understand what the best outcome will be.

• Analytical Skills

All of Economics is analysing, often large quantities and sets of data. When studying this you will get used to fine tuning your analytical skills to best understand the information. 

All of these skills together are crucial when it comes to learning about Economics, and will help you if you pursue other career options. Potential employers will be particularly interested in your problem solving and analytical skills experience as these are the most transferable skills that can be used in all workplace environments. 

Summary

I hope this introduction to the subject has helped you gain some insight into the topic and what you might be learning about if you choose to study Economics. The most important thing to understand about Economics is that it will always be relevant; whether it’s your company, your country or just your own finances that you’re dealing with. Understanding the need for resources, how supply and demand affect this and the labour that goes into it will help you in the future. 

Economics seems like a scary subject on the surface (I think because many of us haven’t had the opportunity to study it before), but once you know how it relates to your own life, it becomes easier to understand. 

Come and do an Economics online course

Doing an online course is the best way to get a taste of a subject and see if you like it before you commit to it at A-Level or college. At Melio, our Economics course is one of the most popular with our students and gives you a unique opportunity to get to know the subject!

Available on our Academic Online Courses, where you will work alongside a group of (up to 8) like-minded students with one of our expert Economics tutors. On this course you will spend two weeks learning how to think like an economist and put yourself at the heart of modern economic debate. You will learn about the fundamental concepts and theories of the subject that help us to understand ourselves and the world. 

Alternatively, you can choose to get a more personal experience on our One-on-One tutorials. These bespoke courses are designed to fit around your busy schedule, with hour-long sessions available to complete (starting at 10) to go on for however long you feel you need the tutoring for. 

The content on our one-to-one courses can be more bespoke for you, however you will generally be diving deeper into the fundamentals of micro- and macro-economics as well as developing your understanding with guidance from an expert tutor. Your preconceptions around economics will be challenged, and you’ll learn to better defend your positioning. 

For more information on our courses, and how you can get started today, contact our admissions team.