19 Key Attributes Economists Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Michael Davis

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Economists conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy. They may also collect and process economic and statistical data using sampling techniques and econometric methods.

The core tasks that economists are likely to carry out include:

Supervise research projects and students' study projects.
Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.
Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques.
Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.
Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations.
Testify at regulatory or legislative hearings concerning the estimated effects of changes in legislation or public policy and present recommendations based on cost-benefit analyses.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that economists would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for investigative work environments. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 97.4%

Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 94.2%

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 91.6%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 88.6%

Establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.8%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84.4%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.4%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 82.6%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81.8%

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Using mathematics to solve problems.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 80%