
The Econ Department has compiled a few tips for new econ students, listed below. These tips will help you succeed and plan ahead as you start your major.
Grad School Prep
If you're interested in pursuing graduate school at some point in the future, check out our Grad School Prep Roadmap. This quick guide to graduate programs will help you determine which steps will make your journey as smooth as possible. Whether you're interested in getting a PhD in economics or a related field, or if you're primarily interested in MBA programs, the medical field, or any other program, this Roadmap offers a few resources to help you succeed. To access Roadmap: Grad School Prep, click here.
Internships
In the words of advice from a 2021 econ grad, "Go for internships as early as possible and get as many internships as possible!" As a general rule, we encourage you to do at least one internship during your time in the econ major, and the earlier the better. Internships will help you apply what you're learning in class and give you valuable insight on the type of work you will enjoy and excel at. They also give you an opportunity to start building your professional network and your résumé. Even if you plan on attending graduate school immediately following your undergrad, we still encourage you to complete an internship.
To receive emails from the department about internship opportunities, join our email blast. Send an email to economics@byu.edu and ask to be added to the list. You may also want to subscribe to notifications from hiring platforms like Indeed or Glassdoor to find opportunities. To make your internship searches more effective, review this article from the University of Texas about which key terms are likely to bring relevant results for econ majors.
If you want to receive class credit for your internships, review this page on the economics website. It contains the most up-to-date information about internship course requirements. If you do not qualify for the economics internship course, we recommend looking into STDEV 199R (a general internship class) or looking for an internship course offered by your secondary major or minor, if you have one. You can often earn up to 3 credit hours in the internship classes offered by other departments.
If you have questions or are seeking advice about internship courses, please reach out to the department Alumni & Internship Coordinator at alumni-economics@byu.edu.
TA Opportunities
One of the best work opportunities for econ students is to be a Teaching Assistant for the department. We are almost always hiring for an upcoming semester or term, and we need TAs in nearly every econ class. Being a TA will give you a unique mastery of course material and an opportunity to be mentored by one of your professors. It also looks great on a résumé!
To see TA requirements, pay information, and job openings, view our Department Student Jobs webpage.
Econ 210: Career Prep Seminar
The Economics Department offers a Career Prep Seminar every fall and winter semester. This 1-credit course is held once a week for 50 minutes. For half of the class periods, we invite BYU Econ alumni from a variety of career fields to come speak about their experiences and share their advice. For the other class periods, we talk about grad schools, PhD programs, and resources on campus. Although this class is not required, we strongly encourage all our econ students to take it. You can view the course page for Econ 210 here and register for the class through MyMap.