Life After Tech

Economics

Career Opportunities

Graduates initially work as junior members of a team in carrying out economics research projects needed for making various business decisions. In most cases the project will be a type of impact study of potential decision/policy options. For multinational corporations and government agencies, the typical economic analysis will include incorporation of social, political, and cultural factors. For such large organizations, each entry level employee is given an opportunity to develop a specialization area with respect to either business sectors (industry specialist) or geographical regions (“country desk” specialist, specializing for example, in Southeastern United States or Latin America).

Placement Opportunities

In the mid-state region of Tennessee, placement locations include:

Local, regional and state planning and development offices
Commercial banks
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Nashville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Provident Insurance
J.C. Bradford and Company

Position Titles

The following are common position titles held by Economics graduates:

Entry Level:
- Junior/Assistant Economist
- Economic Analyst
- Research Analyst
- Analyst
- Management Trainee
Advanced Level:
- Economist/Senior Economist
- Director of Economics or Research Division
- Vice-President for Research

Salary Information

The national average yearly salary for students graduating in the curriculum of Economics is $50,507. Salaries my vary by region.

(Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers, Summer 2008.)

Finance

Career Opportunities

The Finance curriculum is designed to enable the student to successfully gain initial employment in the areas of banking, real estate, insurance, investments, financial planning, and financial management.

The following are common position titles and associated job responsibilities held by finance graduates:

Commodities Trader: Manages a firm’s risk exposure to commodity price fluctuations by buying and selling the commodity for the firm.
Bank Management Trainee: Trained in all facets of the operations of a bank. Training program usually lasts 12 to 18 months.
Bank Examiner Trainee: Trains for the examination process of state banks through state bank examiners or federal banks through the FDIC.
Insurance Claims Representative or Sales Representative: Functions in the area of claims adjusting and sales training.
Real Estate Agent: Sells or manages real estate.
Stockbroker: Develops client relationships and provides brokerage services regarding stocks, bonds, and U.S. Treasury securities.

Placement Opportunities

The following firms have hired our Finance graduates:

Federal Reserve
First American National Bank (AmSouth)
Third National Bank
First Tennessee Bank
FDIC
State Farm Insurance
C N A Insurance
Farm Bureau
Various Real Estate Firms

Salary Information

The national average yearly salary for students graduating in the curriculum of Finance is $48,547. Salaries my vary by region.

(Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers, Summer 2008.)

Marketing

Career Opportunities

Advertising/Public Relations

Account Executive: Serves as the link between clients and the ad agency; acts as a business manager for accounts; does marketing planning, coordinates advertising plans, helps with new business acquisition.
Copy writer: Writes copy for printed and broadcast ads, catalogs, and direct mail.
Media Buyer/Planner: Selects media advertising; buys media time and space; negotiates price and position of ads, conducts media tests.
Sales Representative: Handles advertising sales for a newspaper, radio/TV station, or magazine.

Sales Management

Sales Representative: Represents a company’s products and/or services to clients in a designated area or territory; makes sales presentations; handles orders and accounts.

Marketing Research

Research Assistant, Data Analyst, Account Executive: Conducts studies of consumers and their buying habits; prepares surveys; writes research reports; computerizes statistical analysis.

Product Management

Product Manager: Determines the objectives and marketing strategies for an individual product or product line. Sets prices, develops advertising and sales promotion programs and works with sales representatives in the field.

Placement Opportunities

Career opportunities are many and varied for marketing graduates. Tech graduates currently work for the organizations listed plus a variety of other industries.