How To Become An Economics Professor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an economics professor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Alex Holte PhD

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an economics professor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $50.26 an hour? That's $104,547 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 12% and produce 159,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an Economics Professor?

Alex Holte PhD

Assistant Professor of Psychology, Website

My advice for someone new to the field of academia is to learn time management skills early and learn what type of service work you find interesting and would like to contribute to. From there, learn how to say “no” to opportunities that may not align with your goals as well. I feel a lot of new professors tend to find the need to be involved in everything, which can result in burning out later in their career.

ScoreEconomics ProfessorUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $104,547

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.1

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 17.03%

Black or African American 6.25%

Hispanic or Latino 8.99%

Unknown 4.78%

White 62.68%

Gender

female 30.48%

male 69.52%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

4.1

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.4

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an economics professor

Explore economics professor education requirements

Most common economics professor degrees

Bachelor's

49.4 %

Master's

36.0 %

Doctorate

11.0 %

Start to develop specific economics professor skills

Skills	Percentages
Econometrics	21.62%
Student Learning	16.64%
Economic Development	12.47%
Syllabus	10.50%
Course Objectives	9.94%

Research economics professor duties and responsibilities

Lead outreach to community and statewide stakeholders in the PPCC entrepreneurship program.
Design the syllabus of the class.
Design the industrial organization and game theory class, and redesign the econometrics class.
Facilitate instruction for developing the thesis topic statement, qualitative and quantitative research design, and conducting a review of literature.

Prepare your economics professor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your economics professor resume.

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Apply for economics professor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an economics professor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do economics professors rate their job?