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economics and foreign language/literature

What economics and foreign language/literature Majors Need to Know

Studies in economics and foreign language/literature build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that economics and foreign language/literature graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing economics and foreign language/literature emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills developed in a economics and foreign language/literature program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to economics and foreign language/literature careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, economics and foreign language/literature graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by economics and foreign language/literature professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for economics and foreign language/literature graduates include:

• University Faculty Member
• College Faculty Member
• Associate Professor
• Lecturer
• Assistant Professor
• College Professor
• Professor
• Adjunct Professor
• Instructor
• Teacher
• Macroeconomics Professor
• Industrial Economics Teacher
• Labor Economics Professor
• Economics Assistant Professor
• Economics Lecturer

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to economics and foreign language/literature graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	42.2%
Bachelor’s degree	26.3%
Master’s degree	17.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.3%
Post-master’s certificate	3.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.0%
Postsecondary certificate	1.5%
Some college courses	1.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.9%
Post-doctoral training	0.8%
First professional degree	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Multi Interdisciplinary Studies	30
Accounting and Computer Science	30.16
Anthrozoology	30.34
Behavioral Sciences	30.17
Biological and Physical Sciences	30.01
Biopsychology	30.10
Classical and Ancient Studies	30.22
Climate Science	30.35
Cognitive Science	30.25
Computational Science	30.30
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature	30.36
Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis	30.26

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.