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Abstract

Using American Community Survey microdata, the authors of this study explore college graduates’ occupations by major, focusing on the economics major. They identify the most common occupations for mid-career workers whose highest degree is a bachelor’s degree and report median income by occupation. They also study industries where economics majors are employed and find 54.6 percent work in one of four industries: finance and insurance; professional, scientific, and technical services; manufacturing; and retail trade. Finally, they replicate and extend previous findings on average earnings by major and confirm that economics is a top-10 high-earning major, with one of the highest self-employment rates among all majors, and that rankings by average income are insensitive to whether income is measured using total income or wage income alone.