Finance & Professional Services
Your route to Economist
Model how people, markets and governments behave — in the Civil Service, central banks, consultancies, think tanks or industry.
Career compatibility and admission likelihood are different things
Compatibility is about you. Admission is the institution's decision — we can only tell you how to be ready for it.
Destination
Economist
Graduate scheme
Internship
Degree with placement
A Levels
You are here
Tell us your year group to place this properly
My academic gap
Here's exactly what has to move
Current position
Stage not set · predicted grades
Target
A*AA–ABB including A Level Maths for almost every Economics degree
Maths
A Level Maths is required by nearly all Economics degrees
English
Economics is written and argued, not only calculated
Typical market expectations, not official rules. Last checked August 2026.
What the destination officially asks for
A*AA–ABB including A Level Maths for almost every Economics degree
Admissions tests: TMUA (Cambridge, LSE, Warwick and some others) · Numerical reasoning at graduate application
Timeline
- GCSE: strong Maths
- A Level Maths (Further Maths helps)
- BSc/BA Economics
- Government Economic Service, bank, consultancy or MSc Economics
FutureIQ recommendation based on typical hiring and admissions patterns · last checked August 2026.
Your routes in
Ranked honestly, for where you are now.
Some of these are harder than others. We say which, and why.
Qualifications
A Levels; Maths required for finance-heavy courses
Grades
A*AA–BBB depending on the university
Admissions tests
None required
Duration
3–4 years
How competitive
Graduate schemes are competitive; internships are the real filter
Funding
Student finance; paid placement years
Progression
Intern → graduate → analyst/manager
The route, step by step
- 1A Levels
- 2Degree with placement
- 3Internship
- 4Graduate scheme
Where this goes
This career has a ladder, not a ceiling.
Skilled and technical careers progress into engineering, management and business ownership.
Stage 1
Assistant economist
Stage 2
Economist
Stage 3
Senior economist
Stage 4
Chief economist
Where people study this
Real institutions, real requirements.
Universities, conservatoires and specialist schools that lead to this destination.
London · A*AA–AAB, A Level Maths for Economics
London School of Economics
Cambridge · A*AA–A*A*A + admissions assessment + interview
University of Cambridge
Coventry · A*A*A–AAB, Maths heavy courses
University of Warwick
London · A*AA–ABB depending on course
UCL
Nottingham · AAA–ABB depending on course
University of Nottingham
Manchester · AAA–ABB depending on course
University of Manchester