Strong math skills and a knack for managing money were two skills that led Somali national Isak Anoi Ali to a degree in economics. His two years of experience helping his father run his building materials supplier business in Somalia helped Ali visualize his potential in the field.
“Frankly, I am interested in business and money,” says Ali, who graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science in economics from International University of Africa in Sudan. “I am interested in making my own way to the business world by creating a business from scratch in the future rather than being an employee behind a desk somewhere.”
Ali chose to study in Sudan due to the “lack of good educational institutions” in Somalia and because the school offered him a scholarship. He also heard from friends in the field that economics could provide good career opportunities.
“Economics is the heart of business and financial resources,” says Ali. “Using my knowledge of economics will provide me strategies on how to run my business in a competitive, limited-resource environment and make proper decisions.”
A degree in economics, a social science dealing with how people choose to use resources, can offer students a variety of career paths ranging from entrepreneur to economist to academic.
[See which Arab region universities produced the best social sciences research.]
“Economics is a multidisciplinary field, so in the Arab and MENA region a graduate with a degree in economics can be hired in many jobs in public and private sectors, including public policy, consultancy, management, banking and finance, industry, labor markets, development and planning and marketing,” said Samia Satti Osman Mohamed Nour, associate professor of economics at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, via email.
Nour said the school offers undergraduate degrees in economics with specializations in quantitative economics or quantitative economic analysis, financial economics and development economics.
Economics is a field that captured the interest of Tunisian national Amir Ben Ameur, who is attending the American University in Cairo on a full scholarship. Ameur says after taking a few courses at AUC he became more aware of the economic challenges in Tunisia and the region, such as government bureaucracy, corruption and an unfair fiscal system, among other issues. Next semester he plans to declare his undergraduate major in economics.
“Economics defines our society and its characteristics,” says Ameur, who someday wants to work for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or United Nations. “Nowadays, we are having many economic challenges. Good economists that can really apply good economic policies in terms of financial and monetary policies will make our life easier and more prosperous.”
While many Arab region universities offer degrees solely in economics, some schools offer economics degrees combined with other fields. Tunisia Polytechnic School, an engineering school at the Université de Carthage in Tunisia, offers an undergraduate degree in economics and scientific management.
“Our diploma holders are highly qualified engineers with a general technical background, having the capability to master technology and contribute to its progress,” said Mahmoud Sami Nabi, head of the department of economics at the school, in an email. “Many of them carry out big projects and lead multi-disciplinary teams that these projects invoice.”
Tunisian national Mohamed Khalil Tounsi, an economics and scientific management major, says the program offers “rich training that encompasses classes varying from economics in both its micro and macro aspects to the different required skills in corporate management, accountancy and finance.”
[Explore the banking and finance careers that await Arab region university grads.]
He says the school only accepts students with a scientific engineering background — for example, students from a post-high-school engineering preparatory school — and focuses on the mathematical and technological side of economics.
Tounsi hopes to work in multinational software company Predictix. The company, which develops analytic software that helps retailers forecast consumer demand and sales, has offered Tounsi an internship. He says his degree program requires completion of an internship, lasting four to six months, prior to graduation; he expects his work as a data scientist to include building forecast models.
Another school that offers programs that combine economics with other fields is King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, which offers a bachelor’s and master’s degree in agricultural economics. The field of study applies economic management principles to farming.
“I decided to study agricultural economics because I have a great interest in this field. My research field is in efficiency productivity,” says graduate student and Sudanese national Mohammed Abdeen, who got his bachelor’s in agricultural studies from the University of Gezira in Sudan. “I selected to study at King Saud University because it has a high reputation in the Arab world and also due to good professors here.”
[Explore five factors to find the right Arab region university.]
Abdeen hopes to work for the Agricultural Research Council in Sudan as a researcher focusing on agricultural product analysis.
Economics degree options and career paths are broad in the Middle East and North Africa. International University of Africa economics grad Ali is currently attending Sudan International University where he is pursuing his MBA in finance. He says the program complements his economics degree and will be particularly helpful to him as a budding entrepreneur in Somalia. But, Ali admits, he also has his eye on academia.
“As a graduate with an economics degree I would also like to succeed in the academic field by teaching economics,” says Ali. “This is something in which I am interested.”
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Career Paths Vary for Arab Region Economics Students originally appeared on usnews.com