During the PhD · Be memorable

Societies and associations

Professional associations are where the people who hire economists already gather. Pick two or three and show up.

8 min read · By Marc Sleiman

Professional associations are one of the most underused tools PhD students have. They run the meetings where economists from business, government and academia meet. Many publish job listings, run mentoring programs and offer student memberships at a small fraction of the full price. Joining one is cheap. Showing up and taking part is what pays off.

How to use associations for an industry career

Do not join twenty. Pick two or three: one broad association, one tied to your field, and, if it fits you, one community or mentoring organization. Then go beyond paying the fee.

Attend the meetings and use the approach on the conferences page: contact fifty to a hundred attendees beforehand and aim to land five to ten real conversations. Look for sessions organized by or for practitioners, not just research sessions. Volunteer for a committee, a student chapter or event staffing; volunteers meet the organizers, and organizers know everyone. Present your work whenever you can, in the plain-language form from your pitch, because a talk is the most efficient introduction to a room. Read the newsletter and job listings, since some employers recruit directly through them.

Where to start if you want industry

If your goal is a job outside academia, these are the strongest starting points.

National Association for Business Economics (NABE)

Built specifically for economists who apply economics in business and policy. Its meetings are full of the people who hire economists outside academia, and its technology economics conference is aimed at economists in tech. For an industry-bound PhD student, it is usually the single most useful association to join.

American Economic Association (AEA)

The central organization of the profession. It runs the January ASSA meeting, the job-listings service most economics employers use, and resources on the job market. Its Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) runs mentoring and career programs.

Your field association

Many field associations have a large share of members working in consulting, government and industry: health economics (ASHEcon), energy (IAEE and USAEE), agricultural and applied economics (AAEA), law and economics (ALEA), real estate and urban economics (AREUEA), and labor (SOLE), among others. Their meetings are smaller than ASSA, which makes it easier to have real conversations.

A regional association

Regional associations such as the Southern Economic Association hold large, welcoming meetings with many sessions, many graduate students and a mix of academic, government and business economists. They are often an easier first conference than the national meetings.

Directory: 60 economics societies and associations

Here is my curated directory, grouped by type. Each entry links to the organization’s website. It is a reference, not an endorsement, and not a complete list of every economics organization in the world.

Broad associations

The large general associations. Their meetings draw the widest mix of academic, government and business economists.

Field associations

Associations organized around a field of economics. Several, especially in health, energy, agriculture, law, real estate and labor, have many members in consulting, government and industry. If one matches your field, its meetings are often better for industry contacts than general academic conferences.

Communities and mentoring

Associations that support particular communities of economists or research on particular regions. Many run mentoring programs, job-market support and sessions at the large meetings.

Traditions, history and method

Societies built around a school of thought, the history of the field, its methods or its connection to philosophy and religion.