If you're going abroad for your studies, either for a few weeks or a few months, you'll need to deal with some practical issues. One such practical concern is finding student housing – how can you find international student housing when you're not currently in the country? To help you through this, we're sharing some tips on how to find a place to live while you're studying abroad.

Being a Teaching Assistant (TA) at a university is rewarding, but also tough, particularly when you’re just starting out and learning the ropes. Perhaps you might appreciate some guidance - roll on INOMICS top tips for econ TAs who are preparing for their first role. Oh, and congratulations by the way! 

Soon after the completion of a Master's degree or PhD, everybody is faced with the big question: what next? Although it may seem like a natural progression to continue with further research, there are many other careers open to academics in business, education, communications and journalism, to name but a few examples. So how do you know if research is the right career choice for you? Well, like with most big decisions, a good way of figuring it out is to weigh the pros and cons of an academic career.

The following article is an analysis of data taken from the INOMICS Salary Report 2020/21 - which is available to download in full here. Specifically, this article looks at the average salaries of economists around the world working in academia, the public sector and the private sector. It is the first instalment in a series of insights handling the Report’s findings.

Whether you’re a graduate student giving a presentation for a course or a researcher presenting at a conference, being able to give an engaging and well-prepared presentation is a valuable skill for anyone in academia – in COVID times it is invaluable. Today, hardly a talk is given without an accompanying PowerPoint presentation full of flashy graphs, images, exploding sub-titles, and often far too many bullet points.

What does it take to succeed as an economics student? What qualities make a good economics student – one who thrives at university, enjoys their economics degree, and then, once it's all done and dusted, who goes and gets a good job? These are big questions – there's no doubt – and their answers may not immediately be clear. 

It’s a tough time to be a teacher. COVID has meant that schools and universities have closed and reopened countless times, leaving teachers oscillating between online learning and socially-distanced classes onsite, often with little support to facilitate the constant migration between the two. And yet, as a cohort they have responded remarkably, working tirelessly, innovatively, and determinedly to ensure that education has – mostly – been able to continue.

A great way to make your presentations or papers slick and memorable is to improve your graphs and diagrams. The standard graphs produced by software such as Excel or SPSS can convey the required information, but tend to lack style as these tools have limited customisation options. Other software exists for the singular purpose of configuring your diagrams, including many which are open-source and hence freely available. As an economist, it's important to make sure your graphs are looking as good as possible, as they are essential for winning over and keeping the attention of your audience.

There are now more online learning options than ever, including courses which are - thank you Internet - absolutely free. Whether you want to prepare for your upcoming university course, need to pick up some extra skills to help with your job, or you are just interested in a subject and want to learn more, there will be an online course out there that can help you achieve your goals. Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many of us to spend more time indoors and less time on campus or at evening classes, online courses can be a great way to carry on your education while minimising risk. Here are some of the best the internet has to offer in the area of statistics and data analysis.

So you've coming up to exam season? Maybe you've already sat your written exams, and the only one left is the oral. Oral exams can be an daunting experience for students, so today we're sharing some advice on how to get through an oral exam with as little pain as possible.

Studying macroeconomics, as many INOMICS users have done, opens doors to countless different jobs down the line. Companies are always looking for people who understand a bit about the world and how it functions, particularly when it comes to economics, remaining, as it does, one of the most revered disciplines of the age (for better or worse). If you have specialised in a particular area of economics, then you can use this information to narrow down your options to the kind of roles which will best fit your skills and interests. And there are, perforce, plenty of options available even once you have isolated your particular skillset. Here we've listed the top jobs that specialisation in macroeconomics and monetary economics will make available to you!

Networking is one of the most important parts of a conference, but lots of people find it hard to engage with other people. At conferences it's even more difficult: you're talking with so many people, many of whom are successful businesspeople or established academics.

Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of becoming an engineer. From playing with LEGO to being an active member of my high-school robotics team, I loved building things and breaking them down to learn how they worked. This being said, I have kept an open mind about a position in management down the road and from this perspective it was important to me to prepare for a career in both business and engineering. My answer: a dual degree program whereby I completed a BA in economics alongside a BSc in Mechanical Engineering.

More than 43.000 foreign students are currently studying at universities in the Czech Republic. Many of them don't have to pay tuition fees, because they are enrolled in Czech taught degree programmes and therefore they study under the same conditions as Czech students do. While it might be difficult right now to move during the pandemic, it's always worth keeping yourself informed of what your future options are.

Regardless of where you are applying, nearly every course requires at least one, if not two or three letters of reference. Such documents are sometimes also referred to as letters of recommendation. In general, it is best for reference letters to be written by professors with whom you have worked closely, so they can offer detailed insight into you and your work.

If you're interested in the world of business, there are a huge number of books written each year on the topic. To help you keep up to date and to identify any interesting books which you might have missed, today we're sharing a list of the top bestselling books in the field of business.

In these weird times, many (though by no means all) of us find ourselves with a lot of time on our hands, stuck at home with not much to do. But actually, there are plenty of things you can get stuck into to keep you busy, and not all of them involve watching ten hours of Netflix a day. We here at INOMICS are big fans of convincing people to learn a language, because we think it's one of the best things you can do for your brain. And the modern world lends itself nicely to this undertaking: technology, downloadable directly to the smartphone, turns your social media device into a potent learning machine. There are a range of language learning apps available, many free, many with paid features, all useful in their own way. What better way to spend the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic?

An exciting opportunity open to many undergraduate students is the chance to participate in an exchange program, in which a student can study at a different institution as part of their degree. Typically, students will use this opportunity to study abroad; to learn about their subject in a different setting and to become familiar with a different culture. Yes, we know, it sounds incredible...

Everyone wants to be admitted to a top university in their favorite location. Potential reputation among employers, high quality of education and the potential boost that they can represent for a professional career make top universities the first priority of thousands of students around the world. One factor makes the decision tough, however: the potential cost it can represent for the student budget. For this reason, it is always good to look into scholarships, whether from the university itself or from a foundation.