At our recent School of Economics summer graduation reception, we spoke to some of our brand new alumni.
They told us about the exciting career opportunities they had lined up and shared their experiences as undergraduates at the University of Bristol. They also offered words of advice for future economics students…
What are your plans now you’ve graduated?
Renuk: “I just started a one-year internship with PayPal as their SMB strategy intern. I’m helping them pick their strategies out for Europe, so I’m hoping to make a big impact.”
Sophie: “I’ve got a job at Volkswagen Financial Services and I’m in the customer operations team. I’m hoping to grow within this company in the future.
“I’d love to be able to stay at the company because I really enjoy it.”
Wyatt: “I’m going to be joining HSBC as a graduate analyst – focusing on corporate and transaction banking.”
Aké: “I’ve got a job lined up working at Bloomberg in the analytics department. I’ll be looking at their software and helping other companies and clients use it and understand how it works. I’ll also be going into different asset classes and different markets to understand how the data we provide can help our clients.”
Charlotte: “I did a summer internship in London with XPS Group, so I’m going back as a graduate.”
How has studying economics at Bristol prepared you for your next steps?
Aké: “Studying economics at Bristol definitely opens up your analytical skills.
“It gives you a network of people when it comes to interviewing and just general socialising and knowing how to be professional – how to carry yourself in a workplace.
“Most importantly, studying at Bristol opens up your mind to learning and gaining new knowledge, which is very important no matter what job you’re starting.”
Sophie: “It’s helped me a lot with problem-solving and now I can apply that in my current role.”
Charlotte: “Bristol has taught me the importance of having a very good work ethic.
“I’ve developed quantitative and qualitative skills as well as teamworking skills and communication skills, which helped me progress through my internship. They will be very valuable to me to progress from being a student to working as well.”
Wyatt: “Economics and finance is a great combination – I learnt about the economic policies and analysis in the world but also combined this with financial markets and financial modelling skills.
“Most important of all, my peers and my mentors encouraged me to be bold, be hungry, be curious and explore the world.”
Renuk: “There are different courses that prepared me. One particularly that stands out is ‘communicating economics’ – that taught us how to take out the jargon from economics and communicate it to normal people who don’t have the background knowledge. That helps prepare you for life.”
What have been some of your favourite things about studying at Bristol?
Wyatt: “First, it’s the friends. The vibe is quite chilled.
“And second, it’s the support, facilities and all of the help I’ve received from the faculty – from the school, from peers and all of the teaching staff here.”
Renuk: “Studying economics was good because it focused on more than the subject. We got a lot of case studies, a lot of specialists from the field talked to us. We had interviews with heads of big institutions that focus on economic research and they were interesting.
“We also focus a lot on the balance in the university – doing extracurriculars. That really provides a holistic university experience.”
Sophie: “I was part of the dance society, which I loved. I did the dance show this year, which was so much fun. I wish that I got involved in more societies like the economics society – I didn’t join until my last year.
“My favourite module was probably ‘gender and race’ because I got to apply economics to a topic that I’m really interested in.”
Aké: “My favourite topic was definitely ‘gender, race and identity’. It was so interesting. It was so easy to go classes and show up because the content made economics more applied to the real world – how economics goes hand-in-hand with what we’re currently seeing around us.”
Charlotte: “What I’m most proud of is the friendships and the connections I’ve built during my three years here, as well how I’ve done academically. Because BSc Economics is quite a tough course and I’m proud of how I got here in the end – I graduated.”
What will you miss the most about being at Bristol?
Sophie: “I love the city and I miss living with my friends – just seeing them every day.”
Wyatt: “The friends and staff I’ve met during the three years – I’ve made a lot of memorable connections here.
“And definitely the vibe – the school life in a Bristol. Also, the societies and the events provided by the University of Bristol.”
Charlotte: “The people. I’m going to miss my course mates because we’re all going in our different paths, different directions.
“I’m going to miss the city as well. Bristol is a wonderful place to start off, especially if you’re coming from a different country. It’s small, it’s easy to go about. It’s not as hectic as London.”
What advice would you give future students?
Charlotte: “Investing the effort into building that solid foundation of first year helps you prepare for a second and third year.
“And go for as many office hours as possible because your lecturers want you to succeed and they’re always there to try to help you.”
Sophie: “Make the most of the one-to-ones that you can book, because I probably didn’t make the most of it and they actually are really helpful – the lecturer gives you loads of information.”
Aké: “Make use of the extracurriculars, meet people in your course, outside your course. That will make the degree a hundred times easier because having a network to support you and to study with you and have fun with you is the best part of the entire journey.”
Renuk: “I definitely recommend doing more than your studies – going and exploring, participating in a lot of clubs and societies. There are loads of sports to do here, loads of different clubs – career clubs, cultural clubs. You can learn whatever you want.”
Wyatt: “Expose yourself to the opportunities as much as you can and get full use of any facilities and resources the university has provided.”
