Morgan Rooney
"One benefit of the economics programme is that all first year modules are uniform across a few different degrees. This means if you’re not sure whether you want to do pure economics, or maybe add in some finance or business, you have time to decide and switch later. This is something I know a lot of people took advantage of."
Course
Economics BSc (Hons)Graduation year
2021What attracted you to choose the University of Surrey and to study your course here?
The variety of modules detailed in the course outline first prompted me to visit for an open day. I was excited to benefit from teaching across the broad spectrum of economics, from industrial organisation, to econometrics, to political economy. On open day, I met several students who all spoke positively about their experiences, and I received sample lectures where I found the lecturers to be knowledgeable, passionate, and engaging. This furthered my excitement to study at Surrey. Additionally, I was looking for a campus-based university, and the Surrey campus is in a great location, being in the centre of greener Guildford, yet still so close to London (which certainly came in handy when interviews came about). Not long after, I applied!
What is your strongest memory of your time at Surrey?
When thinking back to my time at Surrey, I think about the memories I made while there – the time we had a flat BBQ by the lake, the nights in Rubix (or the Marquee in the final year), or all tried to cook a roast dinner together. I also think about graduation day; the mood was so positive with everyone celebrating what they’d accomplished. It was great to get together and talk about what we had planned for the future. The day really highlighted how much we’d all grown and achieved since starting.
What were the best things about your course?
"...the course also provided me with technical software skills relevant for industry like STATA, EViews and MATLAB. Gaining these skills at University has helped me immensely in different jobs."
The course trained me well in both technical and applied economics, which has worked to best equip me for my placement year and life since graduating. What’s more, throughout my time at Surrey, Professor João Santos Silva was a constant source of support and inspiration, even to this day. Since I’ve been at Oxford Economics, he has come to visit, and delivered lectures to the company.
However, thinking back to my time at University itself, my final year stands out. We began to shift away from traditional micro and macroeconomics towards optional modules. I had a huge variety to choose from, allowing me to spend my time developing in areas I was most interested in. One benefit of the economics programme in particular is that all first year modules are uniform across a few different degrees. This means if you’re not sure whether you want to do pure economics, or maybe add in some finance or business, you have time to decide and switch later. This is something I know a lot of people took advantage of.
Finally, the course also provided me with technical software skills relevant for industry like STATA, EViews and MATLAB. Gaining these skills at University has helped me immensely in different jobs.
What do you do now and what do you find most enjoyable about your work?
After graduating from Surrey, I moved to the University of Cambridge to pursue my MPhil in Economics, and I now work as an economist in the Technical and Development Economic Impact Consulting team at Oxford Economics. This puts both my economics and technical skills to constant use, and I enjoy the challenges and diversity of doing different kinds of work for different clients. This diversity of work has allowed me to gain a range of new skills, and learn about different industries across the world. Oxford Economics is also the company where I completed my placement year, whilst still being a student at the University.
How did your time at Surrey help you choose what career to go into?
The opportunity to do a placement year at Surrey is invaluable, I would certainly encourage everybody to take part. Whilst in second year, when applying to placement opportunities, many companies came to visit Surrey to give us a flavour of what they do, and some even conducted their interviews on campus. Placement years are a great way to transition into the world of work whilst still being supported by the University, and will help you become more employable, and narrow-in on what you want to do moving forward.
What is your advice for students aspiring to work in your profession?
There are so many different kinds of jobs or higher education courses available to you with your economics degree. Make yourself aware of the choices you have, (the School of Economics and Careers team helped me a lot here), and then try and gain experience in these areas – you’ll never really know if something is for you unless you try it!
Work experience and good grades will help take you where you want to go, but remember it’s always a balance—there’s value to being a well-rounded person and having other interests.
Finally, do you have any other comments you’d like to offer about your time at Surrey or life after university?
My advice to every student at Surrey would be to try and make the most of everything you possibly can. It’s not everyday in life you’ll have so many, such accessible opportunities to join pretty much any society you can think of—or even start a new one!
Similarly, make the most of your School, they have all largely been where you are now, and typically just want to help you achieve whatever you’re aiming for. I spoke at length to several people in the School of Economics about career and study decisions, and thanks to some great advice, I’m really happy with the choices I have made at, and since Surrey.
