• Bachelor’s degree: University of Bath – BSc (Hons) Economics with Placement Year
• Capital Economics Graduate Scheme: September 2021 – Present

Why did you apply to join the Capital Economics graduate scheme?

I knew that I wanted a career with a balance of macroeconomics and markets, having spent my placement year working in a buy-side economics/multi-asset team. Capital Economics came to my attention during that year because of how regularly they were quoted in the media; and after digging into their work more, I was impressed by the quality of their macro research and the way they translated that into financial market views. The fact that the Graduate Scheme offered a sponsored master’s degree, ongoing internal training, and the opportunity to rotate across teams within the company sealed the deal for me.

What have you worked on while on the graduate scheme?

My first six-month rotation was on our Emerging Europe Economics service, where a currency crisis in Turkey and the tragic outbreak of war in Ukraine certainly made life interesting. I then joined the Markets service, where I have stayed permanently. In this role, I help translate our macroeconomic forecasts into views on equities, bonds, and currencies.

What is the most rewarding or surprising aspect of your role at Capital Economics?

The main surprise for me was the responsibility given to graduates right from the start. We are encouraged to propose our own ideas and publish our own research within weeks of joining, rather than doing grunt work for more senior colleagues – indeed, 18 months in and nobody has asked me to put together a PowerPoint deck yet…

What has been your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge early on was having the confidence to put my views out there for clients to read and judge. But that confidence naturally grew as my understanding of the subject matter developed: and thanks to the various internal training programs and the willingness of colleagues to share their expertise, that learning curve was pretty quick.