And now ... the end is near ... Sayonara Ontario Ministry of Finance ..
And now comes the end of my short stay here at the Ontario Ministry of Finance. It has been an interesting term, sometimes extremely boring and frustrating, and sometimes educational. In all honesty, I wish it had been a little more challenging. The end really made me think about what concrete skills an economist or a person in finance must have. There seems to be no defined concrete skill set that an economist mush have, unlike other workers in such fields as construction, computer science, engineering and accounting. Economics is so broad that it's confusing as to what one should really know. Right now, I am convinced that an economist must be proficient in the following:
1. Econometrics
2. Financial statement analysis
3. Accounting
4. Forecasting
5. Capital budgeting
6. Research
These are the things I believe are essential to being a competent economist. Economics is so broad that one has to have broad skills.
Anyways, I would like to thank everyone I worked with at the Current Analysis Unit of the Economic and Revenue Forecasting and Analysis Branch (formerly Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Branch). I would like to especially thank my immediate supervisor Wendy Fletcher (416-325-6250), my manager David West (416-325-0778), and all my other coworkers in the unit: Irene Nowakowski, Jacques Marcil, Harvey Bradley, Judy Rodegard and Elsa Wong. They have all been very accomodating during my stay.
Although at first I wanted to come back, I have decided not to for a number of reasons. First, I have accomplished the goal of landing a job here at the Ministry of Finance. Although it was accomplished, I feel that what I learned and the tasks that I undertook were quite limited. Maybe this is partly because I did not interact too much with different staff here, who are experts in different fields. However, the job description never mentioned this as a major requirement, and if the tasks and responsibilities one has in the job does not fulfill these needs, then maybe it is inadequate from a professional and academic standpoint. The second reason why I don't really want to come back is because to return to the position, I would have to go through the interview process once again with the same employer. Although I have no doubt that the preference for selection will be on me, I feel that it is unfair that I would have to be intervierwed again. They know my skills and my capabilities and they know the quality of my work. If they really want me to come back, they would just say so without all the extra hullabaloo. For the amount of skills requierd to perform the job, I feel that it is not worth going through the same thing. I believe that I have demonstrated my ability to do the job, and I don't want to unnecessarily "prove" this capability again through an interview which only requires excellence in linguistic expressionism to turn the tide in favor of a particular candidate. If they want to interview others aside from myself, then that simply means that they are indifferent to having me back. Therefore, I am indifferent also to being back and would rather try for something that I feel will help me more in the future. Hopefully, I am able to land a position that will get my feet wet in the private/corporate world which I believe will give me opportunities to apply what I have learned in school and would give me new insights, revelations and skills that will help me develop personally and professionally. This is the next goal, and I hope that I am able to accomplish it.
1. Econometrics
2. Financial statement analysis
3. Accounting
4. Forecasting
5. Capital budgeting
6. Research
These are the things I believe are essential to being a competent economist. Economics is so broad that one has to have broad skills.
Anyways, I would like to thank everyone I worked with at the Current Analysis Unit of the Economic and Revenue Forecasting and Analysis Branch (formerly Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy Branch). I would like to especially thank my immediate supervisor Wendy Fletcher (416-325-6250), my manager David West (416-325-0778), and all my other coworkers in the unit: Irene Nowakowski, Jacques Marcil, Harvey Bradley, Judy Rodegard and Elsa Wong. They have all been very accomodating during my stay.
Although at first I wanted to come back, I have decided not to for a number of reasons. First, I have accomplished the goal of landing a job here at the Ministry of Finance. Although it was accomplished, I feel that what I learned and the tasks that I undertook were quite limited. Maybe this is partly because I did not interact too much with different staff here, who are experts in different fields. However, the job description never mentioned this as a major requirement, and if the tasks and responsibilities one has in the job does not fulfill these needs, then maybe it is inadequate from a professional and academic standpoint. The second reason why I don't really want to come back is because to return to the position, I would have to go through the interview process once again with the same employer. Although I have no doubt that the preference for selection will be on me, I feel that it is unfair that I would have to be intervierwed again. They know my skills and my capabilities and they know the quality of my work. If they really want me to come back, they would just say so without all the extra hullabaloo. For the amount of skills requierd to perform the job, I feel that it is not worth going through the same thing. I believe that I have demonstrated my ability to do the job, and I don't want to unnecessarily "prove" this capability again through an interview which only requires excellence in linguistic expressionism to turn the tide in favor of a particular candidate. If they want to interview others aside from myself, then that simply means that they are indifferent to having me back. Therefore, I am indifferent also to being back and would rather try for something that I feel will help me more in the future. Hopefully, I am able to land a position that will get my feet wet in the private/corporate world which I believe will give me opportunities to apply what I have learned in school and would give me new insights, revelations and skills that will help me develop personally and professionally. This is the next goal, and I hope that I am able to accomplish it.
