Economics Alumni

Tell us about your current position.

I am an associate at Cloudmed Revenue Intelligence Solutions. I work with insurance companies to recover revenue for hospital clients by examining contract language and translating it into data modeling to facilitate proper pricing. 

How did you become interested in economics?

It happened quite organically. I came to Georgia Southern undecided, but I thought the business school would be a good place to start. My first semester I was enrolled in macroeconomics with Prof. Jeff Schiman. I really enjoyed the class and so I enrolled in another economics class the following semester, eventually declaring it my major. 

What was one aspect of Georgia Southern that helped you find your career interest or has been important to your career? 

The faculty in the economics department at Georgia Southern played such a big role in my career. Going to office hours allowed me to build connections with professors, who pushed me to aim big in my goals. Without them, I would have never even applied to graduate school. Because of them, I graduated from one of the top graduate programs in the nation for public health. 

What was your favorite course in economics?

Applied Econometrics. This was by far the most challenging course I took at Georgia Southern and it paid off. The skills I learned from hours spent in the computer lab helped me during the interview for the job I have now. 

What advice would you give to current students about careers in economics?  

Think broadly! An economics degree is highly valuable in many fields, not just in the world of business. I have met lawyers, restaurant owners, teachers, and doctors who hold degrees in economics. 

Tell us about your current position.

I am currently an associate consultant within Ernst & Young’s Economic Development Advisory Services Practice. We work with governments, economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, educational institutions, and workforce agencies. Our services include strategic planning, competitive assessments, benchmarking, economic equity strategies, global market insights and innovative custom solutions. We help communities create and deploy economic development strategies and practical tools to achieve higher-performing economies that generate opportunities for all their residents. In my specific role I have the opportunity to work in many facets of economic development strategic planning including project coordination, stakeholder engagement, research, strategy drafting and site visits. By far, my favorite part of my role is being able to help communities through challenges and see them thrive when and after implementing strategies.

How did you become interested in economics?

In high school, I participated in the dual enrollment program and took my first economics class. I was immediately intrigued with how practical and applicable it was to life and everyday issues. Once I really thought about what I wanted to do for my career, I realized economics was at the center of it all. I have a passion for helping residents, businesses and communities thrive and at the center of it all is a thriving economy.

What was one aspect of Georgia Southern that helped you find your career interest or has been important to your career?

I took an economic development class at Georgia Southern that really sealed the deal. In addition to that, the connections I made with professors and classmates are valuable to this day and will continue to be throughout my professional career.

What was your favorite course in economics?

Econometrics and Health Economics: I liked these courses for the same reason, they both required a lot of independent research on topics of your choice which summed up to a final paper and presentation. I enjoyed courses where I could see the fruits of my labor at the end. I am also still using data analysis tools I learned in these courses in my career today.

What advice would you give to current students about careers in economics? 

There are so many career paths within economics, use internships as an opportunity to see what you like.  If you are deciding between economic development and economic forecasting for example, get an internship in both. It is a great opportunity to try out different positions within a career path without the commitment of a full-time role.

Tell us about your current position.

I’m a Machine Learning specialist with Google Cloud, focusing on the space where machine learning intersects with the challenges facing society and businesses today. I help retail and CPG customers use Google’s AI services to innovate, optimize, and scale their business applications in the cloud. I use their feedback and use cases to prioritize new features in our product roadmaps.

How did you become interested in economics?

I was particularly interested in learning how organizations and individuals make decisions with limited resources. I knew this would be a useful foundation I could apply to any field or discipline.

What was one aspect of Georgia Southern that helped you find your career interest or has been important to your career?

Understanding cooperative game theory has been very helpful for my career. Shapley values are a fundamental concept in Explainable AI, and at Google they are currently the primary mechanism for attributing the impact of each input on a model’s final prediction. This is incredibly useful for detecting bias in data, promoting fair and responsible AI, debugging large systems, and helping production models adapt to an ever-changing environment.

What was your favorite course in economics?

Applied Econometrics

What advice would you give to current students about careers in economics?  

Learn how to wrangle large amounts of data. The ability to efficiently conduct quantitative analysis is incredibly valuable in any field. 

Tell us about your current position.

I am currently an Associate Analyst at Fitch Ratings. I serve as a credit analyst on the Real Estate and Leisure team, specifically covering Homebuilding and Building Products companies. 

How did you become interested in economics?

My interest in economics stemmed from my interest in politics. Once I was old enough to understand the connection between the two, as well as the connection between economics and everything else in the world, I was fascinated with the field. 

What was one aspect of Georgia Southern that helped you find your career interest or has been important to your career? 

My extracurricular activities from college have played a vital role in my journey to find and establish a career. I think taking the time outside of classes to voluntarily immerse myself in related organizations gave me additional exposure to economics and finance that went beyond the classroom. Also, my extracurricular activities were a huge talking point in my interviews post-college.  

What was your favorite course in economics?  

My favorite course in economics was Applied Econometrics taught by Dr. Jeff Schiman. I think it was one of the first courses where I was immensely challenged and interested. While the course was by far one of my most challenging, it was one where I could easily see where the real-world, post-college value lied.  

What advice would you give to current students about careers in economics? 

I would advise current students to understand and take advantage of the fact that an economics degree is highly applicable and can be useful in many different career paths, so don’t limit yourself! 

Tell us about your current position.

My current position is a L5 Area Manager at Amazon. I actively monitor and allocate resource and inventory flows in my Fulfillment Center. I use my understanding of data on a day-to-day basis to ensure operations are balanced between several inbound departments. 

How did you become interested in economics?

I started out as an Accounting major. Once I graduated with my associates, my hunger for greater, more diverse knowledge combined with encouragement from my professors and family peaked my interest in Economics. My journey to be an Econ Major started when I used to watch Milton Friedman’s lectures on YouTube to gain insight into some economic theory and principles. 

What was one aspect of Georgia Southern that helped you find your career interest or has been important to your career? 

The excellent professors who guided me along my journey. They really pushed me to obtain greater understanding and never faltered on lending a hand. Every professor gave me inspiration in their own way to pursue economics from a standpoint that would benefit my interests and goals.  

What was your favorite course in economics?  

Econometrics. I took it twice. The course gave me the opportunity to learn data analysis and demonstrate my independent research utilizing regression models. It gave me insight into understanding data and seeing a “big picture” while formulating questions on the “why?” and “how?” of economic actions/decisions made over time. I learned to deep dive and become proficient with data-analysis software.  

What advice would you give to current students about careers in economics?   

Economics as a major has the advantage of being applicable anywhere. Pursue knowledge on economic topics that pertain to your career choice and continuously learn about them. Economics is a constant ebb and flow and is always changing, so explore those endless possibilities. Just a little research can spark a lifetime career. 

Tell us about your current position.

I am a finance associate at Tenet Advisors, an exciting new financial start-up company based in Savannah that operates within the family office market. I work to deliver tangible financial reports that incorporate detailed liquidity planning, cash flow analysis, specialized asset analysis, and financial statement creation to allow families to make better informed decisions about their day-to-day activities and plan for the future.

How did you become interested in Economics?

I originally came to the US to study biology, but after a first-year honors economics class with Dr. Jeff Schiman, I became completely engrossed in the world of economics. Mathematics was always a huge interest for me too and many economic principles are underpinned by mathematical calculations and so I found it relatively easy to think through the theories and data presented in class. A combination of logic, theory, and math stimulated my interest in the subject and within the first semester of being at Georgia Southern I reevaluated my choice of major and decided to switch to economics.

What was one aspect of Georgia Southern that helped you find your career interest or has been important to your career?

This is difficult, because there were numerous aspects of GS life that contributed to my development but one of the most important was my extracurricular involvement in activities throughout campus. While on the Men’s soccer team, I was also on the leadership team of both the Eagles Economics Society (EES) and the Southern Investment Association. The EES helped me to network with professionals that had already made a name for themselves within the economic / financial industry. Their insights on how to become successful, best practices at university, and industry knowledge helped me to understand how principles within the classroom could be applied to everyday scenarios within the professional workplace.

What was your favorite course in Economics?

There are two that initially come to the forefront of my mind. The first would be the freshman honors ‘Intro to Macroeconomics’ class that I took. As mentioned above, I enjoyed it enough to change my major as it opened my eyes to the possibilities that studying economics has to offer. Secondly, I would say that my overall favorite class was Applied Econometrics. The skills I learned in that class (from both a theoretical and practical standpoint) pushed me intellectually in ways that no other class at GS was able to do.

What current advice would you give to current students about careers in economics?

First and foremost, economics is EVERYWHERE. Whether you notice it or not, every single aspect of daily life has some element of economics related to it. I mention this because the main piece of advice that I would offer to students is to find an area of economics that you enjoy and use the information learned within the classroom to excel in that chosen area. There is a job for each and every economics student that they will enjoy so be inquisitive, apply yourself in the classroom, network to find that one person that holds the key to open the next door for you, and ask lots of questions to as many people as possible. Finding that first job can be difficult, so make sure you put yourself in the best position to demonstrate your skills and qualities in front of potential employers.