The economic research and career development of graduate students

On May 8 2017, Dr. Zhang was invited to give a lecture on the economic research and career development of graduate students. Dr. Zhang is a council member of China Chef Economist Forum and the Chinese chief economist of Deutsche Bank.

The Major Careers

To start with, Dr. Zhang briefly talked about potential major career paths which graduates could follow. The first example was to do an academic research, which requires passion and persistence. The second one, the most desired and popular one, is to enter financial institutions, where economic researches are rapidly developing. Another choice is to join international organizations such as IMF and UN.

How to Choose a Career

Dr. Zhang suggests that students start to consider their choices and to prepare as early as possible. For example, it is advised to closely keep the market condition in sight and career information, and to be prepared and equipped with corresponding skills. Students should focus on long-term benefits.

According to Dr. Zhang, the skills that financial institutions put special emphasis on include communication skills, teamwork skills, self-learning skills, computer skills, and most important of all, innovation capacity.

Relationship Between Economic Research and Career Development

Dr. Zhang pointed out that studying economics can help cultivate the understanding of the market and personal growth of innovation capacity. Dr. Zhang also described that a good research should contain an innovative idea, and the solution (approach) to an important problem. Furthermore, a good research should be easy for the public to understand.

Dr. Zhang is leading his team, who is conducting a project about the price behavior of the consumer market. If interested, students can consult the SME Career Development Centre for further details.