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September 26, 2007

And the beginning of a new one...

So, as promised, I'm here sooner rather than later... to talk about the what's next question.

Well, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do... and contemplated being a hobo, a live-with-parents hobo, an experimental therapy tester, a stand-up comedian, a fixed-income trader, and lots of other things like that. As you can see, there's a clear pattern of similarity... I wanted to do something that was a clean break from economics. So I spent this summer as an economist for a bank's sovereign Emerging Markets desk, writing research on all kinds of things in life. I've had an amazing time learning about emerging markets, and actually managed to use some of the things I've done as an economics student.

Oh wait, wasn't the point to get a clean break from this?

Well, sort of. Come November, I'm going to be taking a clean break, but only physically. I'm moving to a small, non-descript little country in South America called Guyana. Don't know where it is? Go look it up on an atlas! It's right next to Venezuela. Don't know where that is? Then there's no point in you really reading much more of this post.

I will be working as an ODI Fellow for the (Central) Bank of Guyana as a Senior Economist in their research division. I'm not sure exactly which part of their division I'll be working with, but it looks exciting! I can't complain about the posting... given that Guyana is an English speaking, roti eating, cricket loving kind of place. Woohoo!

And now for some quick spiel on the ODI fellowship, in case you're lost in life and need a job:

For those of you thinking about a career in development or in economics, the ODI fellowship is a must on your application list. It's one of the best programmes around... and allows you to work for governments around the world in a technical assistance programme geared towards junior / unexperienced economics students. Most TA programmes require some level of experience, so the ODI Fellowship offers you an excellent way to kick start your career. A lot of ODIs end up going on to the Young Professionals programme at the World Bank / IMF / IADB / ADB etc. Many go on to very successful careers in either the development world, or in private industry.

Anyhoo... this is what's coming up for me next. I will be leaving London for good towards the end of October, after which I stop home in New York for a quick family bonding session, and then it's off to Georgetown on my Guyanese adventure!

More soon!

Vinayak

Posted by vinayak on Sep 26, '07 at 4:51 PM | Permalink

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Comments

Posted by: Em at September 26, 2007 7:05 PM