How did you get the job?
I decided to work full time for a year in between my bachelor and master's degree The job involved a lot of manual data processing, something that I considered very relevant for my further studies. I was offered permanent employment after working part-time at Eiendomsverdi for a few years.
Eiendomsverdi allows me to analyze exciting data and is a dynamic company with lots of knowledgeable people. This is the perfect place for a recently graduated economist.
What do you think were the most important factors for being offered the job?
They were looking for someone with a background in economics. My employer emphasized that I had shown initiative, taken responsibility for my tasks and made a good impression in external meetings.
What are your tasks in your current job?
We are a relatively small company, so the work is very varied. I mainly analyze the housing market, either on behalf of external clients or for internal use in the company. For example, we make the monthly statistics for Real Estate Norway (Eiendom Norge).
I also meet with customers and show them how they can use our numbers as a basis for their decisions and in their work.
How is the knowledge you acquired through studying economics relevant to your current job?
I work extensively with statistics, so the most important knowledge has been what I learned from the methodological courses.
Small theorems I learnt during my studies, that I thought I would never encounter again, can suddenly become relevant.
In addition to this, I find the ability to acquire and sort information that I learned through studying economics a large benefit.
Do you have any career advice for new students?
I have always found it important to have a clear purpose with how you spend your time. If you want to become a researcher, you should spend the majority of your time studying.
If you want a job outside academia, it is just as important to spend time off campus.
For example, I spent six months working for the Norwegian embassy in Bucharest, where I wrote reports on economic and political developments in Romania and Moldova. An experience like that presents nicely on a CV, but above all else gives you a better understanding of how to apply the things we learn in university.
(The interview was originally conducted in Norwegian, and has been translated to English).