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INTERVIEWS
WITH ECONOMISTS
BRENDAN SPROULES
Brendan
Sproules
completed a Bachelor of Business (Economics & Finance) at
RMIT University in 1997, and completed a Bachelor of Commerce
(Honours) majoring in Finance at the University of Melbourne in
1998. He has worked as a financial planner for GIO Personal Investment
Services and as a Research Assistant in the School of Economics
& Finance at RMIT. He tutored in both macroeconomics and business
finance at RMIT and the University of Melbourne while completing
his Bachelor of Commerce. Currently he works as an analyst with
National Australia Bank Investments & Advisory.
You have
just completed your studies; how do you think they have prepared
you for the workforce?
Studying economics
at university provides you with the basic foundations of business.
It is for this reason that such a wide range of employers actively
seek economics graduates to fill a variety of positions. On this
level, my economics degree prepared me for a range of possible
career paths from which to choose. However, the most valuable
experience my studies provided was the ability to analyse a variety
of problems. Although the problems I encounter in the workforce
are often not directly related to my studies in economics and
finance, the skills these disciplines taught me are my most valuable
commodity.
Throughout
your studies did you face any competing demands on your time?
While at university,
I spent five years of my life juggling study with an active social
life, sporting activities and numerous part-time jobs. All of
these commitments placed a heavy burden upon my time. University
students quickly learn that time is their most important resource.
Those who survive know that priorities have to be established
in order to satisfy all these demands, and the successful allocation
of this scarce resource is the key to success.
How did
you apply the principles of economics during your studies?
Besides successfully
allocating time to all my commitments, there are many examples
where I applied the principles of economics during my studies.
One of the most important was when I was preparing for the end
of semester exam period. I found that if I applied the principles
of diminishing marginal returns to determine which subjects to
concentrate my time upon, I was able to achieve better overall
results. By identifying key areas of deficiency I was able to
concentrate my effort and eliminate stress.
What choices
have you had to make and how did economics help in making these
choices?
With any commerce
degree, each university offers a wide variety of subjects. I concentrated
my subject selection on the economics and finance field. This
allowed me to focus on only one or two general subject areas,
enhancing my ability to achieve good results. In economics, this
is equivalent to a firm's application of economies of scale –
the economic concept that helped me make my important subject
choices.
What advice,
if any, do you have for current students studying economics?
Many students
find the theories and models in economics very abstract and often
uninteresting. My advice to any student is that studying economies
is not about how well you know a variety of these theories and
models. The real value of economics is being able to apply the
skills you have learnt to a real-life problem to determine a solution.
Often these skills are not apparent, but they are being developed
constantly as you learn key theories and build key models.
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