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Careers in Econometrics & Business Statistics

Grant Saligari

Bachelor of Economics (Hons) - 1987
Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics, 1997

Management consultant with an Australian-owned specialist consulting company

Grant Saligari actually started his life at university studying engineering, but found that he was not that interested in the discipline. Retaining an interest in mathematics, Grant looked for an opportunity to combine this with an interest in economics and commerce and thus chose econometrics.

The company for which Grant works is involved mainly in the area of manufacturing operations, covering such areas as forecasting, inventory control and scheduling. "I was recruited to the company as a business analyst for which the main requirement was good numerical and analytical skills. The content of the Econometrics course provided a good basis for a curriculum vitae with this emphasis.

My current position involves project management and product development. As my projects involve the implementation of forecasting, inventory control and scheduling systems they provide a direct application of many aspects of econometrics. In my product development role I manage the design and development of our forecasting and inventory control software.

In my experience numerical and analytical skills are highly sought after in business."

Amanda Kennedy

Bachelor of Economics (Hons) - completed 1993

Quantitative Analyst, NatWest Markets, London

"It seems like a long time since I finished my Honours degree in Econometrics at Monash in 1993. Since then I've spent 9 months in Group Treasury at National Australia Bank and a year at the University of Cambridge doing more study - this time a Masters in Finance, again including econometrics. I am now in London working at NatWest Markets in Asset Securitisation.
The position at NAB came about after a couple of months of summer work pre-Honours year which was organised through the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics. I worked in the Group Treasury R & D team applying econometrics to treasury products.
I left there to further my studies, this time in Cambridge. I cannot deny that the architecture is significantly prettier than Monash's 1960s buildings. Nevertheless, despite being a long way from home it was pleasing to discover that the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash was well known. Their reputation and research spreads as far as Cambridge, where it is very well regarded by others in the field.

After Cambridge, the next logical move was down to ‘the City' and I now work at NatWest Markets, the investment banking arm of a large UK bank. I work in a team putting together securitisation deals. While I am not involved in econometric work directly here, a large part of my job involves negotiations with rating agencies, in which knowledge of statistics is important. A numerate background and the understanding of statistical methods not only helps on a CV when looking for a job in banking, it proves useful throughout work."

Tom Wilson

Bachelor of Economics (Hons) - completed 1993

Research Analyst, SBC Warburg, Melbourne

Tom Wilson enjoyed studying economics, while his academic strength was in mathematics. Econometrics provided the opportunity for him to combine these two areas. Tom gained his position as Research Analyst in the stockbroking industry after completing his Honours degree from the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash. Tom's position involves analysing and evaluating companies as investments and recommending them (or not) to investors on the basis of that analysis.

"The computing skills developed during my degree are invaluable in my job. I use my knowledge of sampling and trend analysis in my job... Econometrics taught me to think clearly and logically and to organise my thoughts.
In my job having an understanding of business statistics is vital. Often numbers are presented in many situations (both) in and outside work which some people accept at face value, without fully understanding how they were generated. I find it is important to understand the strength or weakness of certain statistical techniques, whether I am generating numbers myself or reading other people's work."

Courses and Units

Courses in Econometrics/Business Statistics

In recognition of its integral role in a business career, all degrees in the Faculty of Business and Economics include a compulsory Business Statistics component.

Students who wish to undertake further studies in Econometrics and Business Statistics beyond this level can do so at any of the campuses, with a full major being available at both Clayton and Caulfield.

On the Caulfield campus the Econometrics major, consisting of two or more second year units and at least three third year units, can be undertaken in the Bachelor Business (generic) and Bachelor of Business (specialised tagged) degrees.

On the Clayton campus students can take up to six econometrics units in both the second and third years of their degrees. The Econometrics and Business Statistics major can be undertaken in both the Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Economics.

These offerings represent by far the largest program of subjects in Business Statistics and Econometrics in Australia.

Units available in Econometrics and Business Statistics

"In my experience numerical and analytical skills are highly sought after in business."

Bachelor of Commerce or Bachelor of Economics (Clayton)

First Year: Business and Economic Statistics; Data Modelling and Computing
Second Year: Introductory Econometrics; Mathematics for Economics and Business; Probability and Statistical Inference for Economics and Business; Actuarial Statistics; Applied Forecasting Methods for Business and Economics; Business Modelling Methods; Applied Business Modelling; Marketing Research Analysis
Third Year: Principles of Econometrics; Applied Econometrics; Financial Econometrics; Time Series Analysis for Business and Economics; Modelling in Finance and Insurance; Survey Data Analysis; Business Simulation
Fourth Year (Honours): Econometric Theory; Applied Econometrics 2; Financial Econometrics 2; Microeconometrics; Quantitative Economic Policy; Optimization for Management; Special Topics in Econometrics; Issues Seminar

Bachelor of Business (Caulfield)

First Year: Business Statistics
Second Year: Business Data Modelling; Data Analysis in Business; Business Modelling; Quantitative Methods For Risk Analysis; Mathematics For Business
Third Year: Quantitative Business Analysis; Quantitative Methods for Financial Markets; Optimisation for Managers; Survey Data Analysis; Business Forecasting; Quantitative Models for Business Research

The well trained business statistician also has knowledge of accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing and business law. The Bachelor of Commerce and the Bachelor of Economics are ideally structured to encourage this type of training. The new double degree Bachelor of Commerce/Bachelor of Economics allows joint majors in Business Statistics and either accounting and finance, economics, or management. Such joint majors can give graduates a great advantage in the job market.

Students enrolled in any of the Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Economics or Bachelor of Commerce degrees taught at Monash have the flexibility to change their major discipline after their first year of study. The above degrees also provide freedom to pursue studies in other areas - languages, computing, the social sciences, sciences, mathematics, law, etc - either as part of these degrees or in double degrees.

Students who perform well in the first three years of their degree are invited to do an honours year, further sharpening their quantitative skills and enhancing their career opportunities.

"A numerate background and the understanding of statistical methods not only helps on a CV when looking for a job in banking, it proves useful throughout work."

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