Charlotta Zienau

 When graduating from the MFE program, working in everything from investment banks, management consultancies or multinationals to pursuing pure economics jobs in economic consultancies, development banks or institutions such as the ECB become possible options 

Before joining HEC Paris, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics with a specialization in economics at Jönköping International Business School in Sweden. During this time, I also did an exchange semester in New Zealand and an internship in Brussels, working in the public sector with the EU.

A first class education

Besides being one of the top universities in Europe with a strong reputation, the MFE program at HEC offers a particularly unique education, where economics is taught alongside finance and strategy and where economic theory is combined with an applied approach. What I mean by this is that the topics that are discussed are always placed in a context where theory is related to real-life situations, and this has really provided me with a deeper understanding of economics’ role within society and has helped me to prepare for my future working life.

Adding another dimension to teaching

One of the things that I have come to appreciate most during the program is the close interaction with professionals, both through seminars and courses, as it has given me an insight into a wide range of industries where an education like mine is desirable. Ever since my first course in economics, I knew that this was what I wanted to study, but it was not until I started my education at HEC that I truly discovered all the career-options possible. When graduating from the MFE program, working in everything from investment banks, management consultancies or multinationals to pursuing pure economics jobs in economic consultancies, development banks or institutions such as the ECB become possible options. As an example, one of my personal favorites was a course called “Country and Sovereign Risk Analysis”, where we got a unique insight into the work of rating agencies. Another feature of HEC Paris that I very much enjoy is the diversity that is created when all the students come from different backgrounds, both geographically as well as prior studies. Apart from creating a network of friends from all over the world, this enhances discussions and group work as everyone has different experiences and approaches to problems.  

Setting you up for life

After graduation, I am very excited to be going to work as an analyst for an economic consultancy, which is part of an industry where economics is used to help companies solve real-life problems. The unit that I will be a part of specializes in transfer pricing and IP valuation. The purpose of transfer pricing is to help multinational companies price internal transactions between their entities in different countries, and IP valuation refers to pricing intangible assets such as patents. Hence why this is at the core of economics and the MFE program curriculum