News story: Our Economists talking about the exciting opportunities in the Government Economic Service

For a flavour of what you can do as an government economist , check out these great mini career stories here:

I’m currently in my first role at the Department for Transport working on rail demand forecasting. This is a technical post which requires using excel and specialist rail software and I have attended training courses to help develop my skills. What I like about the job is the constant learning and development opportunities and that every day presents unique challenges. The thing I enjoy most about my career in the GES is that I am given a lot of responsibility in my job and my colleagues always take my opinion into account. I also get the opportunity to help out others with their work, getting exposure to different areas that are outside my remit. I will be rotating in October and my aim is to move department so that I can gain more experience of different working environments and policy areas. In the long term I am interested in the opportunity to take a year out and study for a Masters, and also doing a secondment at a consultancy firm.

Christopher Page

What attracted you to the GES?

In my final year of university, I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do as a career. Despite a brief belief that I, like my peers, wanted to be an investment banker, I realised I wanted to do something that served the wider British public rather than the shareholders of a company. My tutor pointed me in the direction of the GES Fast Stream, the Bank of England, think tanks, and charities. I did research into the various sectors and decided that the GES Fast Stream was my preferred choice. It offered me the opportunity to apply everything I learned in my economics degree to everyday policy problems/solutions. I was impressed by the variety of work that was on offer, the emphasis put on development, and the level of responsibility that Fast Streamers were given.

What’s the best part about working as a government economist?

I think the best part of working as a government economist is also the most daunting, which is the level of responsibility Fast Streamers are given. In my first post as an economist, I led on the economic assessment of £500m worth of government capital spending, with my line manager providing support if I needed it. I was also entrusted to lead on my teams contribution to Spending Review 15, while other colleagues were on leave. While I was initially anxious about the level of responsibility given, I found the chance to be the lead economist on these projects helped develop my analytical and soft skills.