Diana Manzi (BA’15) says she found her passion for economics shortly after the Great Recession of 2007. She started questioning how the economy functioned, and wanted answers. The UBC alumna now works as an economic consultant for Columbia Pacific Consulting, a Vancouver consulting firm that deals with specific economic and legal matters.
It’s a role Manzi (BA’15) considers to be a part of a niche industry within labour economics.
“We consult on mostly matters such as injury or medical malpractice cases and estimate income loss or present value cost of various items,” she said. “So, it includes a lot of labour economics and business evaluation – something that only three or four companies do within B.C.”
While her day-to-day routine involves making calculations on Excel and writing up confidential reports based on those calculations, Manzi’s favourite part includes cases involving pension funds.
“I love dealing with the different ways that pensions can be set up,” said Mani. “I feel like I dive right into their lives and get to know about people through their case files.”
Manzi, who also pursued a master’s degree at Queen’s, partially credits her time at the VSE for preparing her for the work she carries out each day.
“Since I deal with a lot of numbers at work, learning how to navigate heaps of Excel data in school has been a huge asset,” she said.
She also recommends current and future students to take the co-op program, as it helped her make a smooth transition to her workplace.
“You get credits to work, start making an income, and gain tons of experience,” said Manzi. “Same goes for classes, try classes that you think you might not like because you won’t really know until you actually try it.”
“And make lots of friends, because they will be a part of your network for the rest of your life.”
