Monday, February 27, 2006
Windfall
I have never had tremendous luck. Note that this isn't the same thing as having bad luck - I think I've been fairly luck-neutral throughout my life. My gains have either been based on my relative position in life (starting from birth) or have been due to my effort and those around me.
There have been two moments in my life where I feel like a little bit of luck made the difference and, coupled with a decent amount of effort, my life has been subject to a massive windfall. The first came last January with my admission to Oxford. I had been accepted by some good schools, NC State, UCL, and University Manchester, but none as prestigious and revered as an Oxbridge school. While my application did accurately reflect my knowledge and desire to undertake a graduate course in development economics, I'm sure there were 10 identical applications from IV league schools. The fact that the three other Americans in my course, all men, are from Harvard, Stanford, and Stanford furthers this point. I must admit I started off a little insecure about my relatively 'humble' background, although my recent gains have done much to alleviate the insecurity.
The second windfall came just a few days ago. I, along with 9 of my course mates, (2 of them my close friends) applied for an Overseas Development Institute Fellowship. The ODI Fellowship program takes young, relatively experienced economists, and assigns them to jobs with governments in developing countries. Positions vary from Central bank, finance ministry, health and agriculture, and trade jobs. Most of the countries are located in both west and south-east Africa, all sub-Saharan. There are a few jobs in Guyana (South America) and the rest are in Pacific countries such as Fiji.
The ODI fellowship, lasting for two years, is considered the perfect start to a career in development. For the inexperienced, it gives you an unrivalled amount of immersion, as you become a civil servant of your host government, not a tool of a NGO or another government. Alumni of the ODI fellowship often end up working for the UK's Department for International Development, the UN, the World Bank, or academia/research groups. Let's just say, none of them are sleeping under cardboard boxes.
The selection process came in two stages: first an online application, short listed candidates would be invited for an interview for final selection. In early February, I discovered that five of my course mates had been selected for an interview, and I had been put on the waiting list, only to receive an interview if someone else declined to attend theirs.
This is the point where luck played a role, enough people declined an interview to give me a slot on the first day of the interview week, Monday, the 20th of February. I was going before my friends, so I wouldn't have a good idea of what to expect. I went to London for the face-to-face interview and a group exercise with the other candidates. The latter was a bit of a joke - we were faced with a hypothetical situation in our Fellowship post, and the task had more to due with management and people skills than economics. We were observed by two ODI members as we discussed the situation in a friendly matter and came to agreement on almost every point.
I then had to wait about an hour for my interview - meeting the various candidates that came out of their face-to-face interview was not easy as most of them were severely intimidated by the kinds of questions being asked by the four-person panel. I got nervous. It was my turn to go in. I'll spare you further details, but I had a good feeling during the interview; I showed them I was an enthusiastic, careful thinker. What did I have to lose? I was already at the bottom of the list anyway.
The week passed as my friends were also interviewed - the process ended on Thursday, and we all got ready to wait for the tentative deadline of Wednesday, when they would reveal to us who made the cut and who didn't.
Suddenly, on Friday, all six of us received calls with firm offers. I'm going. I've been restless since last year, a feeling that I'm afraid study here hasn't diminished. Now I'm finally going. I won't know where or what until June, but I’m going. Two years - where will it be? Sierra Leone? Mozambique? Malawi? Solomon Islands? Rwanda? I'll be considered the expert wherever I go, and my salary will be part of the annual aid figures coming out of the UK. Wherever it's going to be, it'll be hot, I'm glad I grew up in South Carolina
There have been two moments in my life where I feel like a little bit of luck made the difference and, coupled with a decent amount of effort, my life has been subject to a massive windfall. The first came last January with my admission to Oxford. I had been accepted by some good schools, NC State, UCL, and University Manchester, but none as prestigious and revered as an Oxbridge school. While my application did accurately reflect my knowledge and desire to undertake a graduate course in development economics, I'm sure there were 10 identical applications from IV league schools. The fact that the three other Americans in my course, all men, are from Harvard, Stanford, and Stanford furthers this point. I must admit I started off a little insecure about my relatively 'humble' background, although my recent gains have done much to alleviate the insecurity.
The second windfall came just a few days ago. I, along with 9 of my course mates, (2 of them my close friends) applied for an Overseas Development Institute Fellowship. The ODI Fellowship program takes young, relatively experienced economists, and assigns them to jobs with governments in developing countries. Positions vary from Central bank, finance ministry, health and agriculture, and trade jobs. Most of the countries are located in both west and south-east Africa, all sub-Saharan. There are a few jobs in Guyana (South America) and the rest are in Pacific countries such as Fiji.
The ODI fellowship, lasting for two years, is considered the perfect start to a career in development. For the inexperienced, it gives you an unrivalled amount of immersion, as you become a civil servant of your host government, not a tool of a NGO or another government. Alumni of the ODI fellowship often end up working for the UK's Department for International Development, the UN, the World Bank, or academia/research groups. Let's just say, none of them are sleeping under cardboard boxes.
The selection process came in two stages: first an online application, short listed candidates would be invited for an interview for final selection. In early February, I discovered that five of my course mates had been selected for an interview, and I had been put on the waiting list, only to receive an interview if someone else declined to attend theirs.
This is the point where luck played a role, enough people declined an interview to give me a slot on the first day of the interview week, Monday, the 20th of February. I was going before my friends, so I wouldn't have a good idea of what to expect. I went to London for the face-to-face interview and a group exercise with the other candidates. The latter was a bit of a joke - we were faced with a hypothetical situation in our Fellowship post, and the task had more to due with management and people skills than economics. We were observed by two ODI members as we discussed the situation in a friendly matter and came to agreement on almost every point.
I then had to wait about an hour for my interview - meeting the various candidates that came out of their face-to-face interview was not easy as most of them were severely intimidated by the kinds of questions being asked by the four-person panel. I got nervous. It was my turn to go in. I'll spare you further details, but I had a good feeling during the interview; I showed them I was an enthusiastic, careful thinker. What did I have to lose? I was already at the bottom of the list anyway.
The week passed as my friends were also interviewed - the process ended on Thursday, and we all got ready to wait for the tentative deadline of Wednesday, when they would reveal to us who made the cut and who didn't.
Suddenly, on Friday, all six of us received calls with firm offers. I'm going. I've been restless since last year, a feeling that I'm afraid study here hasn't diminished. Now I'm finally going. I won't know where or what until June, but I’m going. Two years - where will it be? Sierra Leone? Mozambique? Malawi? Solomon Islands? Rwanda? I'll be considered the expert wherever I go, and my salary will be part of the annual aid figures coming out of the UK. Wherever it's going to be, it'll be hot, I'm glad I grew up in South Carolina
