Ibrahim H - Odyssey Mapping

Consultants offer services for a wide range of business
activities — from HR and Marketing to IT and finance (ibid.). This means
consultancy firms are looking for people with various skill sets and
consultancy is not a degree-specific industry. I am still not sure on to which
type of technical knowledge I would like to bring to the table.

Even though there is no specific major that is required
for management consulting, there are some key attributes that all consultancy
firms look for in a candidate. For starters, management consultants need
amazing communication skills to deal with clients. An aptitude for leadership,
creative thinking and team-building are also attractive to consulting
employers.

I am a passionate debater. Through my debating
endeavours, I have learned how to communicate effectively and I feel that is
one of the skills that I do possess. I have yet to demonstrate any significant
leadership skills, however, so that is one area which I need to improve on over
the next four years. I do have experience with, and enjoy, working as part of a
team. Teamwork is essential to the job of a consultant, and I feel I would fit
well in this role.

Management Consulting is an extremely competitive
profession to break into.  Over the
course of university life, I need to strive and maintain stellar grades, engage
in fulfilling extracurriculars, and build a strong network of connections. I
will try to take advantage of the Professional Experience Year (PEY) offered at
UofT to get hands-on experience at one of the big consulting firms.

a Management Consultant Do, Exactly?” *The Guardian*, 30 July 2013. *www.theguardian.com*,
http://www.theguardian.com/careers/what-does-management-consultant-do.

### **Odyssey #2: Software Engineer**

Five years ago, I developed my first computer
application — it was a pretty basic app, but I had a great time developing
it.  Ever since then I have had a passion
for computer science and software engineering. I am particularly drawn to this
field because as a software engineer, you actually get to create something for
others to use.

Over the course of the
next four years, I plan to participate in various hackathons across the
country. Hackathons are two-three day events where software developers come
together to try and generate new ideas. By participating in events like these I
would be able to foster my creativity, critical thinking, teamwork and
problem-solving skills — all of which are essential to being a good software
developer.

I also plan to fully
utilise the Professional Experience Year (PEY) that UofT offers. This would
provide me with invaluable experience of working as a software engineer, and
would help me find a job later on.

Ideally, I would like to
start off my career as a software developer by joining an established company
and learning core practical skills. Eventually, I would want to leave and start
my own venture. I am not sure if I would ever succeed at forming my own start-up,
but I would love to give it a shot!

### **Odyssey #3: Behavioral Economist**

Four years ago, I took
up Accounting as an additional O-Level subject to diversify my otherwise science-oriented
course. I had two months to self-prepare a two-year course. I had no regard for
the syllabus, in fact, I didn’t even know where the line between
Accounting/Business and Economics lay. To me, it was all the same. I learned
from whatever was available—course books, online blogs, and obviously,
KhanAcademy. I learned the basics of bookkeeping and revenue maximisation, and
at the same time, I also learned about scarcity, market forces, and various
economic policies. I realised then, that is where my interest lay.

This
interest motivated me to become part of an economics project, last summer, to
formulate a demand curve by accumulating data from nearby fruit-vendors. Due to
certain time and monetary constraints, we never expected a perfect model.
However, it was quite surprising that our results were not even close to what
economic theory predicted. I realised that day that humans aren’t the rational
beings economic theory makes them out to be. They make very predictable
mistakes because of their use of heuristics, fallacies, and biases. This was
when I was introduced to the field of behavioural economics.

In my third odyssey,
I want to learn more about the interconnections between economics and
psychology. I want to follow in the footsteps of Steven D. Levitt
— a world renowned behavioral economist and the author of the book “Freakonomics”.
Just like Levitt, I also want to study the process by which humans make
decisions; I feel this is a fundamental step in learning how the world works.

I have never carried out hands-on research, but this is something I need
to have experience with. Over the course of the next four years, I will need to
try and form strong relationships with my professors and try and get research
opportunities with them. At the same time, I also need to maintain exceptional
grades to stand a competitive chance at making it into a good graduate school,
so as to be presented with even more research opportunities.

If I choose
to follow this path, my eventual goal would be to conduct research substantive
enough to merit *The Sveriges Riksbank*
Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel*. This is a highly*
unrealistic goal, but they only way I will ever attain anything is if I set
lofty goals for myself!