In their final year, with convocation on the horizon, many undergraduates talk about coming back to university for a graduate degree after they work for a few years and put some money in their pockets. New grad LJ Valencia now knows exactly what it’s like to see that plan through. A proud Edmontonian, Valencia came to UofT to complete his MA in September of 2023 after working for three years upon his graduation from the University of Alberta with a degree in economics and political science. Torn between thoughts of joining the job market and graduate studies, he decided to take some time and consider his options.

“I actually graduated in 2020 into a job market that was really tough,” Valencia remembered. I was lucky, though. First, I worked at Western Economic Diversification Canada. We worked on projects to inform policy direction and federal investments to diversify Western Canada’s economy. Later, I moved to the Bank of Canada where I was a research assistant for two years, working in a software project and the short-term Real GDP forecasting team.” [Read more…]