William Austin

Consulting Analyst, PwC
Master of Business in Economics
Bachelor of Business in Economics and Finance

He has always been interested in business and economics, says William Austin who studied a Bachelor of Business in Economics and Finance, and a Master of Business in Economics, and now works at PwC as a consulting analyst in the finance, economics and analytics team.

“Economics and entrepreneurship specifically interested me in high school. AUT was my first choice university, and I was offered the Des Graydon Memorial Scholarship to study business at AUT. AUT’s open day and the advisors clearly showed me that AUT was the university I wanted to be at, and I was impressed that the Bachelor of Business included three business sustainability courses and practical work experience.”

This proved to be the right choice for him, and after finishing his bachelor’s degree, William decided to stay at AUT a bit longer and return for postgraduate study.

“I was interested in being an economist at that time. Many places – including the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Motu and The Treasury – make it compulsory or strongly encourage postgraduate degrees for those who want to be economists. So I decided to enrol in a Master of Business in Economics.”

Making the most of uni life
For William, the extracurricular activities offered at AUT were among the highlights of his time at university.

“These activities really enriched my experience at AUT because they offer fun and enjoyable ways of learning outside of the classroom. I particularly enjoyed joining clubs like the AUT Economics Society and the AUT Board Game Club, and completing the AUT Edge Award.”

Participating in the Shadow a Leader programme, where students spend a day with an industry leader, was another highpoint for him.

“I’d highly recommend Shadow a Leader. I’ve been on Shadow a Leader twice and enjoyed both times I went. The first time I went to PwC and last year I shadowed Nick Hill, the CEO of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited. Nick offered a lot of insights into how the government and council work, general career tips and information on Auckland’s economic development. I learned a lot from the experience.”

Highly recommended
William says he wouldn’t hesitate to recommend AUT’s business programmes to other students.

“I’d recommend AUT for several reasons. The support from the lecturers had been great in my experience, and I enjoyed the ethics and sustainability components of the Bachelor of Business degree. The class sizes are generally smaller than at other universities and I like that AUT is constantly looking at ways to further improve its degrees.”

The support and opportunities available to students are also reasons he’d recommend studying at AUT.

“AUT offers its students a wide range of support, from scholarship opportunities to the student association AUTSA. There are also lots of opportunities and activities you can take part in, including the Shadow a Leader programme and a wide array of clubs, including clubs for business students.”