David Matthew Brown trained and worked as a geologist until he decided to follow his instincts and pursue a career in finance and economics.
David started his career as a geologist in Ireland, before a move to Australia eventually led to a career change to finance.
“I trained as a geologist because at the time it was the most challenging field for me and I wanted a challenge. I moved to Western Australia for an opportunity in the mining business and it was a massive sprint for my technical skills and professional experience.
“For ten years I worked in geology and that was what I did for a living, but economics and finance were the things that interested me personally. My experience in Dublin prior to coming to Australia was one of living through a recession, and then I started thinking about economics and finance professionally in 2016 when the mineral commodity prices went through a downturn.
"I decided to make finance my profession when I realised that I hadn’t stopped thinking about it all those years.”
David moved to Victoria and investigated his university options before resolving to do the Graduate Certificate and Master of Finance at RMIT.
“I approached some of the professors and academics to find out why this degree was different and how it would give me a headstart moving sideways in my career. What I found distinct about the RMIT degree is that it’s tailor-made to give students a very deep and niche knowledge in finance methodology. And it’s strongly industry partnered, which meant that I would be talking to people already working in the industry, not just reading from a textbook.”
“Like myself, the tutors and professors came from diverse backgrounds. I was learning from people who had backgrounds in Information Technology or human sciences and that encouraged me to believe in the decision I’d made to follow my instinct and go into a field I really cared about.”
A strong dedication to his decision helped David make the most of his postgraduate studies.
“In 2018 I won the RMIT School of Economics, Finance and Marketing Refinitiv Prize for Outstanding GPA. I’d never been the kind of student who was academic so I put my success down to two things - dedication to the decision I made to do this degree, and the support network I had in my fellow students and tutors. My tutors were always available to answer emails and explain processes in a manner that made sense to me.
“RMIT has an incredibly diverse student and academic body and I think there’s a strong focus on research matters that are very relevant today. My favourite thing about the city campus is that it’s literally and figuratively connected to the pulse of Melbourne CBD. As a learning environment, the spaces I had my classes in distilled focus and were really well resourced to make learning easier.”
David now works as a Pricing Analyst for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in the consumer division.
“Getting my finance degree and being in my current role has provided me with a lot of work-life balance. What’s next for me is keeping an open mind about the opportunities I can pursue with my finance degree”
What's next for David | Finance
David decided to change industries to pursue his interest in finance and economics. Find out how he made the switch, and what's next for his career.
