Robert Giffen Econ 490 Fall 2019 Blog

            Most of the 400 level economics classes I have taken, have not required attendance. Nearly all of them strongly encouraged it by reviewing the homework questions prior to the due date or limiting the slide shows posted on compass. The classes I have taken where attendance is required have almost exclusively been intro level classes, one hundred or two hundred level. I think the theory behind this is that intro level classes are needed to form a foundation of knowledge, but upper level classes are chosen and should fit your interests. In this system you are more or less forced to learn the intro material, even if it is in area you aren’t interested in. However, in later classes, attendance is expected to be higher because these classes aren’t specifically required, but rather chosen from a list. Although this is what would theoretically happen, in reality when attendance isn’t required not as many students show up to ...

This summer when I was an intern there was a clear triangle arrangement between the company I worked for and the client. I worked for a consulting company, so each project employees had to answer to their project manager as well as the client. It is important to make the client happy because they ultimately hired the consulting firm, but in the long run it is also important to please the project manager. The project manager is someone who you work with from project to project and they ultimately decide your compensation and any possibility of promotions.  I was only an intern for ten weeks, and I never had any direct contact with the client; however, every week I sat in internal calls as well as weekly calls with the client. Most of these calls were simply status updates and nothing eventful happened. When I was first brought in, it was clear the client was very concerned with the security of their data. The client was a large insurance firm, so it is fitting ...