Editor's Note:
Welcome to the “10 Candid Career Questions” series, introducing you to the PPP professionals who do the deals, analyze the data, and strategize on the next big thing. Each of them followed a different path into PPP practice, and this series offers an inside look at their backgrounds, motivations, and choices. Each blogger receives the same 15 questions and answers 10 or more that tell their PPP career story candidly and without jargon. We believe you’ll be as surprised and inspired as we were.
1. What was your first job?
My first job was cleaning databases at a research institute.
2. What does your family think you do all day at work?
My family members think I spend all day at work doing research in infrastructure.
3. What do you really do all day at work?
I really spend all day at work responding to emails.
4. What do you wish you did all day at work?
I wish I spent all day at work finding solutions to problems that I think can make a difference in peoples’ lives.
5. If some days at the office you feel like Sisyphus, and other days you feel like Midas, what character from literature or history do you identify with the rest of the time?
Some days at the office I feel like Sisyphus, occasionally I feel like Midas, but most of the time I feel like a mortal economist in a world of finance.
6. What did you think "PPP" stood for before you entered the field?
Before I entered this field, I thought "PPP" stood for Purchasing power parity (and I still do!).
7. What did you learn from the book that made the biggest impact on you professionally?
The book that has made the biggest impact on me professionally taught me that data can be manipulated very easily.
8. What shocks you about your own career advice to young professionals?
When I give advice to young professionals, I’m shocked to hear myself say “How you say it is more important than what you say.”
9. What is the most surprising thing you’ve ever experienced in the course of PPP practice?
The most surprising thing I’ve ever experienced in the course of PPP practice is to discover that it is still such a young field in terms of measuring results.
10. What do you refuse to compromise on professionally?
I’ve learned never to compromise professionally on my research findings even when they do not show what everybody wants to see.
Read previous posts in the “10 Candid Career Questions” series.
Read Fernanda's posts at the PPP blog.
To contribute your PPP career story, email abuckholtz@ifc.org.
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