Daria Teterkina, who earned her master’s degree in 2018, is presently a chief specialist at MOEX Derivatives Market Department. In her interview, Daria reveals why ICEF enjoys a special atmosphere, how case study method can be helpful at the start of one’s career, and why aerial gymnastics is good for professional progress.
- Thinking back to when you were an enrollee, how did you imagine ICEF to be? What encouraged you or probably came as a surprise when you started the program?
I knew exactly what to expect when I applied to ICEF Master’s Program. My range of expectations had formed already before I applied. I’d known quite a few ICEF students and graduates I met during the class projects and traineeships when I was doing my bachelor studies at HSE. My impression of them was that they all were very good at math and could handle tasks that required unconventional ways of thinking. What really surprised me when I enrolled was the atmosphere. Despite its young age, ICEF boasts incredible supportiveness and tradition, and on top of that it enjoys a special cultural setting. ICEF program is not at all easy and that’s a fact, but I always felt I was being supported by my groupmates and the academic officers, which I think is found only rarely in universities and is a very valuable thing.
- Why did you choose Finance as a career?
I made up my mind to pursue a career in Finance when I was a bachelor student of HSE Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs. I really enjoyed making financial forecasts, dealing with massive datasets, identifying unobvious dependencies, and figuring out ways to improve forecasting techniques. My goal was to receive as much academic knowledge as possible so that I could see how it worked in real-life situations.
- More and more young people tend to give up on fundamental education because they say it’s too detached from daily realities and don’t see where it matches them. What do you think?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to what’s right. In every single case, the choice of education is influenced by a variety of factors. Fundamental education, the way I see it, is an aide of solid worth, and fundamental knowledge does come first. What is more, education is what gives us qualities to succeed in life. It instills the interest in searching for more knowledge, cultivating the vital skill of self-development and the aptitude to learn new things. Education helps one think in a more structured way and, particularly, be able to handle large quantities of information – a highly valuable skill in today’s world. My experience as a student has opened up a whole wealth of opportunities for self-development because knowledge is boundless. It sounds both scary and captivating.
- How important is practice? How big a role does it play in education? Or is it more a thing that interferes with studies?
You come to realize how knowledge works when you see the result of its use. In this sense, very effective are the cases that demonstrate how real-life tasks can be tacked in the real-life world. Case study, as a method, is what largely benefits all ICEF students. They enter the workplace with the hands-on skills that help to make the process of fitting in at a job a lot easier. I took a huge advantage of the summer traineeship I was doing at VTB. I’ve learned what corporate finance is about and how accounting and risk management help businesses grow. Experience comes with practice, that’s true, but the vaster the store of knowledge you come equipped with, the faster you grow professionally and climb career ladder.
- As to personal enrichment and optional knowledge, do ICEF students enjoy the possibility of following a single-track specialization and receiving profound knowledge of certain subjects?
Yes. If you choose to pursue a master’s degree, you have a certain understanding of the prospects before you. While year one focuses more on equipping students with solid academic base, year two offers a wider selection of optional courses. This is to my mind a very effective system, and it is more common of western universities. It gives the basis to which students are free to “add on” knowledge they feel would fit best their future specialization. Students are also free to attend the events of ICEF Career Center where they can meet employers and choose an academic or researcher track through ICEF Academia. There is a possibility to join ICEF student exchange programs and select the university and country to match your research interests.
- How is ICEF perceived on the job market?
When ICEF graduates apply Moscow-based offices for jobs, the reputation of their alma mater increases their chances of getting hired dramatically. Employers perceive ICEF as a seal of excellence. To them it is an indication that the candidate is profoundly knowledgeable and has potential for growth. I’ve seen that in practice just recently: all of the ICEF students and graduates I was interviewing at MOEX performed invariably well. Finally, the job offer went to one of them.
Apart from being a provider of top level education, ICEF is a community of people who share similar goals. It boasts a highly supportive alumni community who are willing to share their experience and help with job search and advice. ICEF’s competitive edge is further enhanced by the advanced English language skills of its graduates, which are on a par with those of Western speakers of English, allowing ICEF graduates to compete for jobs in Russia and abroad equally successfully. And last but not least, the benefits of face-to-face instruction from renowned professors. ICEF boasts high-profile faculty staff. Some of its members come from abroad.
- How can a student or fresh graduate land a job at MOEX?
My decision to become a financial markets specialist took shape when I was a student. I was looking for a company that would allow me to learn the field of Finance from the inside. At the same time, I wanted a job that would lie at the confluence of business and technology. MOEX let me have my cake and eat it, too. I started as a trainee in its Future Leaders program and ended up employed by its derivatives department to work on the liquidity of exchange-traded derivatives. With levers to influence the Russian economy, MOEX is a perfect place to learn the ins and out of the market.
- I know you have a wonderful hobby – aerial gymnastics. Do you still practice it? How does it help you improve your, say, personal abilities?
In my life, aerial gymnastics is as indispensable as the work. Strange as it may sound but it is what keeps me motivated to progress in the field of finance, on top of keeping me in good shape. It has a toning effect. Practicing these two seemingly different activities produces a curious effect: when you succeed in one, it spurs your progress in the other. By building self-discipline to exercise, one is better able to manage their time in a more rational way.
- How do you feel about self-development and self-education? What are you learning or planning to learn soon?
Few would argue that learning is a lifelong process. Sometimes we all feel like taking a break and soul-searching can be really helpful, but there is always a long-term goal to pursue that keeps us going on, leads us to set priorities and focus more on self-learning. I am currently looking to improve my hard skills in order to be able to build financial models and develop technological services. I am doing an in-house training course at MOEX and I’m also learning programming languages. In today’s digital economy, they are the must-have assets.
Sonya Spielberg, specially for HSE
