Skarleth Carrales
Students Harry Shaw and Eunwoo Kim have worked together to produce this article as part of our series of Academic Interviews; featuring Skarleth Carrales!
About Skarleth’s life before her PhD.
Q - Why did you originally choose a business degree as your undergraduate? And how did you end up in finance afterwards?
My mum used to have a small company so she was always talking about business, that made me want to study and help it grow. There was also a focus on getting a lucrative job after university. My idea was to go into finance.
I was looking for jobs in finance after university but people hiring for them were looking for those who studied the field, not business. I was discouraged but was particularly interested in one certain finance planning job. I applied then called to ask if they received my CV. Not to my surprise, they told me that they were looking for an accountant, which I was not. However, I told them that I had training for it and graduated with honours with very high marks so I shouldn’t have a problem. They called me for the interview and I got the job.
Q- How did you start your Masters? And then your PhD?
It’s a bit of a long story. I was working in finance until a friend working in the government told me they were looking for someone with my profile. So I changed my job and started working there. My boss at the time asked if I wanted to do a masters since they could offer a scholarship. In Mexico, you work from eight in the morning to seven at night so doing a masters alongside your full time job is a challenge. But my boss told me not to worry and that I could leave a little earlier. So I selected a school and started my masters in finance at the best Business School in Latin America, EGADE.
However, there was a problem. The part-time programme took two years and eight months, which was too long for me with my full time job. So, I talked with the Director of the program and he told me if I do well the first semester, he may allow me to take extra courses for the next semester so that I can finish earlier. I also had summer and winter breaks to take classes and earn credits. So that’s what I did. I managed to finish the Masters in a year and a half. Of course I didn't have any holidays, getaways to the beach, anything like that for the whole time. It was during my masters when I realised I wanted to do a PhD.
Throughout my masters I became interested in Data Envelopment Analysis which is used as a benchmark tool to measure efficiency, the perfect combination between operational research, economics and finance, as my application is in banking So when it came to choosing a place to do my PhD, I knew what I was looking for and went through all the English speaking countries. Eventually I ended up looking for places in the UK and I found someone, now my former supervisor, who was working on Data Envelopment Analysis. I applied for a scholarship and got the offer, that’s how I started my PhD.
About her PhD experience and her job as a researcher at the School of Mathematics Integration Research Area.
Q - During the PhD itself was there anything you remember that really stood out, something you really loved or hated?
Previously, my work was very demanding and I was expected to have completed the work I was given the day before. During my PhD however, I would be given long term tasks to be done in the span of a month or more so it was a totally different experience. I really enjoyed it.
In addition, in academia your work is more recognized. In my second year of my PhD, I had my first publication, which was a chapter of a book with my supervisor and two more professors, seeing my name printed beside people I admire was great. I was also able to travel around to participate in conferences where I could explain what I do which is a great experience.
Another good experience was having been in Taiwan, I applied for an Elite internship program in the NCTU in Taiwan for three months. That experience gave me the chance to collaborate, learn about the work culture and environment. I really liked it there so I came back to participate in two conferences, in one of them I won the best thesis award.
Q - Have you found that the transition from being PhD to a researcher made a difference?
Yes, even though I've been doing research it is not as demanding as a PhD. During my PhD, one of my proprieties was to publish because that makes it easier to find a job. Now that I have a job at the School of Mathematics, I keep doing research but I also teach, which I enjoy. It is challenging at times but also a very rewarding experience, specially the project supervision of the Master dissertations.
Q- Having such a big background in industry, do you think that's helped you with your research?
Well, maybe not in research, because I've never worked in banking which is my field in a broad sense, but the past experiences contribute to the ideas and knowledge I have now. For example, I wanted to apply to a grant, and I remember that when I was working in the government you had certain platforms for people looking for help and I suggested we can do something similar with Covid. People who need information can go to a specific website and check.
When I suggested this t the panel, the person in charge told me that there is a team actually working on it, I got to join them and we got the grant for the project. So now we are doing a partnership with this industry partner, and developing the website and feeding the information, so I'm just waiting for information to analyze. It will probably take a few years.
Q - Is there anything coming up in your work at the moment?
Definitely. I'm working on some interesting projects for bachelor and master students in Operational Research, keep doing research and improving the Lectures, and wait for the data on Covid. That’s the thing about my kind of research, to see results, I need hands on data to work with to produce anything. It requires time.
Reflection on her cultural experience and life in Edinburgh.
Q - You've experienced living in a few countries. Did you have any cultural difficulties or even similarities amongst them?
One of the differences is that I wasn't considered a loud person back home. I am a happy person but not really loud. I think here I am considered a bit loud (laughs). Nothing over the top, so I think it's fine. What I love about Edinburgh is the wide international community. I love talking about different cuisines with people. I mean, in Mexico we have some of the best foods in the world. However, I have fond memories of trying new foods from the places I went to and good food is such a memorable experience. For instance, Scottish food isn’t the best, but I do love haggis!