Economics Alumni Feature: Sulaiman Tabesh (BA Hon., 2008)

Sulaiman Tabesh graduated from SFU in 2008 with an undergraduate degree majoring in economics with honours. He then went to complete his master's degree in economics at York University in Toronto. Since then, Sulaiman has worked in health care, commercial real estate, and finance where all of his roles have a special focus on data analysis and telling stories using data. He currently works as a Business Intelligence Developer at Providence Healthcare.

What does a typical work day look like for you? 

I usually start my day around 8:00am by reviewing my to-do list for the day and make any modifications. After that, I review e-mails and triage the response rate. I then work on projects that I have been assigned. This includes setting up meetings, working on SQL codes, and building dashboards.

How did SFU Economics influence your career? 

SFU Economics helped me become a good analytical thought leader, especially when it comes to communicating complex and technical topics to non-technical stakeholders. Larry Boland's class on research methodologies helped me question the methods used in collecting data and presenting research findings. Clyde Reed's honour's seminar class helped me communicate my independent research findings.

What were your favourite courses? Any professors that made a big impact on you? 

Advanced Microeconomics (ECON 402) with Anke Kessler. Clyde Reed and Larry Boland also made a big impact on me when it comes to explaining complex topics.

What hard/soft skills or credentials does one need to succeed in your industry/profession? 

It is important to focus just as much on soft skills (i.e. communication, time management, etc.) if not more. Learning about complex economic topics is good but it will not be useful if one cannot help clients or businesses solve their problems.

• Soft skills: Communication (written and verbal), time management, anticipating asks from the business or client.
• Hard skills: SQL, Python, Tableau