Emma Dent

Analytical skills Emma fostered in undergraduate and postgraduate Science now serve her well in operations at New Zealand’s Exchange.

Biology was always my favourite subject at high school—it was something that made me excited to go to class and something I really enjoyed learning about. So, it was an obvious choice for me to continue that into my tertiary study. I decided on a double major in Ecology and Biodiversity and Cell and Molecular Bioscience so I could incorporate all the areas of biology I enjoyed. Studying Ecology allowed me to look at ‘bigger picture’ ideas, while Cell and Molecular Biology let me explore all the finer details that had fascinated me at high school. The subject of biology always appealed to me as I loved pulling together pieces of information to get a better understanding of how a system works.

After I completed my Master’s, I began working as a market data analyst for NZX as part of their three-year graduate programme. NZX is the only registered securities exchange in New Zealand. Previously, I had worked in their side business, NZX Agri, on the data team. While the technical knowledge I have from my biology studies was not directly relevant to my job at NZX, the analytical skills and the ability to pick up new ideas has been. Continuing into postgraduate study allowed me to improve these skills and work in an independent manner. Postgraduate study has helped me immensely in my working life and is something I would recommend to anyone studying science.

I have now been at NZX in Wellington for seven and a half years and am currently the operations manager. This means I am responsible for overseeing and providing leadership to the analysts who complete the daily operations tasks. I play a key role in the major incident space—both during any incidents and in the post-incident review process. My key responsibilities include leadership, management, client services, project work, and relationship management (internal and external).

The best thing I have found after leaving university is not being limited by my degree. My job for two years was around data analysis in New Zealand’s capital markets, something I did not know anything about at university. However, my degree from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and postgraduate study have given me skills that I can apply into vastly different career fields that I hadn’t considered prior to graduating.