Kirsty Wescombe

Change and Project Analyst
National Australia Bank

Bachelor of Science (Honours)

Since completing her Bachelor of Science degree in 2003, Kirsty has applied the skills she acqired during her degree to several roles. Upon graduating, Kirsty worked within the economics division of a property consulting firm. Focusing mainly on the retail industry, her day to day duties included forecasting population growth and future turnover levels.

Kirsty then joined National Australia Bank as part of their graduate program and soon became a Financial Analyst which involved rotating through all the divisions within the corporate and financial institution clients, such as markets and corporate banking.

Kirsty has since become a Change and Project Analyst within NAB and is responsible for analysing, measuring and minimising the impact and outcomes that organisational change and corporate projects have on NAB's internal stakeholders.

"After high school I was unsure about what I wanted to do career wise. I was quite interested in maths and astronomy so I decided to do a science degree with the intention of studying astrophysics and pursuing a career in research. A science degree allowed me to also study other areas that were of interest to me such as psychology and a couple of arts subjects while still focusing on maths and astrophysics.

After completing my undergraduate degree I felt that I was more inclined towards mathematics and went on to complete honours in pure maths. My honours year was the most enjoyable time I had at university. During honours I was given the freedom to study areas of maths I was particularly interested in and I was able to pursue some research areas that had not previously been conducted in the mathematics department, such as females in mathematics, and ancient Egyptian mathematics. The mathematics department was very supporting of my interests and were always willing to help.

Through my studies I had become interested in finance and wanted to pursue a career in this area. Having finished uni I was worried about my job prospects, however I quickly discovered that the analytical skills I had developed during my degree were in high demand within the business sector.

I am extremely happy with my choice to complete a science degree. I was able to study subjects that I enjoyed while still being able to finish with valuable skills that I can apply to my career."