- Name: Aapo Mustonen
- Study programme: Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Business Administration, specializing in Finance and Accounting
- Graduation year: 2018
- Workplace: Analyst at Posti Kotipalvelut
Current job description: I have been working for Posti Kotipalvelut as an Analyst since last June 2019, and prior I worked for Esperi Care as a Market Analyst. Before my career in business, I earned my Bachelor's degree in Social Services, however, now after earning my Bachelor also in International Business, I am studying in the University of Eastern Finland to earn my Master's degree in Health Sciences. My studies have supported my career growth very well as for the past few years I have been working with social and health services in the business unit. In my job I get to be creative while helping the management department with decision making based on my knowledge about the economy. I also work with making our operations more profitable by giving advice to my superiors in planning our cost structure.
When I arrive to work, I have a certain goal for that specific day. Typically it is to finish an analysis and to advance a long term goal simultaneously. I find working with data very fascinating, as well as transforming it into understandable and useful form. Being able to succeed in that gives me a feeling of happiness. As an employer Posti Kotipalvelut Oy is a workplace where you get responsibility and support from your colleagues to work with interesting and rewarding tasks.
Why I chose to study at EBS: While I was studying Social Work in 2012, I went to Estonia for an exchange year. There I lived with two of my friends who were studying at EBS. Once I got familiar with the university, I started to think about postgraduate studies. So when I graduated in 2013 I knew I wanted to study business, as I had become really interested in working with administration. On the grounds of the recommendations I knew that studies at EBS would give me a strong foundation for building my career.
Already during my exchange studies I liked living in Estonia, however, once I moved back there to study I felt that the country was going through some major changes as new services appeared to Tallinn everyday. It was great to follow the changes and growth of the city throughout my studies while I was also personally growing.
During my studies I was working for half a year for a startup that my classmate founded. I got to develop their service concept and design as well as conduct market analysis and work with sales. For this experience I am truly greatful as it prepared me for working life and taught me the demands of entrepreneurship and selling a service that doesn't yet exist.
I studied for two years in Tallinn before securing a job as a Market Analyst located in Finland. That is when I transfered my studies to Helsinki campus where the schedule enabled me to work while studying.
The most important takeaways from EBS: You have to focus on the right things to earn good results. That is the most important learning I gained from specializing in Finance.
Alumni career advice: During my studies I noticed that in EBS many of the students wanted to do their Master's degree abroad. That is why I recommend everyone to focus on their studies straight from the beginning so that you are able to keep your average grade high and not stress during your final year. Even if you are not sure yet if you even want to continue into earning your Master, you never know how your opinion might change in the future. Studying with friends can help you with the study load as well as remembering to also have some freetime and do some exercise.
If you are going to study while working full-time, make sure to agree on some ground rules with your employer about when to study and how to manage your time.
Main differences between Helsinki and Tallinn campuses: The main difference between the campuses is how studies are being organized. In Tallinn you have daytime studies where you need to be present, as in Helsinki with session-based studies you study a lot at home and when the lectures take place the days can be very intense. I also noticed that in Helsinki many students are working full-time like I was, which was sometimes rather rough.
Living in Talinn was a lot cheaper and it was easy to get along with a student budget, while even being able to eat in restaurants time to time. I also really liked the student life in Estonia as we had a good team spirit and were able to participate in the activities of EBS Student Counsil. You shouldn't be afraid of living in Estonia as so many Finns live there, and almost everyone speaks English. And even some necessary small talk in Estonian in cash registers isn't too hard to learn.
Dream job while growing up: Pilot
Personal motto: Do well and feel good.
Recommended reading: Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
