Career advancement resource launches; brings economics’ graduate students and alumni together.
The new “Hop to a Job” network is ready to help current JHU students collaborate and engage with alumni from either the applied economics or financial economics master’s degree programs.
This springboard to success for current students is the brainchild of MS in Applied Economics Program Director Prakash Loungani and MS in Financial Economics Program Director Ou Hu. They worked closely with Xiaowen (Sylvia) Chen, assistant director of JHU’s Master’s Life Design Hub, to create virtual events that highlight panels of alumni and their paths to success after completing their graduate degrees at Johns Hopkins.
So far, virtual events have been leveraged to connect current students from the Advanced Academic Programs division – including a large population of international students – with recently graduated and newly employed program alumni. These alumni provide tips for improving résumés, researching companies, locating jobs and internships, and succeeding in the interview process.
“I have been teaching at JHU for more than a decade,” said Loungani, a native of India, who earned a PhD from the University of Rochester. “When I started, many students were already working and pursuing this degree to improve their skills and get ahead in their jobs. But over time, the nature of the program has shifted, and we are now mostly enrolling international students who are trying to break into their first job. As an international student myself, I have empathy for students who have taken this brave and often stressful step to leave their countries and come to the U.S., where everything is new. They are getting a very technical, solid education in our STEM-certified programs and are prepared for the kinds of jobs they are pursuing. They just need guidance in taking that technical knowledge and packaging it for a successful interview.”
The first “Hop to a Job” event was held in late October 2025. It began with an overview of how the economics programs’ core courses prepare students for diverse career pathways in global organizations. Then alumni ambassadors, including Yuhan (Helen) Zheng, Angqi (Anduin) Li, and Yidan (Jessica) Cheng, shared their real-world experiences and advice with 48 attendees.
“I was motivated to participate as a JHU alumni ambassador both by Dr. Loungani’s invitation and by a desire to give back, hoping my own experience could be helpful to fellow alumni,” said Li, a research analyst at the IMF. “Johns Hopkins prepared me well through excellent faculty and rigorous training, particularly Dr. Loungani, who sparked my interest in macroeconomic research, and Dr. Filipe Lage de Sousa, who helped build a solid foundation in mathematics and econometrics.”
Cheng, also a new research analyst at the IMF, stated, “I benefited greatly from this program’s academic training and career support throughout both my studies and job search. The mentorship from faculty helped me better understand my career path and build confidence in my professional goals.”
“I helped to guide these students toward positions at the International Monetary Fund, and they, in turn, have helped me to launch the ‘Hop to a Job’ series. I am so grateful that they have paid that effort forward for our current students.” said Loungani, who previously worked as an assistant director at the IMF.
“So many of AAP’s students are interested in pursuing work at global financial institutions,” Chen said. “Our programs are designed to help them think outside the box and consider opportunities not just in their home countries or the U.S., but across the world. Dr. Loungani takes the time to help students prepare for jobs of interest. He really has a career focus embedded in his curriculum, his teaching, and his mindset, and the students are so appreciative of his support.”
“I feel like our students are coming to JHU not just to get a degree, but to get started on their careers,” Loungani said. “While I don’t want to overplay what we can do for them, I also give them the message that we – the faculty and the alumni ambassadors – are here to provide guidance, encouragement, and support, as well as a push and the realistic knowledge that sometimes, in a competitive job market, you fail many times before you actually get a job.”
Loungani also credits his colleague Ou Hu for ongoing work to update courses, tools, and insights that drive innovation in both programs. This ensures that graduates are prepared for success across finance, consulting, policy, and technology-driven industries, and are leveraging both economic understanding and analytical skills to create meaningful impact in an evolving AI-powered world.
“Ou is very invested and is working to make our programs very AI-savvy,” Loungani said. “He has been leading the efforts that allow us to make curriculum changes so that employers are confident that our students are equipped to make an impact in the fields.
“We are working to grow this network to include alumni who are working in government jobs and in the private sector. Seeing students’ confidence build as they move through the interview process – and their joy when they land the job of their dreams – is very rewarding.”