Kaitryn Olson
Current job title, company: Associate Resource Planning Analyst, Puget Sound Energy
Location: Greater Seattle area
Interests/Hobbies: Playing in my hockey and volleyball leagues, hiking, skiing, exploring the city and finding new restaurants and coffee shops.
As an alum, what do you miss most about Madison/UW-Madison?
I miss the city and campus in general, especially the Terrace and State Street. I have been unable to find dumplings as good as Paul’s Pelmeni or a Puerto Rican food truck as good as El Wiscorican in Seattle. Most of all, I miss going to Badger hockey and football games.
Did you ever consider going to graduate school? How did you decide to apply instead of going into the workforce? OR How did you decide to go straight into the workforce?
In my junior year of undergrad, I started looking at job postings in the policy, energy, and environment analysis space. I always knew graduate school was something I would consider doing in my future, but I was convinced to pursue a Master’s degree when reading those job descriptions. Most of the roles I was interested in either required a Master’s degree or preferred an applicant with a Master’s degree. I also realized I lacked some of the technical skills listed in the job descriptions. More specifically, I saw graduate school as an opportunity to improve my coding skills and make me a more qualified candidate in the workforce.
What advice would you give to a student who is trying to break into your industry?
Attend webinars and read energy industry news. With the transition to renewable energy and all of the politics surrounding it, it seems like the energy industry is always evolving, and it is important to stay up to date. I also always advise students wanting to go into the energy industry to reach out to people in the industry to ask them about their jobs. The energy industry is so large and diverse; there are many different career paths to learn about.
What was your favorite econ class? What did you like about it?
My favorite Economics class was “Models and Markets”, taught by Professor Daniel Quint. The class examined different types of markets that were not touched on in the core economics courses. I found it interesting to get a deep dive in the economics behind auctions, contests, and markets that do not use price as the clearing rate. I enjoyed looking at matching markets and the economics and algorithms behind the national residency matching program. I would have never thought of medical student residency matching as involving economics, but I was surprised to learn that the system was created by the economist Alvin Roth.