Leaving behind his disappointment, Mr Yuen began looking for opportunities in the commercial sector. He hoped to put his understanding of economics to test in the real world rather than in academia.

'Economics provides a good paradigm to look at what is happening in the world, and also gives a rational and logical explanation to what is going on,' he said.

By the time he joined the TDC as a research officer, Mr Yuen had gained experience with three organisations in just six months: first as a management trainee in a bank, then as a risk management officer with a retail bank and later as a research analyst.

Ambitious and eager to learn, he knew from the beginning that he would fit well in the TDC. And the council did turn out to be an excellent training ground.

'I was given much more writing responsibility - and opportunity in terms of developing my role as an economist - than I would otherwise have had at other institutions,' Mr Yuen said.

The job helped him become a better economist, he said, whereas working at a bank would have meant dealing only with data compilation, at least initially.

After three successful years as a research officer, Mr Yuen was promoted to the post of economist. Work remained much the same, but he took on more responsibility and a heavier workload. Although he was responsible primarily for monitoring and analysing the economy, he soon developed an interest in trading, which is one of the main business activities of the city.

Mr Yuen has released about 40 long reports and worked on a number of ad hoc projects in industries such as printing, toys, jewellery and medical equipment, while also supervising a team of statisticians. He might have given up his dream of becoming a professor, but the hands-on commercial experience he gained has been no less valuable.

'I now have a closer feel for what is happening in the world, as opposed to staying behind the scenes and focusing on mathematical models,' he said.

What economists learned at university was a simplistic version of the real economy. Reality was more complicated than the assumptions made in the academic world, Mr Yuen said.

Mr Yuen said an economist's role was to turn information into knowledge with perspective and insight, but this was not always easy to achieve. In a fast-changing world shaped by globalisation, there was information overload - and everyone had an opinion on every subject.

'We need to gather a lot of information and then make decisions based on balancing out what is going on,' he said.

The information is collected using various methods, from large-scale surveys and third-party research to data acquired from visits to companies and reading newspapers.

The workload for the 10 economists at the TDC is usually predictable because they follow an annual research plan. They brainstorm to decide on the plan each year, but must build flexibility into the system to respond to crises. During his tenure at the TDC, Mr Yuen has seen the Asian recession, the dotcom bust and the Sars outbreak wreak havoc on the research schedule.

'In times of crisis, the team often issues a response within a short period, or even on the same day, and then publishes a longer report a week or two later, with the option of issuing a full report if there is that need,' he said.

Despite these uncertainties, the most rewarding part of the work is the intellectual stimulation it brings. An economist must assimilate a lot of information and then come up with a balanced view.

At the TDC, there is ample scope to learn new things - and not necessarily in economics.

'This job is good for critical thinkers [who are] curious about the world and like learning new things, as well as writing and communicating with others,' Mr Yuen said.

But the job can be challenging, especially when predictions go wrong.

Mr Yuen said it might be easy for economists to know in which direction things were moving, but often they did not know when something would happen.

'And when we are off the mark, it is frustrating,' he said.

There are enough tools to guide economists in their predictions but there is no guarantee that forecasts will always be accurate.

According to Mr Yuen, these tools use complicated mathematical models and formulas, which often involve more than 100 equations. Anyone using them has to be good with numbers.

Models, however, were just a means to an end, and not the end in themselves.

'We cannot blindly believe in what is being modelled because the model has to be appropriate,' he said.

Modelling was just an approximation of the real world.

'It provides a basis and is only one of the many tools we can use,' he said.

The rapid expansion of the mainland economy has opened up new opportunities for economists.

Reports are now written in English and Chinese. So the ability to read, write and speak Chinese is crucial since much of the information about the mainland is in Chinese and economists have to visit the mainland often.

For those wanting to become economists, Hong Kong offered few opportunities, Mr Yuen said, adding that there were only a handful of positions available with the government, Hong Kong Monetary Association, banks and financial organisations, insurance firms and trade companies.

Mr Yuen said having banking experience of any kind - as an accountant, credit analyst or financial planner - would give aspiring economists an edge because they would have the basic knowledge and also understand the impact of changes in accounting principles.

Mr Yuen no longer harbours a desire to be a professor, but he would still like to complete his PhD in economics one day - for personal satisfaction, if nothing else.

VITAL STATISTICS

Assimilate, filter and turn information into insightful knowledge

Opportunity to learn new things beyond economics

Important to be bilingual

Banking experience helps

Salaries

Senior economist

$60,000 to $80,000

Six years' experience

Economist

$30,000 to $50,000

Five years' experience

Research associate

$30,000 to $40,000

Four years' experience

Research analyst

$18,000 to $25,000

Two to four years' experience

Source: Centaline Human Resources Consultants