Edition #9: Ricardo Goncalves
Paths Beyond The Expected
A Bachelor of Commerce remains one of the most popular degrees among university students, valued for its strong grounding in business, economics and strategy. It is frequently viewed as a direct pipeline into finance, consulting or corporate roles. Yet for many graduates, commerce can serve as a far broader platform - opening doors to typically non-traditional careers such as journalism.
For Ricardo, journalism was his ambition from a young age. When his initial plan to study journalism did not pan out, he pursued a commerce degree in economics and marketing. This decision equipped him with a powerful toolkit - financial literacy and business acumen. Paired with work experience in the media he organised himself whilst studying, Ricardo carved out a career in business journalism.
What is Business Journalism?
For Ricardo, business journalism offered a unique intersection of people, ideas and impact.
At its core, business journalism interprets the business world - from financial markets to corporate decision-making and economic policy, translating complexity into clarity so audiences can make informed decisions. Through this, Ricardo has had opportunities to share the stories of small business owners, CEOs and political leaders, exploring the decisions and ideas that shape industries and communities.
What Really Translates?
The habits Ricardo built across his degree and early career didn’t disappear when he picked up a microphone. They travelled with him. He points to three skills that have stayed constant across every role - with each carrying lessons that reach well beyond the newsroom.
Translating complexity into clarity: Commerce teaches you how to break problems down - to trace outcomes back to their drivers and make sense of information that isn’t immediately obvious. In business journalism, that same skill becomes critical. Ricardo’s approach mirrors what the best analysts do: identify what actually matters and land on a single clear point.
Staying composed under pressure: Live television doesn’t offer second takes. When the autocue fails - and it does - the only option is to draw on what you actually know and keep moving. The focus turns to the fundamentals: understanding the content well enough to speak without prompts and adjusting your delivery to whoever is in front of you. At times, acknowledging the disruption with a brief smile can even work in your favour. As Ricardo puts it, "Mistakes happen - you just push on."
Using your intellectual range as an asset: Ricardo’s career has taken him from the boardrooms of CEOs to covering the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre, from international travel in Dubai to the granular detail of small business economics. Each situation required a different level of empathy and technical depth - and the ability to meet each one on its own terms.
What Does This Mean For Students?
Well, Ricardo’s journey isn’t about economics leading to journalism or how marketing turns you into a better presenter. It’s about how skills build on each other across different contexts, often in ways you cannot fully anticipate at the start. A business degree strengthened his journalism, while journalism sharpened his ability to communicate. Over time, those skills began to reinforce each other.
For commerce students, Ricardo’s trajectory offers a useful perspective. While the degree is often treated as a direct conveyor belt into finance or banking, its real value is the analytical and strategic foundation it builds. These are skills that extend far beyond traditional pathways - into any field such as education, public affairs and consulting.
Final Thoughts
Ricardo’s story is a reminder that there is no single formula for success. Each experience helps you build skills that are both valuable and transferable.
If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: don’t wait for the “obvious” path to open. Build your skills, take opportunities as they come and trust that a strong foundation will make you valuable in more rooms than you can currently see.
This article was written by Melissa Tan, and edited by Varenya Taneja. All experiences and opinions are their own unless otherwise specified, and do not represent the views of the UNSW Consulting Club or any affiliated organisations and sponsors.
