Question on UOL-SIM BnF job prospect

[Vitus213]

Hello. I am really ambiguous and would need some advice and opinion for a private degree holder to break into banking and finance industry in 2015 and also in the future.

It is really disheartening and demoralizing after seeing soo many local uni-grads bashing on their SIM counterpart regarding job search in bnf industry on some forums. Such as words like " dream on breaking into BnF for a FCH from SIM"

Assuming i got a FCH in SIM-uol bnf degree, and am willing to accept a below-market price starting salary (2.3?) to gain experience foremost(i believe experience is worth more than the piece of paper) before i start shopping for better positions in the industry, such as positions in the bank.

I have thoughts of switching to taking Accounting and Finance degree since my passion is into the stock market and investments, so skip those sales and front-office positions. Also dreaming to become a broker/trader and banker. I am well aware i have to work my way up to that high position such as being a teller or assistant first.

Some fact to consider is that i am 18 and currently studying poly in my Y3. Having my internship at Far East Organisation( Not sure if its useful in my portfolio). Excel in business and math-related subjects which i scored almost straight A's.

Really hope to receive some insightful and constructive feedbacks from fellow forumner and probably best from SIM-uol BnF Alumni currently working in the relevant sector.

Thank you

 

[WestgateTower]

I don't know what is singaporeans fascination with jobs in the finance industry.
What diploma are you taking now and what is your GPA? what are you doing at far east org?

 

[intime]

Perhaps you may want to see the statistics for yourself?
Do you have a LinkedIn account?
Go to LinkedIn University Finder here,
- https://www.linkedin.com/edu/university-finder?trk=nav_responsive_tab_edu

Set the conditions yourself,
Where do you want to live? Singapore?
What do you want to do? Finance?
What do you want to study? Finance?

Once you have set your conditions, a range of universities will appear. Most likely you will see SMU, NUS, NTU at the top because of the location. The list will be ranked according to the number of alumni working in the company based in Singapore doing finance.

UOL is all the way at the bottom of the list standing at 30 alumni. So I guess you will have a shot? I suppose you will have to be very good to score a top firm.

Things become very bad for UOL when you further limit your search to overseas firms.

 

[simon_84]

Hello. I am really ambiguous and would need some advice and opinion for a private degree holder to break into banking and finance industry in 2015 and also in the future.

I have thoughts of switching to taking Accounting and Finance degree since my passion is into the stock market and investments, so skip those sales and front-office positions. Also dreaming to become a broker/trader and banker. I am well aware i have to work my way up to that high position such as being a teller or assistant first.

2017 coming, you still want to join banking ?
if you trade, you should know that any year in the stock market that ends with a 7 is a bad year.
think of it as a 10 year recession itch, even though it will get shorter.
do note that as a broker whether in house or commission based, your pay is unlikely going to keep up with your peers in other industry.

take for example my sec sch friend is an independent broker in Phillips capital, his commission is around the range of 200~300 given to his lack of network whereas me in a project administrative role draws at least 2.6k per month.
even for in house brokers, life is not as glamorous as it seems, my ocbc broker once complained on flowerpod forum he is drawing at most 2k plus with slow increment over the years, perhaps just enough to keep up with inflation and is mostly a sales related job to constantly encourage his customers to trade regularly.

to be honest most ppl i know working in the banking sector is in the front office, so long as they meet targets constantly they are the only ones making money in that sector (you can tell by their heavy spending shown on FB or their spending habits), there are also those local deg grads working in front office with non related qualifications but NUS/SMU/NTU paper.
whereas those in the back end positions, firstly they are already considered as a cost center and further more their skills are unique to that sector where they find it hard to switch industry.
is only a matter of time before the foreign banks in sg decide to outsource their back end departments to their domestic country such as KL for malaysian banks.

perhaps the key issue is for TS to find your own competitive advantage in the manner job experience instead of relying on the paper.
for example if someone else has the same qualification as you, is there anything else you can offer apart from low pay especially when finance deg is considered broad with no specialization.
even if you specialized in accounting, which part of accounting you intend to dive into AP, AR or audit ?
do note for those interested in audit, ACCA is equivalent to an accounting degree especially in sg.
my ex colleague wife is a malaysian grad with SIM UOL banking & fiance degree, she also ended up working in accounting department which is not in the banking industry.

sorry to bash your dreams but that's roughly the scenario nowadays.

 

[Successor.]

That's if you can get a first class honours in UOL.
Don't paint such a rosy picture for yourself when you haven't even get your poly diploma.

 

[veefounder]

Assuming i got a FCH in SIM-uol bnf degree, and am willing to accept a below-market price starting salary (2.3?) to gain experience foremost

Dont spoil market equilibrium price for sim-uol grads.


About 3,000 students received their degree scrolls at the SIM - University of London (UOL) Presentation Ceremony from 8 to 10 April. 167 graduands, the highest number to date, achieved First-Class Honours degrees.

just give you some facts, to get fch you need to be top 5%. Having secured FCH by year 2, let me tell you- it is hardwork.

I have also witnessed a friend with a sport cca+2 overseas cip+some internship securing a place in Big 4 audit even before completing year 3 exams this year.

so does it really matter if some random person tells you "dream on breaking into BnF for a FCH from SIM" ?

Work Hard in your studies
Take part in CCA
Contribute to community- CIP
Intern // Network


Focus on building your skills,knowledge and character which are totally under your control.
I am sure you will change your views/passion by that time you graduate.
A lot of things are not under your control. Luck does play apart aswell.
So one step at a time.

 

[veefounder]

Perhaps you may want to see the statistics for yourself?
Do you have a LinkedIn account?
Go to LinkedIn University Finder here,
- https://www.linkedin.com/edu/university-finder?trk=nav_responsive_tab_edu

well thats a bs statistics.
whats the assumption here? that every single person who is in finance sector uses LinkedIn?

 

[Vitus213]

That's if you can get a first class honours in UOL.
Don't paint such a rosy picture for yourself when you haven't even get your poly diploma.

That assumption is just for comparison purpose relating to to-date industry. Why soo gan jiong to jump into conclusion ? I know it would never be easy but i just want to get a rough idea of how far one go with being the " cream of the crop" in private sector BnF.

 

[Vitus213]

Dont spoil market equilibrium price for sim-uol grads.


About 3,000 students received their degree scrolls at the SIM - University of London (UOL) Presentation Ceremony from 8 to 10 April. 167 graduands, the highest number to date, achieved First-Class Honours degrees.

just give you some facts, to get fch you need to be top 5%. Having secured FCH by year 2, let me tell you- it is hardwork.

I have also witnessed a friend with a sport cca+2 overseas cip+some internship securing a place in Big 4 audit even before completing year 3 exams this year.

so does it really matter if some random person tells you "dream on breaking into BnF for a FCH from SIM" ?

Work Hard in your studies
Take part in CCA
Contribute to community- CIP
Intern // Network


Focus on building your skills,knowledge and character which are totally under your control.
I am sure you will change your views/passion by that time you graduate.
A lot of things are not under your control. Luck does play apart aswell.
So one step at a time.

Thank you for your opinion and sharing. Certainly reality hit kinda hard on me but its enlightening at the same time.

Oh and do you mind sharing more on how your friend secured a position in big 4 ? Is there any string attached and or did he apply for a position even before he completed his degree. What course and uni is he from ?

 

[intime]

well thats a bs statistics.
whats the assumption here? that every single person who is in finance sector uses LinkedIn?

Don't think too much into it, there is no assumption. I recognize the fact that not everyone has a LinkedIn acct.
I'm just sharing a stat from LinkedIn. It is by no means holy grail.

 

[lolita_5]

NONSENSE

2017 coming, you still want to join banking ?
if you trade, you should know that any year in the stock market that ends with a 7 is a bad year.
think of it as a 10 year recession itch, even though it will get shorter.
do note that as a broker whether in house or commission based, your pay is unlikely going to keep up with your peers in other industry.

take for example my sec sch friend is an independent broker in Phillips capital, his commission is around the range of 200~300 given to his lack of network whereas me in a project administrative role draws at least 2.6k per month.
even for in house brokers, life is not as glamorous as it seems, my ocbc broker once complained on flowerpod forum he is drawing at most 2k plus with slow increment over the years, perhaps just enough to keep up with inflation and is mostly a sales related job to constantly encourage his customers to trade regularly.

to be honest most ppl i know working in the banking sector is in the front office, so long as they meet targets constantly they are the only ones making money in that sector (you can tell by their heavy spending shown on FB or their spending habits), there are also those local deg grads working in front office with non related qualifications but NUS/SMU/NTU paper.
whereas those in the back end positions, firstly they are already considered as a cost center and further more their skills are unique to that sector where they find it hard to switch industry.
is only a matter of time before the foreign banks in sg decide to outsource their back end departments to their domestic country such as KL for malaysian banks.

perhaps the key issue is for TS to find your own competitive advantage in the manner job experience instead of relying on the paper.
for example if someone else has the same qualification as you, is there anything else you can offer apart from low pay especially when finance deg is considered broad with no specialization.
even if you specialized in accounting, which part of accounting you intend to dive into AP, AR or audit ?
do note for those interested in audit, ACCA is equivalent to an accounting degree especially in sg.
my ex colleague wife is a malaysian grad with SIM UOL banking & fiance degree, she also ended up working in accounting department which is not in the banking industry.

sorry to bash your dreams but that's roughly the scenario nowadays.

 

[WestgateTower]

my ex colleague wife is a malaysian grad with SIM UOL banking & fiance degree, she also ended up working in accounting department which is not in the banking industry.

Quote for truth.
many of the UOL b&f grads that I know of did not end up in the banking industry (even though they chose b&f with the intention of joining the banking industry).

 

[FrostWurm]

2017 coming, you still want to join banking ?
if you trade, you should know that any year in the stock market that ends with a 7 is a bad year.

THIS IS TOTALLY THE MOST LEGIT PIECE OF ADVICE I HAVE READ