University courses

[sharonkhoo]

00skyblue00\" post_id=\"2134724\" time=\"1717591555\" user_id=\"143605:

Was told companies outsource accounts dept overseas. Hence accountancy is not sought after now. Accounting may be slowly replaced by AI but accountancy goes beyond accounting. Wld still need human to manage and audit correct?

What type of profile would people in finance be like? Stronger in which areas? Shrewd w money, strong money sense and seek growth in money? Strong in economics? How to tell from daily traits?

Moves to improve the accountancy sector and groom accountants:
https://www.mof.gov.sg/news-publications/press-releases/shaping-singapore-s-accountancy-workforce-for-tomorrow

\"Finance\" is a huge area, and involves a lot more different types of jobs than just those that \"touch\" the money. The ones who are in the more technical fields would need to be highly numerate or with IT skills. Then there are the marketing and sales types who go out and get clients, and encourage them to invest/deposit etc. There are those who look to the future and try to see trends. There are the backroom ones who deal with the accounting, audit, record-keeping, cybersecurity, anti-money-laundering, and every institution needs HR, PR etc. Of course, not every job gets the same amount of limelight and pay.

Takes all kinds.

[lee_yl]

I once chanced upon nus/smu/ntu students mentioning they would want to go into “High Finance” in Reddit. What is high finance? It it the same as Investment Banking?


Am I right to say if earning money is top top priority, 2nd major should pick finance rather than Data Science Analytics?

[zac's mum]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2134728\" time=\"1717594261\" user_id=\"17023:

I once chanced upon nus/smu/ntu students mentioning they would want to go into “High Finance” in Reddit. What is high finance? It it the same as Investment Banking?

Am I right to say if earning money is top top priority, 2nd major should pick finance rather than Data Science Analytics?

Possibly “quants”. The next big thing that the young ppl are boasting about which pays jaw-dropping salaries:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/08/quants-quantitative-analyst.asp

[doodbug]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2134728\" time=\"1717594261\" user_id=\"17023:

I once chanced upon nus/smu/ntu students mentioning they would want to go into “High Finance” in Reddit. What is high finance? It it the same as Investment Banking?

Am I right to say if earning money is top top priority, 2nd major should pick finance rather than Data Science Analytics?

It's less to do with what one's second major is, but the skills and acumen needed. I am not currently updated, but what you should do is to google the list of target firms, and samples of their online tests to get an internship or for job applications, and find out what skills are required. I suspect it is going to be heavily quant and / or programming heavy. To get a job in high finance / investment banking, you generally need to have chalked up internships in this field, attend lots of networking events, and put yourself out there.

Even our local banks, their management associate positions, if I am not wrong, now does first round screening for hard skills via online tests.

[mum2b]

Vevey\" post_id=\"2134722\" time=\"1717589914\" user_id=\"1350:

Me!
I pivoted to another major after vacation jobs at 2 foreign banks.

Thanks for sharing, Vevey!
May i know what major did you pivot to & what career/job have you been working in? If not convenient to share here pls pm me if it’s okay with you

[mum2b]

Thank you for all the sharing!

We just thought that personal finance/investing is a necessary life skill for everyone esp now with high inflation, disruption in many jobs, just working & saving is not enough. So might as well learn abt it in uni as a course n hopefully lead to a fulfilling career (if there’s such a thing in finance industry, or is it just stress, stress & stress?)
Not aiming to be the top, but maybe (if possible) mgmt trainee in local financial institutions. What are the profiles for tjose selected, is it only for super on/hardworking competitive kind with mutiple internships in ‘high finance’ like morgan stanley etc?
Heard abt quant, seems like must be really strong in math & hv interest programming. Is there any specialization at undergrad level or only for post grad level?

[sharonkhoo]

mum2b\" post_id=\"2134753\" time=\"1717636135\" user_id=\"3552:

Thank you for all the sharing!
We just thought that personal finance/investing is a necessary life skill for everyone esp now with high inflation, disruption in many jobs, just working & saving is not enough. So might as well learn abt it in uni as a course n hopefully lead to a fulfilling career (if there’s such a thing in finance industry, or is it just stress, stress & stress?)
Not aiming to be the top, but maybe (if possible) mgmt trainee in local financial institutions. What are the profiles for tjose selected, is it only for super on/hardworking competitive kind with mutiple internships in ‘high finance’ like morgan stanley etc?
Heard abt quant, seems like must be really strong in math & hv interest programming. Is there any specialization at undergrad level or only for post grad level?

Sure, personal finance is something useful to know. But doing it for personal purposes is different from doing it as a career. Like self-medication for common ailments vs becoming a doctor. There are courses in the universities in the general and cross-disciplinary areas, but I think such courses may be hard to get. My daughter tried to get into a basic Money 101 course in NTU for 4 years but never managed to get a slot because it was usually 1000 times over-subscribed! The technical ones may be easier to get into. There are lots of websites etc that provide info as well.

How the organisations select is hard to say. In general, they will always try to grab the ones they feel are the \"best\", but what that means probably differs depending on what they see as a need at the time. Certainly an appetite for hard work and long hours probably comes with the turf, and for the top institutions, it will be highly competitive. Not everyone is cut out for that kind of career, so you need to assess if that's the kind of person your child is.

[lee_yl]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2134729\" time=\"1717595480\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2134729 time=1717595480 user_id=53606]
Possibly “quants”. The next big thing that the young ppl are boasting about which pays jaw-dropping salaries:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/08/quants-quantitative-analyst.asp[/quote]

Thanks! Thanks! I did ask some questions at the Quant Finance booth during Uni open house. I asked if QF can earn lots of money and the lady manning the booth said of cos, if want money, choose finance or Comp Sc. But she did mention QF is heavy on maths!!! :scared:

[lee_yl]

doodbug\" post_id=\"2134730\" time=\"1717596005\" user_id=\"13281:

It's less to do with what one's second major is, but the skills and acumen needed. I am not currently updated, but what you should do is to google the list of target firms, and samples of their online tests to get an internship or for job applications, and find out what skills are required. I suspect it is going to be heavily quant and / or programming heavy. To get a job in high finance / investment banking, you generally need to have chalked up internships in this field, attend lots of networking events, and put yourself out there.

Even our local banks, their management associate positions, if I am not wrong, now does first round screening for hard skills via online tests.

Not necessary lah but good to have a 2nd major? QF is heavy on math and Data Sc requires programming/coding. Told DD1 to think twice before opting for Data Sc because her forte/interest is not in those programming stuff and I worry it may hurt her overall GPA!!! Don’t choose just because it’s an “in thing” now.

I know DD1 is constantly seeking advice from her seniors what is expected/required of her. During her free time, she practises her make-up skills and is looking forward to do internship overseas. Last month she told me she would like to learn to play golf and I was shocked. She said it’s for future networking purposes, lol. My neighbor who used to be in the financial sector asked DD1 to join Uni’s investment clubs/societies for networking instead.

[zac's mum]

She already accepted her offer right? Everything should become clearer after she starts the actual course. The flexible thing about uni is there’s no real fixed timeline/pressure to do this do that then cram final exam like A levels and graduate at same time as your cohort. First year will be exploring various modules right? Then 2nd year got several options to choose major/minor blah blah. Interests can change, what she finds out from seniors also can change. Remember to be flexi. Maybe in 4 years’ time data analysts and quants will be surpassed by some new hot high flying career liao lol.


P/s: maybe keep an open mind for actuarial science. It’s more longstanding and stable i think. Insurance will always be in demand.