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Old 17-04-2021, 02:53 AM
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hi all. sharing my personal UOB experience here, as i see some potential misinformation from other posts. Below is not front office related.

Background:
Have left UOB for 3-4 years now. Initially, i Joined UOB as AVP after 4 years work experience elsewhere after graduation. middle office (2nd line function) role supporting business. Currently in foreign bank.

Quick Summary;
1. Each bank have vastly different rank scales and band.

2. Promotion and increment for those on associate/MA programmes are far FAR BETTER. FYI, these are top 5 percentiles of the bank performers usually.

3. UOB Rank Scale: SO > AM > Manager > AVP > VP1 > VP2 > FVP > SVP > Exec Director > MD (1-3)

4. Promotion and increment differs depending on your department.

Detailed explanation:
1. Each bank have vastly different rank scales and band. e.g. UOB VP 1, is an associate level in JP Morgan (i interviewed at JPM, didn’t accept). Yes the difference is huge, but that’s because JPM rank structure is leaner (Analyst > Associate > VP and so on) and their salaries are generally higher (comparing equal experience in years). Always focus on salary progression, title will follow itself.

2. Promotion and increment for those on associate/MA programmes are far FAR BETTER. BUT, these are not your average joes. in my department, we only had less than 3% of staff as MA. Every two years they get promoted, but usually slows down once u hit a certain rank. So please don’t go compare yourself with them unless you are one, that is life.

3. UOB Rank Scale (based on my time there): Senior Officer > Asst. Manager > Manager > AVP > VP1 > VP2 > FVP > SVP > Exec Director > MD (1-3). i heard stock allocations start at ED level onwards. hence this is where a lot of senior folks start to stay.

4. Promotion and increment differs depending on your department and direct boss and Departmnt boss visibility. it’s worse in Operations versus Risk/Compliance. I know an Operations uncle (40+yo) that was an AVP. Again, that is life. Ops is a cost center, do more with less. Some uncles in my department are stuck at SVP level.

5. Bonus is 3-4.5 months. increment with no promotion for me was 2-3%. promotion increment can range 11-15%.

overall, UOB was one of my happiest times in life (for my department). pay wasn’t the best in market, but life was good. people were nice and family like. but of course, there are horror stories too of horrid bosses in some teams but every bank has this.

in foreign banks, they pay u high but ur stress level and workload is way way higher. promotion is not easy too. in fact, u actually fight for ur survival in foreign banks. my ex foreign bank team colleagues were fully replaced one by one due to change in department head. in local banks, u can take a leisure stroll and work for life as long as u don’t commit something bad/nasty at work.

to all out there. if you’ve read this far, hope this helped somehow. stick ur head down, work smart. financial industry is already better than others generally. so be appreciative of what we have.

if you’re job hunting for salary, make sure the banks culture/progression matches what you want (eg work life balance or increment) or who you are (outspoken vs submissive nature).

all the best!
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