from E&F here. No cca and nothing. Was doing part time jobs in year 1 and 2 while studying full time in SIM. Gotten my CFA level 1-2 at the end of my year 2 in SIM. Already secured my FCH in year 2 so year 3 was pretty relaxing for me. Got a ops role in
UOB back office in tampines and converted to part time studies in my final year. Things were pretty hectic but i still could manage it. Left my job in feb to take a break and to focus on my exams (to see whether i could get a gold award ) Started my job hunt around in april, went to numerous interviews for mid office positions. Mainly analyst roles (risk mgt / fx settlements etc) with SCB, Morgan stanley,
OCBC, DBS. Sent out about 40resumes to many banks and FI , hit rate is about 40% ? Already in my 2nd interview with morgan stanley and SCB, still waiting for the responses frm
ocbc and DBS after my 1st interview with them. But at the same time im looking at other sectors such as commodities trading houses ( mainly physical trading but also bit on paper trading, either agri or energy)
My point is - every interview i went (errr.. about 10 or so? ), the interviewers were pretty impressed on how i managed to maintain my grades in such hectic schedules daily. Interviewers dont care whether you're a president of a SIM school club. Quoting from 1 of the interviewer i had , she said SIM-UOL is already a 3rd tier degree, without coursework, sem assessments, semester reviews by prof, etc etc. If one still couldn't get a FCH for it then it says a lot about your capability. Pretty harsh i say, but these are hard truths. Of coz ppl may argue academic ability doesn't determine one's ability.. well you dont tell me.. go tell it to most of the recruiters in banks.... 1 of my fnd was recommending me to go into stat boards and start from a "farmer" role then applying for post-grad sponsorship...
To all jobseekers , dont lose hope but pls open your eyes wide and see what's the reality out there. A FCH in UOL is as good as a average pass degree from local U...no big deal about it