settle for an engineering course or retake exam?

Originally Posted by suppertime

That does make sense.
I don't think there is a banking finance course.
I was also thinking about the supply of graduates from these courses, being rather, you know, large. I hear people saying that accountants, though getting good paychecks, work long hard hours. Do accountants get a reasonable chance of promotion?

No, I dont have a very very very strong reason to pick Engineering

IMHO, if you don't have a strong reason to pick engineeering, don't! Engineering in Singapore is only for people who are really interested in it, don't mind the low pay for the amount of effort put in, and mediocre prospects.

[suppertime]

I have yet to see friends going into engineering due to passion.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

IMHO, if you don't have a strong reason to pick engineeering, don't! Engineering in Singapore is only for people who are really interested in it, don't mind the low pay for the amount of effort put in, and mediocre prospects.

Originally Posted by suppertime

I have yet to see friends going into engineering due to passion.

They got dumped there?

[suppertime]

Well, you may say so. Sorry, but I don't understand your reason for asking such a question

Originally Posted by Unregistered

They got dumped there?

Originally Posted by suppertime

Well, you may say so. Sorry, but I don't understand your reason for asking such a question

cos you said "I have yet to see friends going into engineering due to passion", and didn't explain why. people may wonder if they were forced by parents to do engineering.

Don't have the misconception that accountancy degree is alll accountancy modules. 1st year is largely general subjects like (economics, statistics, organisational behaviour, marketing etc) You get to choose a 2nd major as well which counts towards your grades. You can pick marketing, business law, hr, banking. These additional modules count towards your final grade / honors.

For me, I scored on the general subjects and took a major that nobody really wanted. I scored straight As for the 2nd major. It was really easy.. alot of coursework and the tutors were very generous simply because nobody took the major (and they wanted to generate more interest)

In the end, my Accountancy modules I scored mainly Bs. A few As but not so many.

I ended up First Class due to proper planning and course selection category.

You need to pick your battles and have a strategy. Choosing a course you can do well in is a start. Selecting a major you can score well in is another.

What is your ultimate goal of a university education? Tbh, most of the things I studied in school never got applied at work. At work, your learn from fresh again. To me, the purpose of getting a degree is to maxmise my hirability. So, you should get the mindset right. Start with the end goal in mind. Strategize to maximise your employability.

Originally Posted by suppertime

First of all, thank you for treating me as a close friend/sibling equivalent . I too was from the science stream in JC. My maths and physics subjects were my better subjects as well. It's really something to hear that despite your proficiency in the above mentioned subjects, you find accountancy easier than engineering. Sets me thinking.......

Another thing I forget to add. There is a big difference between first class honors vs 2nd class upper. Big difference between 2nd upper vs 2nd lower. About 5% of cohort will get 1st class, 30% 2nd upper. Estimation.

Give you a real life example. During my year, we started sending out resumes 3 months before graduation. At that point, we did not know our expected class of honors. I indicated 2nd upper. I also indicated 2nd upper for my internship applications. I didn't get a single banking internship. Ending up going to audit firm for my internship. Before graduation, I sent out many applications to banks (rejected by 50%) and never progressed much in those that i got shortlisted for. The only job offers I got was for Audit firms (start pay $2.4k)

When finally I graduated and got 1st class. I started applying again. The only change in my CV was I updated expected 2nd upper to First Class honors. I got shortlisted by investment banks, management associate program etc. Even the audit firms called me up and offered me additional $300 in-lieu of my first class. (didn't know they could do this because I thought they were on standard pay scale but they did)

In one offshore bank, their investment banking program had a minimum 2nd upper cut-off. Because there were so many 2nd upper who applied, they tightened to only interview first class. Immediately, my chances shot up due to smaller pool of candidates. During the interviews, my interviewers skipped all the technical questions. When I had indicated 2nd upper, I was being asked accounting basics (e.g. how do you consolidate, account for associates/JV, what is minority interest, how do you value a firm) My answers were mediocre. However with a first-class honors, I had many interviewers who skipped asking technicals because as one put it "I expect these are all basic to you considering you are first-class honors". In their mind, I have already qualified for the job.

Class of honors do matter. Interviewers are superficial, lazy. Go engineering and end up with 2nd lower = you will regret later.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't have the misconception that accountancy degree is alll accountancy modules. 1st year is largely general subjects like (economics, statistics, organisational behaviour, marketing etc) You get to choose a 2nd major as well which counts towards your grades. You can pick marketing, business law, hr, banking. These additional modules count towards your final grade / honors.

For me, I scored on the general subjects and took a major that nobody really wanted. I scored straight As for the 2nd major. It was really easy.. alot of coursework and the tutors were very generous simply because nobody took the major (and they wanted to generate more interest)

In the end, my Accountancy modules I scored mainly Bs. A few As but not so many.

I ended up First Class due to proper planning and course selection category.

You need to pick your battles and have a strategy. Choosing a course you can do well in is a start. Selecting a major you can score well in is another.

What is your ultimate goal of a university education? Tbh, most of the things I studied in school never got applied at work. At work, your learn from fresh again. To me, the purpose of getting a degree is to maxmise my hirability. So, you should get the mindset right. Start with the end goal in mind. Strategize to maximise your employability.

[suppertime]

Oh no. This is more like for courses like medicine, law, accountancy.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

cos you said "I have yet to see friends going into engineering due to passion", and didn't explain why. people may wonder if they were forced by parents to do engineering.

[suppertime]

likely*
#10char

[suppertime]

Thank you for your words of wisdom. Nothing is better than getting comments from people who have gone down this route.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Don't have the misconception that accountancy degree is alll accountancy modules. 1st year is largely general subjects like (economics, statistics, organisational behaviour, marketing etc) You get to choose a 2nd major as well which counts towards your grades. You can pick marketing, business law, hr, banking. These additional modules count towards your final grade / honors.

For me, I scored on the general subjects and took a major that nobody really wanted. I scored straight As for the 2nd major. It was really easy.. alot of coursework and the tutors were very generous simply because nobody took the major (and they wanted to generate more interest)

In the end, my Accountancy modules I scored mainly Bs. A few As but not so many.

I ended up First Class due to proper planning and course selection category.

You need to pick your battles and have a strategy. Choosing a course you can do well in is a start. Selecting a major you can score well in is another.

What is your ultimate goal of a university education? Tbh, most of the things I studied in school never got applied at work. At work, your learn from fresh again. To me, the purpose of getting a degree is to maxmise my hirability. So, you should get the mindset right. Start with the end goal in mind. Strategize to maximise your employability.