Biz Analytics, Finance or Mathematics
 

Hi all,

10 years ago, I was forced to leave NTU civil engineering after studying there for 3.5years. my results were really bad, failing some subjects 2 or 3 times. With just an A level cert, I joined the workforce. I was a telemarketer, insurance agent, private tutor, sales coordinator and then admin assistant.

I finally repaid my tuition fee loan and also settled down as admin support in life insurance underwriting department, where I've been working for the past 2 years. When I started my first job, my pay was only $1300 but I'm getting a decent $2400 now. My current boss is very supportive of training staff and I learned a lot under her. Recently, I was also given the opportunity to help out with the work in claims department. I am quite happy with where I am right now. However, deep in my heart, I still want to get a degree.

I learnt that I am still eligible for government subsidy for a degree and would like to enrol with Unisim. I narrowed my choices down to Business Analytics, Finance and Mathematics.

I have always been working in a financial institution so I thought very naturally I should get a degree in Finance. Furthermore, it conforms to CFA level 1 and 2. Getting this degree would also arm me with the knowledge to invest my own money in future.

When I first saw the course BSc in Business Analytics a few years ago, I was very excited and wanted to study it right away. It involves working with large amounts of data and translating to end users. However, it also seems to be a very new and rojak course so I'm afraid it won't be recognised. Then I thought why not get a degree in Maths instead as it is a very versatile degree.

I have read through the modules for each degree and also the possible career progressions. I still cannot make up my mind on the degree to take. I'm wondering which degree would enable me to leverage on my experience in insurance industry. I'm already 32 this year so I don't think I have any room for failure this time round. Can anybody be so kind to give me some advice?

Sorry for the wall of text and thanks in advance.

Business Analytics, Finance and Mathematics. Is this one degree combined or 3 separate concentrations in one degree?

My first thought is look through the job postings and look for the requirements of your interest. Which kind of employers look for mathematics? Can they accept mathematics from a PT degree? What will be your salary compensation? Apply these questions to your other degrees shortlist.

Same for business analytics. The buzzword here is Big Data instead. What kind of employers employ big data? IMHO, singapore is always slower in terms of implementing these new technologies. You will need to know more about programming, technology such as hadoop and such. Just a IT role. Think about it.

Finance. you pretty much said it yourself. fits your background.

Yea, I did look through the job postings and consider the requirements.

At the end of the day, I just want a degree to complement my experience in insurance industry to advance my career. If that's the case, should I just go for any degree that I'm more interested in? :)

My advice for most people would be to do something broader, and a Mathematics degree is a good foundation. But not everyone is up to doing Math at university level. So you have to ask yourself if your IQ and diligence is up to the task - at the ripe age of 32. ;)

Analytics and Big Data stuff - I don't know. They may be hot for a while and then go the way of Media Studies and other fancy courses.

Finance is pretty much bread and butter these days so I would think it is good match for you.

17114
 

The world is becoming more data-intensive every day (google search for "smart cities") and it would only become more so. Big data has applications in finance, IT, and anything that involves massive databases.

If you're interested in data analytics, then go for it. You can get a job with this degree.

Besides, the IT sector is more open to hiring private uni grads because they value REAL SKILLS over certificates.

If you take a math degree at a private uni, I don't think employees will be interested in hiring you to be honest.

Yes in the end I applied for biz analytics and will be going for the admission interview tomorrow. I hope I made the right choice. Thanks everyone!

I think a Mathematics degree is a good foundation..

it may be a good foundation but most employers dont think that way. Like what someone else has said, go browse through the job portals and look for jobs that specifically ask for mathematics degree.

if u wan to do real big data stuff, most coy are looking for ppl with atleast a master or phd. if the coy are lookin for deg holder, either it means the coy dunno what they are doing and is jus jumping on the bandwagon, OR they r actually jus doing data analysis.

some of u mentioned that "singapore is always slower in terms of implementing these new technologies"... this is true compared to the western countries, we r definitely lacking behind as many industries do not see the advantage of big data yet, and there is always a huge cost barrier for the smaller enterprise even if they wan to get their hands dirty... but Singapore is actually the leading player in South-east Asia (maybe even the entire Asia) in terms of big data.

btw biz analytics is different from big data analytics also. jus google it and u will find a few nice articles highlighting the difference between the 2.

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