Working in a bank

Originally Posted by Advise

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Glad i asked this question, didn't expect negative response from all..

Im in middle office and not a business/engin grad. As im exposed to market sensitive info, i cannot trade on my own acc.

Im not sure how much a fairly good/ average trader would make in a prop firm (given the profit splitting and all those misc fees), but i would imagine it to be much more than the 2k base salary..just like good brokers and insurance/property agents. Successful ones will definitely make a lot. But the flip side is that im gg to be axed and lose my pants if i dun make the cut..

After reading thru everyone's comments, i guess it's probably safer to do something not so interesting in banking but which allows me to make 100k/annum in 10 years' time..(i hope)

I suppose there are 2 questions here ie are u looking to switch because (i) of potential upside in pay or (ii) of more interesting job scope ?

Assuming its the former, and if you are looking at a pay of $100k as sufficient, then I would say its safer to stay put. My advice would be then to stay put and actively talk to head hunters and try to move to a foreign bank in the same role. U can quite easily hit your Target payscale in a couple of years.

Now if you are looking at a payscale of $300+ pa (not difficult if u r in front office in a bb, but quite hard for everyone else, and very hard to move from local mid office to bb front office) , then u need to look outside the box and career risks such as the prop opportunity you mentioned above may be necessary. No risk no return right ? But at the same time, if you take the plunge in chasing your $300++, you need to understand that in swinging for the fences, there is a good chance u miss, and be comfortable with the potential for failure.

So at the end of the day, the optimal move depends on your career objectives.

Thanks everyone for the input. For now i think i shall just stay put and see if i can find any other positions which can give me more room and time to trade on the sidelines, without incurring a paycut. Guess that's a better bet.

[Liverpool]

Originally Posted by Advise

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Glad i asked this question, didn't expect negative response from all..

Im in middle office and not a business/engin grad. As im exposed to market sensitive info, i cannot trade on my own acc.

Im not sure how much a fairly good/ average trader would make in a prop firm (given the profit splitting and all those misc fees), but i would imagine it to be much more than the 2k base salary..just like good brokers and insurance/property agents. Successful ones will definitely make a lot. But the flip side is that im gg to be axed and lose my pants if i dun make the cut..

After reading thru everyone's comments, i guess it's probably safer to do something not so interesting in banking but which allows me to make 100k/annum in 10 years' time..(i hope)

sorry i hate to break ur bubble but there is no confirm 100k/yr job in banking. the economy is now so volatile and banks are v ruthless in retrenching people, with those earning alot being the the first to go.

Originally Posted by Liverpool

sorry i hate to break ur bubble but there is no confirm 100k/yr job in banking. the economy is now so volatile and banks are v ruthless in retrenching people, with those earning alot being the the first to go.

And then someone with all the luck will come out to say "No leh, I am so good the bank even gave me a raise this year boosting my annual take home to 500k." and then all the engineers will start posting "Should I do CFA or MBA to get into banking?"

And the cycle repeats.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

And then someone with all the luck will come out to say "No leh, I am so good the bank even gave me a raise this year boosting my annual take home to 500k." and then all the engineers will start posting "Should I do CFA or MBA to get into banking?"

And the cycle repeats.

Hahaha... Hilarious post ... And oh so true

i am local u engineering grad with not good honours, have been looking for bank operations job after i grad as i feel it has prospects compared to engineering, and i hate my years of studying in engineering in school

but i have been discouraged by many people to find bank operations job, instead to find my field of study, and also been awhile after i grad and i do not have replies from every source i tried (finding bank operations job). ppl in forums say that engineering grads can work in bank operations , but in reality, it is hard for me (negative comments from ppl and no replies) , should i give up now ? and go and find my engineering job which i hate , and be an engineer for life , as i tink i only stand a chance of being given interviews for engineering jobs

i have no other interets in other jobs, i only know that i hate engineering, i pick up an interest in bank operations while reading this forum. should i go and find engineering job? or keep finding bank operations job ( which i feel there is very low chance ) , or should i find other types of job (i do not know what jobs i want, i only know i have pick up an interest in banks operation job while reading this forum and other forums) , also partly my fyp professor tell me a lot of his engine students have found jobs in bank & finance industry, and i vaguely remember tt he encourage me in this direction , also because i took up an interest in trading after i grad and i have been reading stuff on them during my free time, so i hope to join a relevant industry to accompany my trading interest, and i tink i sort of like to read finance materials

but i tink its all a dream to me as maybe, it is not the right fit for me as i am an engineering graduate with no relevant finance skill, what should i do

if anybody can advise me on what to do, i am thankful in my heart

aiyoh... cqn tell your writting skill is damn jialat... People can get put off when they read poorly written cover letter, i suspect that's the reason you are not getting any replies..... you might want to buck up your english to stand a better chance during a job interviews...
Usually Engineers hired into banking are the ones who are more articulate and possess excellent written communication skills... they are generally perceived to be smarter and thus is more likely to be hired... Gd luck man...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

i am local u engineering grad with not good honours, have been looking for bank operations job after i grad as i feel it has prospects compared to engineering, and i hate my years of studying in engineering in school
but i have been discouraged by many people to find bank operations job, instead to find my field of study, and also been awhile after i grad and i do not have replies from every source i tried (finding bank operations job). ppl in forums say that engineering grads can work in bank operations , but in reality, it is hard for me (negative comments from ppl and no replies) , should i give up now ? and go and find my engineering job which i hate , and be an engineer for life , as i tink i only stand a chance of being given interviews for engineering jobs

i have no other interets in other jobs, i only know that i hate engineering, i pick up an interest in bank operations while reading this forum. should i go and find engineering job? or keep finding bank operations job ( which i feel there is very low chance ) , or should i find other types of job (i do not know what jobs i want, i only know i have pick up an interest in banks operation job while reading this forum and other forums) , also partly my fyp professor tell me a lot of his engine students have found jobs in bank & finance industry, and i vaguely remember tt he encourage me in this direction , also because i took up an interest in trading after i grad and i have been reading stuff on them during my free time, so i hope to join a relevant industry to accompany my trading interest, and i tink i sort of like to read finance materials

but i tink its all a dream to me as maybe, it is not the right fit for me as i am an engineering graduate with no relevant finance skill, what should i do

if anybody can advise me on what to do, i am thankful in my heart

Bank operations job shouldn't be your final goal tho its just for you to get into the bank and after that network and get an internal transfer to something better. Cos operations roles generally pay less, have alot of mundane daily stuff etc etc


TIPS for those who working in sensitive bank positions and still want to trade! Use one with a third party custodian account like SCB. That way you have no stocks in your CDP account and the banks can't do a spotcheck on you and say hey you are holding/buying stocks! Alternatively, trade under your spouse/family member's account lol..

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Bank operations job shouldn't be your final goal tho its just for you to get into the bank and after that network and get an internal transfer to something better. Cos operations roles generally pay less, have alot of mundane daily stuff etc etc


TIPS for those who working in sensitive bank positions and still want to trade! Use one with a third party custodian account like SCB. That way you have no stocks in your CDP account and the banks can't do a spotcheck on you and say hey you are holding/buying stocks! Alternatively, trade under your spouse/family member's account lol..

I don't think banks can just anyhow check your CDP account. I would think CDP info is highly confidential info, just like your bank account balance. The government wouldn't want to let anyone or any organization have access to such info, unless the enquirer has obtained some kind of permit from the courts (similar to a search warrant).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I don't think banks can just anyhow check your CDP account. I would think CDP info is highly confidential info, just like your bank account balance. The government wouldn't want to let anyone or any organization have access to such info, unless the enquirer has obtained some kind of permit from the courts (similar to a search warrant).

They don't check but they will ask you to declare annually. Sometimes they do random check ie: ok you declared no stocks held, please submit a copy of your CDP statement for verification.