Working in a bank

They have this graduate programme that they accept fresh graduates from all discipline. The only thing is I have to do well in order to get in.

Originally Posted by CONFUSEDARMYDUDE

They have this graduate programme that they accept fresh graduates from all discipline. The only thing is I have to do well in order to get in.

ARe you sure you can do well?

The other thing is that government agencies tend to value academic results a lot. They will also look at your A and O levels results. So if MAS is considering 2 top students from NTU EEE and you are one of them, the one with a better past results will likely be selected.

Well, I cant be 100% sure.

True and I screwed my O's.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

why are you so sure that MAS will hire you?

I am the one that answer Eric on the more reliable methods and this is my 1st reply since then for confusedarmydude. (I shall call myself advisor) As mentioned previously, I am from the banking sector. I have never been into MAS but then dude, what made you think MAS will hire you even if you are 1st class from anywhere ? THe interviews are quite stringent although not as bad as investment banks. 2nd, do you know most of the departments in MAS are dealing with regulation and nothing to do with real investing and trading. Chances are if you were to join them you will join one of the supervision/regulation department and whole day watching over compliance in financial sector which is very boring. THe only department that do some trading is the department that determining the SGD rate and they buy/sell in the FX market to place SGD into a certain band as a monetary tool. That is hardly called a trader and the compensation differs vastly from a true prop FX trader in a bank although all traders in SGD cross have to kowtow to them as they are the ones who move the market.
I would suggest this to any of young grad or grad to be, give up the dream of being a trader or investment banker, the odds are just too high against you. Most if not all of you average students will waste time and effort going after something that is never meant to be yours and once you pass 30 and look back, nothing much is being achieved and will be in future years. If getting rich young is your goal, stick with this goal and open your eyes for other opportunities rather than craving for trader and investment banker roles whole day.

Originally Posted by Advisor

I am the one that answer Eric on the more reliable methods and this is my 1st reply since then for confusedarmydude. (I shall call myself advisor) As mentioned previously, I am from the banking sector. I have never been into MAS but then dude, what made you think MAS will hire you even if you are 1st class from anywhere ? THe interviews are quite stringent although not as bad as investment banks. 2nd, do you know most of the departments in MAS are dealing with regulation and nothing to do with real investing and trading. Chances are if you were to join them you will join one of the supervision/regulation department and whole day watching over compliance in financial sector which is very boring. THe only department that do some trading is the department that determining the SGD rate and they buy/sell in the FX market to place SGD into a certain band as a monetary tool. That is hardly called a trader and the compensation differs vastly from a true prop FX trader in a bank although all traders in SGD cross have to kowtow to them as they are the ones who move the market.
I would suggest this to any of young grad or grad to be, give up the dream of being a trader or investment banker, the odds are just too high against you. Most if not all of you average students will waste time and effort going after something that is never meant to be yours and once you pass 30 and look back, nothing much is being achieved and will be in future years. If getting rich young is your goal, stick with this goal and open your eyes for other opportunities rather than craving for trader and investment banker roles whole day.

Completely agree with what advisor said. I think someone else also said it's easier to build another Osim or Hyflux from scratch. Do that!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Completely agree with what advisor said. I think someone else also said it's easier to build another Osim or Hyflux from scratch. Do that!

Yes. Look at the weekend paper on Ivan Lee, the Thai Express guy. I think he was my school mate in Uni days more than 10 years back. He sold the business for around $70million or so I cannot remember at age of 35. Which trader/investment bank can do that ?

[chnrxn]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Completely agree with what advisor said. I think someone else also said it's easier to build another Osim or Hyflux from scratch. Do that!

Thai Express is one of those that succeeded big time ($70mil!). Some other businesses make a decent amount (>$100k/yr, for e.g.). Most others fail within 5 years.

Having said that, don't be afraid to fail. But you must learn from your mistakes and ideally have good teachers/backers (parents or in-laws who run businesses themselves). If you run your business well, you get rewarded with, say, >70% of the revenue you generate. Whereas if you work for other people, you may only be getting <30% of your revenue contribution (because the boss gets 70%).

Just my two cents on people wanting to get into the banking industry. The industry is elitist, you cannot change that as all the ivies and oxbridge will have a step ahead of you when you want to go for a front office job. Another thing is that the headcount for front office jobs in Singapore is really small. It is a small country, if you are thinking of M&A, Corp Finance etc it is only a handful of jobs available. For S&T, chances are slightly better as there is a lot more headcount, however not for stock (equities) especially Singapore equities (the market cap is too small) compared to HK, AUS, Shanghai. For FI, you might have some chance in FX, however for other FI products your chances are quite slim.

Overall, Singapore is a private banking hub. Hence, my advice to all aspiring to work in a bank in a front office capacity would be to go through the wealth management or private banking route. If you are still adamant in wanting an investment banking front office job, my advise is to go somewhere else. Look at why all the big banks base their Ops or back office function here (centre of excellence etc), there is a reason...

Anyway, I have rattled on quite a bit now, wish you guys all the best. Remember to always be polite, speak properly and be professional, just my observation.... Take care all.

[ericgohjunhui]

Originally Posted by invag

Just my two cents on people wanting to get into the banking industry. The industry is elitist, you cannot change that as all the ivies and oxbridge will have a step ahead of you when you want to go for a front office job. Another thing is that the headcount for front office jobs in Singapore is really small. It is a small country, if you are thinking of M&A, Corp Finance etc it is only a handful of jobs available. For S&T, chances are slightly better as there is a lot more headcount, however not for stock (equities) especially Singapore equities (the market cap is too small) compared to HK, AUS, Shanghai. For FI, you might have some chance in FX, however for other FI products your chances are quite slim.

Overall, Singapore is a private banking hub. Hence, my advice to all aspiring to work in a bank in a front office capacity would be to go through the wealth management or private banking route. If you are still adamant in wanting an investment banking front office job, my advise is to go somewhere else. Look at why all the big banks base their Ops or back office function here (centre of excellence etc), there is a reason...

Anyway, I have rattled on quite a bit now, wish you guys all the best. Remember to always be polite, speak properly and be professional, just my observation.... Take care all.

Thanks for the useful advice. Read so much from the seniors and i guess it's really tough to break into IB FO. Are u able to tell me more on wealth management and private banking FO does? Where do I start to get into this role? Thanks

Originally Posted by ericgohjunhui

Thanks for the useful advice. Read so much from the seniors and i guess it's really tough to break into IB FO. Are u able to tell me more on wealth management and private banking FO does? Where do I start to get into this role? Thanks

To do sales you have to look good. It's just a matter of keeping a lookout for the recruitment ads. You can also try emailing the banks directly but success rate will be pretty low but not impossible.