Marsh Graduate Development Program

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi, i was offered to join their MA programme, anyone got experience can pls share? thks!

what are your other options?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

what are your other options?

why ? is it not good?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

why ? is it not good?

good or not is relative, at least imo. Marsh pays below average, but average compared to what? tech? ofc it pays below average. compared to high finance and consulting? yea below average for sure. compared to fresh grads across the board? maybe comparable.

so it all comes down to what yard stick you would like to use to measure your relative 'goodness'. which is why i asked what other options you have on hand or you know you can realistically get, which should be your key deciding factor in this case.

no other offers/this is as good as you get = accept this offer and think of progression/pivoting with some exp down the road

few offers on hand/got something on standby = you have the upper hand and can weigh the pros and cons

still not keen on this offer/set your sights on other industry = give it a shot if you can, if not, pick up the skills necessary and pivot (option 1)

just my 2c.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

good or not is relative, at least imo. Marsh pays below average, but average compared to what? tech? ofc it pays below average. compared to high finance and consulting? yea below average for sure. compared to fresh grads across the board? maybe comparable.

so it all comes down to what yard stick you would like to use to measure your relative 'goodness'. which is why i asked what other options you have on hand or you know you can realistically get, which should be your key deciding factor in this case.

no other offers/this is as good as you get = accept this offer and think of progression/pivoting with some exp down the road

few offers on hand/got something on standby = you have the upper hand and can weigh the pros and cons

still not keen on this offer/set your sights on other industry = give it a shot if you can, if not, pick up the skills necessary and pivot (option 1)

just my 2c.

Thanks for the advice and sharing, i have a total of 3 offers, Marsh (MA programme), 1 offer from big 4 (audit), and 1 offer from the uni (ntu/nus) (MA programme)

The highest paying one is the uni offer with pay at least 25% higher than what Marsh and big 4 is paying, my only concern is that the exit option for me if i choose the uni job, i am not sure if the skills and experience i learnt will be useful in finding jobs elsewhere if i decided to quit, any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for the advice and sharing, i have a total of 3 offers, Marsh (MA programme), 1 offer from big 4 (audit), and 1 offer from the uni (ntu/nus) (MA programme)

The highest paying one is the uni offer with pay at least 25% higher than what Marsh and big 4 is paying, my only concern is that the exit option for me if i choose the uni job, i am not sure if the skills and experience i learnt will be useful in finding jobs elsewhere if i decided to quit, any thoughts?

I would avoid B4 entirely if i were you, just look in the B4 thread to know what its like over there, hard pass for me personally.

Generally MA programs are meant to be generalist and transferable SO LONG as you dont stay past a couple of years and lose your value (in the sense that u would be doing a mid career switch) imagine u stay on at nus/ntu until u are 35 and look to be a M/AM in another industry but you would be competing with fresh grads at that level.

So my advice is pick whichever u feel the strongest about, but dont stay attached to one place. definitely dont stay longer than 5 years max at one place/job. not in this day and age.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I would avoid B4 entirely if i were you, just look in the B4 thread to know what its like over there, hard pass for me personally.

Generally MA programs are meant to be generalist and transferable SO LONG as you dont stay past a couple of years and lose your value (in the sense that u would be doing a mid career switch) imagine u stay on at nus/ntu until u are 35 and look to be a M/AM in another industry but you would be competing with fresh grads at that level.

So my advice is pick whichever u feel the strongest about, but dont stay attached to one place. definitely dont stay longer than 5 years max at one place/job. not in this day and age.

I see, my only concern is, if i were to go for a higher pay job (nus/ntu) now, in the future when i wanna leave, it is harder for me to go to corporate world, whereas in marsh its definitely a more lower pay, but when i leave to another job it is easier ? i am not too sure, hope to hear from you soon bro. Much appreciated the guidance and advice.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I see, my only concern is, if i were to go for a higher pay job (nus/ntu) now, in the future when i wanna leave, it is harder for me to go to corporate world, whereas in marsh its definitely a more lower pay, but when i leave to another job it is easier ? i am not too sure, hope to hear from you soon bro. Much appreciated the guidance and advice.

the reality is NUS as an employer is not a strong brand name in the market.....if you are happy hopping to SMU and NTU then maybe its ok....end of the day, NUS is non profit...you need to think why they are paying above market rate...haha

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I see, my only concern is, if i were to go for a higher pay job (nus/ntu) now, in the future when i wanna leave, it is harder for me to go to corporate world, whereas in marsh its definitely a more lower pay, but when i leave to another job it is easier ? i am not too sure, hope to hear from you soon bro. Much appreciated the guidance and advice.

corporate world which industry are u thinking of in particular? or not really anyth in mind?

i will say an admin type role is not too much different than a "corporate" type role esp in an MA program in the earlier years. like i said, key is not to stay too long until u are handcuffed to that place because u dont have any transferable skillsets.

if its up to me, i will go with higher pay because typically when negotiating with HR here in SG, it can be based on your current compensation. higher starting pay = prolly higher next pay. then it comes down to what u enjoy doing, maybe u hate the admins in ntu/nus alr? idk.

bottom line dont stay too long either way. and fyi i wouldnt take what the guy above me said srsly, places worth their salt pay well to attract talent period. by saying prestigious companies can afford to pay less is bs, companies start to be prestigious because they pay well. not the other way round. as long as you make sure ure skillsets are relevant to transfer elsewhere, otherwise who cares abt prestige? lol

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I see, my only concern is, if i were to go for a higher pay job (nus/ntu) now, in the future when i wanna leave, it is harder for me to go to corporate world, whereas in marsh its definitely a more lower pay, but when i leave to another job it is easier ? i am not too sure, hope to hear from you soon bro. Much appreciated the guidance and advice.

joining Marsh graduate program you have to make sure you are well liked and perform throughout your rotation. so hopefully at the end of the day you are being wanted by various teams and put yourself in a position to choose or share your preference. based on my observation, limited increment during 2yrs and generally you have to jump once u hit the 3-4yr mark to make a big leap in salary to above 5-6k. and when you job hop to another broker or insurer you'll have to request for salary based on your ability to contribute/market value rather than applying the 20-30% pay rise which will not get you far assuming your salary is around the 4kish range after 3yrs.

my rule of thumb when it comes to insurance career is to join a line which is unique n with more expats and more niche, usually those pays better than general retail product lines like Employee benefits n property etc.

fyi im the guy who shared my journey to 10k on page 86.

Marsh is really about general insurance so the question should be whether you are looking for a career in GI?