From Engineering to Banking

[learner]

Hi I’m a newbie sincerely looking for some advices here regarding career development.

Background:
NUS Mechanical Engineering Graduate
Job title: Field Engineer
Experience: 1 year in a regional hq of a Japanese MNC (main player in certain manufacturing industry)
Age: 24
Income p.a.: 45k
Skill set: Good communication skill, great exposure to asia pacific market (frequency of traveling = 2 weeks in one month), analytical skill, regional sales experience across asia pacific

Predicament:
With a degree from local uni (without honor however), I consider my income p.a as average, compared to other engineers in this industry. After one year struggling in the company, I realize that if I work my hardest for the next 9 or 10 years, the maximum height I would be able to clinch would be an engineering department head (Japanese top management will never treat local staff equally), drawing about 100k p.a. Yeah traveling around is fun, but I can’t imagine myself doing the same thing for the next 10 years. And yeah there will be also more management stuff as I climb up the corporate ladder, but as mentioned Japanese top management is always on top of you therefore there is nothing much you can do in fact. And taking the sad life of engineer in Singapore into consideration, I dun really see it a point to continue the engineering path.

Therefore, I’m seriously considering for a hop to banking sector. Read a lot of stuff on banking sector in this forum, and interested to start off as a RM in a local bank, which I believe it would be a quite a good match for my skill set to the job requirement; and yeah as suggested by some experts this might be the weakest link to break into the FO.
Knowing that the longer I stay in the engineering field the harder I can have a successful career switch, so I guess maybe it’s a good time for me right now to start something new.

Comments/advices are welcomed. Thanks !

Unlikely you will get a chance to be RM when you didn't even get honors for your degree... Banks usually take in 1st class honors graduate.. These days almost every engineer trying to get into banking... Naturally the bank will filter away the less eligible ones...
Very realistic selection process... Besides excellent academic results, if you are a gorgeous girl or handsome hunk.. then you definitely got the advantage to be selected... because the bank obviously wants a good looking chap to face the clients..
The only thing that you can use to sell yourself is the 1 year sales experience which might be able to help you a little bit.. To better your chance, you should take up a finance related masters degree... That will put you in a position than where you are at now... Gd luck..

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Unlikely you will get a chance to be RM when you didn't even get honors for your degree... Banks usually take in 1st class honors graduate.. These days almost every engineer trying to get into banking... Naturally the bank will filter away the less eligible ones...
Very realistic selection process... Besides excellent academic results, if you are a gorgeous girl or handsome hunk.. then you definitely got the advantage to be selected... because the bank obviously wants a good looking chap to face the clients..
The only thing that you can use to sell yourself is the 1 year sales experience which might be able to help you a little bit.. To better your chance, you should take up a finance related masters degree... That will put you in a position than where you are at now... Gd luck..

Poly grads can also be RMs. Don't throw smoke.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Poly grads can also be RMs. Don't throw smoke.

For retail banking and sme corporate banking, maybe.

But for large corporates, hand to heart, I've not seen any in my dealings.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Poly grads can also be RMs. Don't throw smoke.

The last time i heard for RM.. Must at least be a degree holder... Maybe his RM stands for "Restroom Manager"....

[learner]

Well thanks for all the comments.

I have heard of poly grad being a RM too, in those cases i believe the networking must have played a part for it.

I am clear about what i want to achieve, it doesn't matter where i have to start from. If my grades and my current network does allow me to start as a RM, i would then seek for other position whereby the requirement is lower.

And in fact I don't think my 1 year sales experience does help much. Many ppl out there can do sales, but not many have global exposure. Just wondering how I can utilize this as one of my core strength to enter the banking industry...

Suggestions?

[Liverpool]

Originally Posted by learner

Well thanks for all the comments.

I have heard of poly grad being a RM too, in those cases i believe the networking must have played a part for it.

I am clear about what i want to achieve, it doesn't matter where i have to start from. If my grades and my current network does allow me to start as a RM, i would then seek for other position whereby the requirement is lower.

And in fact I don't think my 1 year sales experience does help much. Many ppl out there can do sales, but not many have global exposure. Just wondering how I can utilize this as one of my core strength to enter the banking industry...

Suggestions?

another engineer who wants to go banking...honestly u can forget abt it...

assuming u dun know anyone and u r starting fresh through job application, why wld a bank choose u?

u r not finance grad. u got no honors. do u haf CFA?

u think ppl take masters for fun just to join banking? no, they take because they need a fresh start. they take a relevant finance course to join the associate program. They know banks will ask y u nv take finance education? why u grad go n join this other job? or when u were studying why did u not take a finance internship.

look at ur compeititors, SMU, NUS students with 2 banking internships before they grad? How to fight? n most r 2nd upper to first class.

if u really no network, maybe take a masters of financial engineering or MBA to network and restart again. Engineer r good in math, better for trading, product structuring, risk management roles than RM...

but like wat someone said earlier, retail banking n sme corporate banking maybe u got chance..

Work hard in your current job, save up, and start a small business.

Banks will start firing people soon. Do you know that retail RMs have super high turnover? If you don't hit sales quota, you are out. And then next job is insurance or property sales or worse, MLM...

Don't waste money with all the masters and CFA lah. The time can be better used to research and start a business. My friend graduated near the top in a top EMBA program. He got nothing in return, still holding same old job, 200k poorer.

And don't fall into the trap of "trade 10 hours a day to riches" too, in case you're considering those seminars.

Sorry to discourage you.

The reality - you dont stand a chance. Dont waste youre time.

Focus on areas you are trained in.

Ex-engineers make bad investment or finance people as they have no understanding on global finance and economics. Why do people take years to study economics and finance in the uni?

Employers now go for NUS, SMU top finance and economics or NUS MBA grads.

Spend your time to impress your Japanese bosses with your hard work.

Stay manufacturing sector as engineer. This is advocated by Tony Tan

RAZORTV - Dr Tony Tan: Singapore needs more engineers

Though it doesnt pay well, you will play a part in diversifying Singapore economy, maybe treat it as part of nation building