SIM-UOL fresh grad starting pay

Generally they are competitive - 4k and above with good benefits. GS gives a one off 7k signing bonus.

I applied backoffice as a back-up because I want a client facing role and I don't like finance so I accepted the consulting offer. But generally, in ops, the bigger ones are moving into a governance model but they are still growing - JPM is opening their 2nd HQ in APAC in Hong Kong. Be careful which bank you go, SCB is a dying bank, HSBC isn't doing well. In Singapore, I have bias to go GS/JPM/Citi/DBS in that order due to general job security and prospects.

On to prospects, its true that BO is a dead end job but it doesn't have to be. As your workstream gets automated, you have to make sure you become the oversight for that new process thats why some roles such as KYC/Client DD will always stay (Believe it or not, they cannot afford to outsource these roles due to work quality - when I was interning over the summer at a consulting firm, we were on a project 001 (first ever case) so the pressure was very high and we had additional resources attached from our secondary office in India. The guy attached to us was a manager and his work was sh!t. It was until the point, the seniors didn't even want to reply his emails and told me to delegate work to him. But of course, this is a small sample size but you get the idea).

If you stay in a bank long enough, it pays over time but don't suckered into it. I have a senior who started in a BO role, within 8 years he became regional head of department. Another guy I know, started 2.8k at SCB, after 7 years, his pay hit more than 10k, he drives a BMW and owns a condo.

Ultimately, a job is as bad as you want it to be or as good as you want it to be. Love it or hate it, do the best you can, grab opportunities and you'll be fine.

And one more thing I always believe - don't be bogged down by the whole prestige or FO vs BO thing. At the end of the day, if someone rejects BO for a 3.5k job because its BO, guess who's the sucker?

Oh and be the way, there really isn't a middle office. It's very popular term but FO really refers to IB and capital markets while everything else is BO or corporate functions.

MO is a term concocted by a few ego-butthurts who couldn't get into FO but instead got some risk compliance and decided that they were MO but they are really just BO roles.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Oh and be the way, there really isn't a middle office. It's very popular term but FO really refers to IB and capital markets while everything else is BO or corporate functions.

MO is a term concocted by a few ego-butthurts who couldn't get into FO but instead got some risk compliance and decided that they were MO but they are really just BO roles.

I have been hearing this a lot lately. So roles like credit/market risk analyst.. would you consider them BO roles? A number of my banking friends do. Curious about the compensation as well. I heard it's typically about 4k+ so kinda makes it clear that aside from FO roles, the rest of the roles are about 4k+??

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have been hearing this a lot lately. So roles like credit/market risk analyst.. would you consider them BO roles? A number of my banking friends do. Curious about the compensation as well. I heard it's typically about 4k+ so kinda makes it clear that aside from FO roles, the rest of the roles are about 4k+??

It's up to debate I guess. But to me, the only distinction is FO or not, meaning IB or CapMarkets.

We are lucky because we are from local universities so we will be offered full time roles, not contract jobs. So for such positions, you can generally expect more than 4k, excluding local banks.

For bulge brackets, above 4k is realistic for almost any role, not sure about corporate functions but I've heard of 4.5k for marketing roles within the asset management division.

For local banks, apart from DBS - don't expect more than 4k. Even so, I believe DBS pays between 3.5k to 3.8k for the graduate associate positions and 4.5k for management associates.

Other banks like HSBC, Nomura, SCB and so on I'm not too sure but generally, you can use GS as a measure of brand name and prestige to scale down the salary.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Other banks like HSBC, Nomura, SCB and so on I'm not too sure but generally, you can use GS as a measure of brand name and prestige to scale down the salary.

I agree with everything you have said except the last bit. I know that for IBD, GS offers a lower base salary because of the cachet of their brand name. I am wondering if that's true for the rest of their roles/functions as well.

wtf is MO?

i only know the guy who books my trades call himself MO (in his email signature).

till now i struggle to understand what that is.

i only know FO makes money, the rest of the functions are BO.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I majored in operations.

Had offers from 2 management consulting firms, 2 banks (backoffice). In total I interviewed for 5 consulting firms and 2 banks. Applied more than 15 companies.

Nice, which consulting firms? MBB, OW or big4?

All the best bro!

Me, a UOL grad, just recruited a late-20s SMU grad with some years of work experience to work for me. LOL.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Me, a UOL grad, just recruited a late-20s SMU grad with some years of work experience to work for me. LOL.

thanks.

you just validated the fact that sim uol is so rubbish, that even a former student wont hire someone from the same course.

btw, is there a UOL in SG? i only know a sim uol distance learning programme.
if you are from sim, pls say so, and not use "UOL grad".

Originally Posted by Unregistered

thanks.

you just validated the fact that sim uol is so rubbish, that even a former student wont hire someone from the same course.

btw, is there a UOL in SG? i only know a sim uol distance learning programme.
if you are from sim, pls say so, and not use "UOL grad".

I am secure in what I do and I don't feel the need to justify anything to you. Lol.