I am a SIM grad. I do have a friend who is in FO role in finance. But he is a Ist class honours grad in SIM and he went on to do a masters in UK. He was fortunate as the role requires a few years of experience. There are also some alumni with good results started in good companies (outside finance). There are other opportunities in other industries as well. My view is that it depends on how you present yourself as a candidate with the relevant skills and credentials. For myself, I also went on to complete a masters and am working in a global company. You can find a lot of SIM grads in banks and big 4, SMEs etc. E.g some started in small firms and went on to Big4. All these are not uncommon. But if you were to say a SIM grad to work in a FO role in IBD or in global companies of various industries, I would say its very rare but not impossible. Apparently the people I know do who really went to take on roles in global companies/roles are those who have good results and/or went to take on a masters. Otherwise you may need many years of experience to demonstrate your worth to the employers. End of the day, its depends on how companies view you as a candidate based on all the factors you present to them.

Which means a fresh SIM grad alone is not going to be enough. Plan for a masters program after that.

Front office is such a fluid definition. Just means the revenue generating members of an organization. Go to an outsourced compliance provider and compliance is front office.

Don't get your third tier panties tied up in a bunch over FO or not FO.

I have a friend who is from SIM, graduated 2 years ago and joined a boutique trading firm as a trader. Not sure how much he is making, but recently just bought a CLS350 with his bonus, so I assume he should be getting at least 200-300k in bonus.

I have no grudge against private uni folks, but I dislike all these random, anonymous, and completely unverifiable anecdotes.

LinkedIn profiles, please?

I have a friend who became a BG in SAF when he was just 31 y.o.
He then went on to become one of the big shots in civil service.

Not sure how much he is making but he should be getting at least 1-3m in bonuses.

He did not upload his cv online so no link, but if you want to remain negative and refuse to believe then just too bad. Continue to stay in your bubble.

Different poster here.. but don't be a lame c*ock la.

What bubble? Are you for real?

There are zero profiles of SIM UOL kiddos in FO finance, and that's true. Why won't they put up a profile of themselves since most of you kiddios are so arrogant? But whatever la, everyone is just putting down SIM kids, you guys are so darn smart and capable blah blah blah.

I am the poster than you replied. I can't say whether will it be enough or not as everyone has different career paths. I can only say that the few SIM friends I know (around 2) who managed to get into FO or management associate program, both have masters from UK and they had 1st class honours for UOL. I have another friend who got 1st class honours from UOL going to UK to study masters (sponsored) after working for 4 years. After that he will be bonded to a role in govt sector. I can say that the above are real people that I know.

huh why so jialat, i just graduated from diploma the offer was 2800 basic. then study degree for what sio

I am doing origination supporting FO of a foreign bank now. Not considered 100% FO, but 3 years with them drawing 6.7k now. Bottom line is degrees are not everything, skills are much more important.

Let the Sims do what they want. Some enjoy living in fantasy world and imagine stories like buying a CLS350 with their bonus. That is so typical of them. In reality he means he bought a 1:30 scale model. I hope it came with a display case at least.

Local graduates are more grounded and live in the real world. Most of them are average performers and they are happy with what they have achieved. They may only buy humble Toyotas and Hondas but at least those are 1:1 size.

why so bitter?

Thats not bad for private uni grad. Which bank is it?

calm down everyone. lets get real. the fact is a very small percentage of us sim-uol peeps will get those 6-7 digit bonuses. possible but a lot of hard work and luck. some of u who are all about for it, all the best.

lets get back to topic of starting pay. i got into social service in 2015 with a sim-uol 2:2 degree with starting pay of 3.3k with ns. great work-life balance, can't complain abt the pay for a fresh grad and a good honest job. be open to other industries, you might not get rich financially, but you will gain in other areas in life because life is not only about money.

msf? Ngo? Vwo?

UBS. There is another private grad here doing MO work as well.

How did you land to this role? What are your working hours like? How much bonus does UBS give?

I'm a SIM UOL grad doing wholesale corp credit analysis in a foreign bank drawing 9k after 9 years of work. Slow and steady pay growth. Started at 1.8k doing operations.

Sorry not 9 years, 11 years + abit, work too long lost track.

hey mr bitter, what is yr definition of FO? why not u provide us with yr email and I'll sent u some of them as I don wanna expose ppl in a public forum

These are the roles generally regarded as FO in high finance. Unless I missed out something, for the most part if the role is not in this list, it's either not in FO, or not in high finance.

Confirm in:
- M&A, IBD sector coverage at bulge bracket or elite boutique
- Sales and trading
- investment team in hedge fund or PE

Also can lah:
- ECM / DCM
- Equity Research
- investment team at asset manager

Doubtful but ppl like to act:
- Prime broker

I'm not the guy you're replying to but feel free to PM me also. As long as I've been in the industry, I've only seen private uni guys in front office roles of no name shops.

To add on to your last point, you should also include personal bankers based in neighbourhood branches, selling insurance products, UTs, ILPs and stuffs like that. And "analyst" working in private / investment banks but in reality, they are based either in operations or are just assistants to the private bankers themselves. lol.

Being in the industry (i'm not from the FO but from the risk side) for some time, its always easy to spot if one is ********ting or not by just reading their JD or sometimes, just knowing their office location / floors. Or worse case scenario, just whatsapp my friends working in those banks to look at the staff directory. hahaha

These are not high finance.

The analysts you refer to can be FO, just that they are being incubated. Just like traders who are learning the ropes and don't have their own book yet.

Another batch of self-proclaimed investment FO experts hijack the thread and go on & on again. Does anyone have any linkedin evidence of SIM-UOL fresh grads taking up these jobs?

If not, please be considerate and share whatever your insights at the investment banking thread. This has nothing to do with "SIM-UOL fresh grad starting pay" which is the purpose of this discussion.

the last point meaning the "doubtful but people like to act" if you had read carefully.... Well Sam, i don't know which bank you worked for, but operations meaning settlements, payments processing teams and the likes. Excluding those in MAP, i have not seen FO juniors upon joining, being asked to sit within operations. Shadowing their seniors, yeah pretty common. But go sit with the KYC teams or corporate actions team? i don't know man. Maybe there are banks like that.

Associate, Client Configurations, Saxo Capital Markets



hi all, is above sentence counted as front / middle / back office?

wats ur prob? ppl want to share is good for everyone. some sim grads might be interested in joining fo side, u can always f**k off if not relevant for u.

Maybe we got to start off lower, taking the humble pie or even take a tougher road (What to blame, we didnt get into local uni in the first place and cant deny the fact that singapore companies look up more to the local grad..) But that doesnt mean its the end.. With effort and capability put in and shown, i believe one can shine too..

Just like so many engineering graduate ended up working in banking/finance industry..

And seriously, though grades might be important, but it isnt really everything.. Its a part of u, but it isnt all of u..

Thanks captain obvious!

so many flamers here, but nobody can answer a serious question when asked?

Who the heck knows without seeing the JD. Best guess is MO/BO for a prime broker.

Configure what.. Their trades? Their IT system? Their office furniture? Their wives?

how about you ? why not tell us what you can infer by just reading from the job title? Captain smart ass. What a joke.

same to u

10 chars

thats all for your comeback? How disappointing. I really want to see how you'd hold up to an argument in real life... but being all stupid as you've displayed, you'd probably just brute force your way through.

i
___i___

So salty...........

Wow, so much negativity in this thread...

I graduated from UOL Banking and Finance with 3rd class honours 4 years ago.
Worked at a foreign bank after graduation, drawing a salary of about 3k.
Got disillusioned, and quit after a year. Joined a tech startup.
Said startup failed after 2 years. 2 years of crushing 80 hours work weeks for a pittance of a salary and worthless equity.

It was not all for naught though. I built a great business network and picked up a diverse range of skill sets. Currently, I consult for startups and SMEs, and run a small business. My annual income last year was about 250k. I've just hit 30 this year.

Some advice to the UOL juniors:
Just because you did a finance degree, doesn't mean you have to be in finance or banking. Keep an open mind.

Your starting salary isn't important. What company you work for isn't important. Hell, even your education isn't as important as you think it is.

Here's what's important: Continual learning and building your network. Stay humble, stay hungry, always be positive, and work your bloody ass off.

At least learn to BS properly.

Left school 4 years ago and spent 3 years going nowhere in a failed company and suddenly consult for other successful businesses making annual income of 250k "last year".

What did you do last year? Got laid off after company bankrupt and suddenly start your own consultancy and made 250k within few months?