My plan for breaking into finance sector

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I started off thinking that TS is not so knowledgeable in this field..but as i read on, i realise there's just so much BS and smoke bombs going ard..I estimate that 90% of the people in this thread are not in banking..or at least FO banking..and TS probably sounds more sensible than most..

Just to put the record straight from someone in this industry..

Buy side analysts/ fund managers do use sell side research..but they don't follow blindly of course.

Most analysts start out from the sell side because buy side usually requires a certain amt of experience before u can break in..but there are outliers/exceptions of cos..

The best bet for TS is like what he already suggested..start out at smaller firms and gain the experience before moving on. Having said that, it will not be a walk in the park to get such a role cause competition for equity research is still very fierce even at smaller firms..

UBS would rather take someone who did 5 years of research in phillip securities over someone who did 5 years of Ops in Goldman Sachs..

If u're lucky enough to get in..then do the CFA..it's the gold standard for equity research & fund management. Yes..TS is also right..nobody starts off as a fund manager..

Good luck!

just somethings to add. You are right though, they value relevant experience. but it is not a must like what you say in your above example, i have done 5 yrs of research in philip capital or whatever small firm so now I can move on to the big boys like UBS. I have seen many people moving from firm to firm but always never be able to break into the big boys. E.g. 5 yrs in philip capital, then move on to another 3 yrs to another fund, then another 3 yrs to another fund, all doing research. You can see many of such profiles in Linkedin.

what I am trying to say is that if you wanna compare monetary wise, over a 10 yr period for example, the one at ops at goldman sachs may be earning overall more than this research guy who was working in small firms.

There is no right or wrong answer. One is not wrong to choose ops in a big firm and one is not wrong either to work in small firms in research. It really depends on ur interest and how u want to walk your life.

and yes like what you said, job openings for research at small firms are very competitive too.

TS, as you are in the public sector at age 27, I assume say by the time you leave next year for Masters at age 28, you may be drawing $4k+ or close to $5k. In the worse case scenario, u may be joining a small firm with $2k-3k after graduation. By then you are 29 or 30 after graduation? What are your family plans? Are you planning to get married or already married at that stage? Will you have children? How much savings do you have? Can they survive on your low salary?

And pls dun take the CFA route then change jobs. To pass the CFA even at all levels, you need like 2 yrs plus (assuming you had not passed any level now). If you fail one level, your CFA charter may take longer to arrive (level 2 n 3 only happens once a yr in june). By that time you will be in your thirties and your chances of switching will be lower. A Masters is a better option.

Don't just follow the Finance crowd blindly. The people in the government sector are not stupid for not following the finance crowd. They thought about their odds, age, qualifications etc and may have decided that it may be better to remain there.

Everybody's route to success is different. I wish you luck in finding yours.

[alwaysnforever]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

just somethings to add. You are right though, they value relevant experience. but it is not a must like what you say in your above example, i have done 5 yrs of research in philip capital or whatever small firm so now I can move on to the big boys like UBS. I have seen many people moving from firm to firm but always never be able to break into the big boys. E.g. 5 yrs in philip capital, then move on to another 3 yrs to another fund, then another 3 yrs to another fund, all doing research. You can see many of such profiles in Linkedin.

what I am trying to say is that if you wanna compare monetary wise, over a 10 yr period for example, the one at ops at goldman sachs may be earning overall more than this research guy who was working in small firms.

There is no right or wrong answer. One is not wrong to choose ops in a big firm and one is not wrong either to work in small firms in research. It really depends on ur interest and how u want to walk your life.

and yes like what you said, job openings for research at small firms are very competitive too.

TS, as you are in the public sector at age 27, I assume say by the time you leave next year for Masters at age 28, you may be drawing $4k+ or close to $5k. In the worse case scenario, u may be joining a small firm with $2k-3k after graduation. By then you are 29 or 30 after graduation? What are your family plans? Are you planning to get married or already married at that stage? Will you have children? How much savings do you have? Can they survive on your low salary?

And pls dun take the CFA route then change jobs. To pass the CFA even at all levels, you need like 2 yrs plus (assuming you had not passed any level now). If you fail one level, your CFA charter may take longer to arrive (level 2 n 3 only happens once a yr in june). By that time you will be in your thirties and your chances of switching will be lower. A Masters is a better option.

Don't just follow the Finance crowd blindly. The people in the government sector are not stupid for not following the finance crowd. They thought about their odds, age, qualifications etc and may have decided that it may be better to remain there.

Everybody's route to success is different. I wish you luck in finding yours.

I am taking the CFA route, and if I pass level 1, will use that as one of my selling point. After talking to some friends and reading online, it seems CFA is more intune with what I want to do rather than MBA, and much more affordable as well.

Not planning to get married till 2 years later, and children at least 3-4 years time.

Originally Posted by alwaysnforever

I am taking the CFA route, and if I pass level 1, will use that as one of my selling point. After talking to some friends and reading online, it seems CFA is more intune with what I want to do rather than MBA, and much more affordable as well.

Not planning to get married till 2 years later, and children at least 3-4 years time.

u wanna switch careers with a CFA Level 1?

even though I dun like SMU's course, I think SMU course > CFA Level 1.

[alwaysnforever]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

u wanna switch careers with a CFA Level 1?

even though I dun like SMU's course, I think SMU course > CFA Level 1.

A CFA is more relevant to what I am considering switching to. For other sections of banking/FO, I would definitely go for MBA or Msc

Originally Posted by alwaysnforever

A CFA is more relevant to what I am considering switching to. For other sections of banking/FO, I would definitely go for MBA or Msc

If I were you, I will go for both CFA and MBA to maximize my output in achieving what I want. CFA for the knowledge and MBA for the networking + school brand. I heard of some group studying for CFA, but I srly do not think it will give you enough of the connection to break in.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

If I were you, I will go for both CFA and MBA to maximize my output in achieving what I want. CFA for the knowledge and MBA for the networking + school brand. I heard of some group studying for CFA, but I srly do not think it will give you enough of the connection to break in.

I have a cfa and an mba and am a career switcher in FO. Basically, cfa better from knowledge base perspective but mba better from a industry switch perspective. And its not even close .

No one will give u a job just cos u hv a cfa, cos there are a huge number of chinese and indians w the same.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have a cfa and an mba and am a career switcher in FO. Basically, cfa better from knowledge base perspective but mba better from a industry switch perspective. And its not even close .

No one will give u a job just cos u hv a cfa, cos there are a huge number of chinese and indians w the same.

Minding sharing ur progress stepping into the FO as a career switcher?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have a cfa and an mba and am a career switcher in FO. Basically, cfa better from knowledge base perspective but mba better from a industry switch perspective. And its not even close .

No one will give u a job just cos u hv a cfa, cos there are a huge number of chinese and indians w the same.

local or foreign MBA?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

just somethings to add. You are right though, they value relevant experience. but it is not a must like what you say in your above example, i have done 5 yrs of research in philip capital or whatever small firm so now I can move on to the big boys like UBS. I have seen many people moving from firm to firm but always never be able to break into the big boys. E.g. 5 yrs in philip capital, then move on to another 3 yrs to another fund, then another 3 yrs to another fund, all doing research. You can see many of such profiles in Linkedin.

what I am trying to say is that if you wanna compare monetary wise, over a 10 yr period for example, the one at ops at goldman sachs may be earning overall more than this research guy who was working in small firms.

There is no right or wrong answer. One is not wrong to choose ops in a big firm and one is not wrong either to work in small firms in research. It really depends on ur interest and how u want to walk your life.

and yes like what you said, job openings for research at small firms are very competitive too.

TS, as you are in the public sector at age 27, I assume say by the time you leave next year for Masters at age 28, you may be drawing $4k+ or close to $5k. In the worse case scenario, u may be joining a small firm with $2k-3k after graduation. By then you are 29 or 30 after graduation? What are your family plans? Are you planning to get married or already married at that stage? Will you have children? How much savings do you have? Can they survive on your low salary?

And pls dun take the CFA route then change jobs. To pass the CFA even at all levels, you need like 2 yrs plus (assuming you had not passed any level now). If you fail one level, your CFA charter may take longer to arrive (level 2 n 3 only happens once a yr in june). By that time you will be in your thirties and your chances of switching will be lower. A Masters is a better option.

Don't just follow the Finance crowd blindly. The people in the government sector are not stupid for not following the finance crowd. They thought about their odds, age, qualifications etc and may have decided that it may be better to remain there.

Everybody's route to success is different. I wish you luck in finding yours.

I know research guys who went from local firms to sovereign wealth funds and BBs. It's true and happened.

I never said research is "better" than Ops..u are right..to each his own..

Many ppl outside of banking/finance only talk about the glamour and pay of FO banking, but no one talks about the sacrifices and the kind of culture in it..think there ought to be some discussion on this..esp for career switchers.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I know research guys who went from local firms to sovereign wealth funds and BBs. It's true and happened.

I never said research is "better" than Ops..u are right..to each his own..

Many ppl outside of banking/finance only talk about the glamour and pay of FO banking, but no one talks about the sacrifices and the kind of culture in it..think there ought to be some discussion on this..esp for career switchers.

Cheers.

Just to clarify, i don't mean that once u do research for 5 yrs in small local firms..u surely will end up in one of the "big boys". I'm just saying it's not impossible and I've seen it happened.