Banks' Pay and Bonuses

Originally Posted by Unregistered

true. for eg. i hear occassionally big oil about even more power than investment banking. but somehow nobody seems interested in them at least in this forum, there are so many banking questions but so far only 1 exxon technician topic & so far nothing on the likes of shell, bp, chevron etc. at all.

maybe big oil is just not as good as upselling themselves like the investment banking industry. or maybe is because the posh offices in downtown marina bay and pretty girls attract a lot of freshies.

Yes, let me give you another example.

NUS Valedictorians in Class 2013 and 2014 are Tobias Chan and Chan Yi respectively. Both pieces of information, you can google/LinkedIn and verify if you don't believe

Yet, Tobias went to Shell while Chan Yi went to Goldman. Does this necessarily mean that one is dumber/lesser than the other? Does this mean that all FCH die die must go banking/IB?

A lot of people here really don't know what they are talking about, and it's so laughable.

Let me post the LinkedIn since I have some spare time on my hands

s://sg.linkedin.com/pub/tobias-zhaonan-chen/20/650/6a9
s://hk.linkedin.com/pub/yi-chan/b1/33a/381

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yes, let me give you another example.

NUS Valedictorians in Class 2013 and 2014 are Tobias Chan and Chan Yi respectively. Both pieces of information, you can google/LinkedIn and verify if you don't believe

Yet, Tobias went to Shell while Chan Yi went to Goldman. Does this necessarily mean that one is dumber/lesser than the other? Does this mean that all FCH die die must go banking/IB?

A lot of people here really don't know what they are talking about, and it's so laughable.

Sorry, can't resist chipping in the conversation half way.

Only idiots will think going to Shell is lesser than Goldman. Ask any seasoned headhunter they will tell you in Shell many blue collar workers are paid more than a typical mid career deg grad in other mncs. I don't want to know how crazy their top jobs like traders & drillers are paid.

Unfortunately this forum seems to be filled with a lot of investment & private banking idealist who have no idea what they want or what is within their reach, just die die must join a bank even if it means doing branch ops or back office or do a local MAP which they have no interest in.

The worst part is the other clueless ones who know nuts but keep egging them by spreading misinformation say until like anyone who doesn't join investment banking is a loser destined for a life of mediocrity.

Glad to hear someone experienced in the banking industry with a good network of the players come out to refute all this nonsense.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The worst part is the other clueless ones who know nuts but keep egging them by spreading misinformation say until like anyone who doesn't join investment banking is a loser destined for a life of mediocrity.

Glad to hear someone experienced in the banking industry with a good network of the players come out to refute all this nonsense.

Yes, working in investment banking isn't all that is cranked out to be.

You have to sacrifice your friends, family, health for a start... Some even sacrifice their morals and bodies. UNLESS you're in the industry, which I can assure you that 90% of the people on this thread aren't, you will NOT know how screwed up both the work and people are.

The best are those yaya papaya who like to repeat the lines of "oh, you wanna join banking must be top of the top ivy/oxbridge/FCH local uni grad" and "ONLY THE BEST OF LOCAL UNI CAN JOIN, dont dream" --- do you people even know FIVE people in FO banking?

From your posts i can deduce a few things about you:

1. you don't work in a BB FO role, thus you need to bask in your peers' glory, by bringing up those who are more capable than you

2. you are not a FCH, thus you sound so bitter about it

3. you're very childish to post names and particulars about your friends/peers on a public forum just to prove that "you're in the know". Those who know you really are unfortunate.

4. you really sound so passe, like you're living in pre-2007. Wake up boy. Ibankers used to earn years of bonuses. Now they get less than 12mths and pink slips all the time.

Lastly, I might be wrong, but i suspect you're posing as 2 people and replying to your own posts..that's really pathetic...

Originally Posted by Unregistered

From your posts i can deduce a few things about you:

1. you don't work in a BB FO role, thus you need to bask in your peers' glory, by bringing up those who are more capable than you

2. you are not a FCH, thus you sound so bitter about it

3. you're very childish to post names and particulars about your friends/peers on a public forum just to prove that "you're in the know". Those who know you really are unfortunate.

4. you really sound so passe, like you're living in pre-2007. Wake up boy. Ibankers used to earn years of bonuses. Now they get less than 12mths and pink slips all the time.

Wait, so pointing out the truth which are all facts btw, is something that makes me "childish"? You must be one of those losers who cannot accept reality.

A simpler explanation to my posts is that I am simply educating the masses on what is the profile of a typical IB candidate. Instead of referencing some ambiguous bullcrap about who gets in or some grandfather story, I am simply giving out the facts.

I don't understand what is wrong about revealing the information on some of my peers. First of all, it is open knowledge. Simply put, in NUS, if you don't do a thesis, you aren't a FCH student. Thus, it's very easy to know who is a FCH student, and who isn't. I am simply putting out the information out there because I am sick and tired of all the dumb forumers (like yourself) who like to talk big but have nothing to show for it.

And I don't get why you think I am bitter about FCH, or that I don't have FCH. How would you know?

I simply made TWO assertions about FCH:

1. You don't have to get FCH to work in FO banking
2. Not ALL FCH students want to work in FO banking.

How does ANY of those two statements make me bitter in ANY way? Do you even understand simple logic?

And again, you can believe whatever you want. I have already pointed out that 1. I am working in the industry, 2. I believe that there are others who shun the industry because they have other passions and pursuits.

Lastly, I might be wrong, but i suspect you're posing as 2 people and replying to your own posts..that's really pathetic...

I can tell you that I have never done that, and I don't believe in doing so. But I can tell that I must really hurt your ego super badly by showing how misinformed you are. Don't worry, that alone will make my night

Guys, dun fight over trivial things lah. Not important to the discussion at hand. For those who are dying to join banking, pls read the post below. And yes, agree with poster above that you dun really need FCH and such to join IB. Besides the usual trade skills like writing/speaking well and being reasonably numerate, you also NEED to be SHARP like tack to survive and do well. If you dunno how then sorry lah, not the place for you.

://forums.salary.sg/66644-post38.html

Banking vs oil and gas. Let me chip in. Am in education, mid 30s, $200k per annum. Regular working hrs 5 day week, no OT, no stress, lots of family life. May not be comparable to salaries in banking or oil and gas if compare absolute salary. But if you factor in the actual working hour put in and other factors such as effect of stress on health, could be comparable, if not bettter.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Banking vs oil and gas. Let me chip in. Am in education, mid 30s, $200k per annum. Regular working hrs 5 day week, no OT, no stress, lots of family life. May not be comparable to salaries in banking or oil and gas if compare absolute salary. But if you factor in the actual working hour put in and other factors such as effect of stress on health, could be comparable, if not bettter.

We're talking about median salary here. Congrats for earning $200k/yr at your mid 30s in the education industry. However, that's definitely not common.

Anyway, part of the reason why Banking and O&G companies pay high salaries is because they are volatile/cyclical industries, and are more prone to laying off people. This phenomenon is obvious in banking - just look at HSBC, Goldman, RBC, MacQ, etc. This is happening in O&G too, ever since the prices of oil fell significantly over the past year. Furthermore, Big oil's profit is suffering, which would also lead to lower bonuses. The era of high-oil prices, as according to many oil analysts and Big Oil CEOs, seem to have ended. This is a very significant issue since the base salaries in the O&G industry is quite similar to the rest of the industries, with the high bonuses contributing to the high overall salary package in the O&G industry.

The thing to note is that there's no free lunch in the world. It's often the case that high salaries come with certain downside factors, such as having a higher chance of being laid off.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I am process engineer with NUS Electrical Engineering degree.
After reading this thread, I like to work in investment bank as a programmer.
What is my chance?

There are many engineering majors who work in Tech in IBs.
If you want it, shoot for it.

Starting salaries for fresh graduates aren't too shabby.
Obviously it varies according to which IB you join but the spectrum lies between 40+ and 70+.
What doesn't vary across IBs is the hours that you'd have to put in.
The push for delivery of technological solutions to support business and regulatory requirements is tremendous. Teams are global and you'd be expected to work during London and North American business hours.


Work hard and smart, and you'd progress to the next level in 2 years or so.
From then on, working hard and smart becomes a fundamental and you get no cookie points for that. It'll take another set of skills to climb further; you'd discover the nuances when you get there.

Good luck!