I (29 years old) am planning my career, any advice?

[wahlaoeh]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It's very traditional thinking that MBA is to move into C-level positions. Nowadays there are EMBA for that but those are just a farce, to charge the company ridiculous amount of tuition fees since the candidates are sponsored anyway.

The true value of an MBA is the network you'll make. Head to a M7 MBA, you'll most likely meet the next CEO of a F500 company. Next, you'll get to reset your career, many prestigious companies like big3 consulting, Google, Banks and etc have dedicated MBA program, you're looking at recouping your tuition within your first year of working here. Total tuition fee for a 2 year program is about 150k USD while an MBA grad can expect between 120k to 150k before bonus at a consulting firm and even more at banks and PE.

I think you are 100% correct, especially about the part where schools charge ridiculous fees.

Traditionally, don't IB analysts go back for their MBAs after 2 years? If you have an MBA, you go back to IB as an Associate.

Just to check, analysts in banks (back office included) do start off at around 4-6k right? After 3-5 years, they should be making 6-8k? Investment banking (the superstars) analysts do start at 7k-20k? Am I correct with these figures?

I got these figures from numerous salary reports from reputable companies as well as asking 2 of my friends in banking. Working as a research analyst (research companies and countries) in a bank/private company/civil service is one of the routes I am looking at.

Originally Posted by wahlaoeh

I think you are 100% correct, especially about the part where schools charge ridiculous fees.

Traditionally, don't IB analysts go back for their MBAs after 2 years? As for the top level guys, most of them don't have MBAs, in fact, some don't even have a degree.

Just to check, analysts in banks (back office included) do start off at around 4-6k right? After 3-5 years, they should be making 6-8k? Investment banking (the superstars) analysts do start at 7k-20k? Am I correct with these figures?

I got these figures from numerous salary reports from reputable companies as well as asking 2 of my friends in banking. Working as a research analyst (research companies and countries) in a bank/private company/civil service is one of the routes I am looking at.

Why are you so hung up on such things that have nothing to do with you? Don't kid yourself mate, with your kind of experience you have no hope of getting into these banking jobs.

Originally Posted by wahlaoeh

I think you are 100% correct, especially about the part where schools charge ridiculous fees.

Traditionally, don't IB analysts go back for their MBAs after 2 years? If you have an MBA, you go back to IB as an Associate.

Just to check, analysts in banks (back office included) do start off at around 4-6k right? After 3-5 years, they should be making 6-8k? Investment banking (the superstars) analysts do start at 7k-20k? Am I correct with these figures?

I got these figures from numerous salary reports from reputable companies as well as asking 2 of my friends in banking. Working as a research analyst (research companies and countries) in a bank/private company/civil service is one of the routes I am looking at.

With only a LOCAL degree, you can expect between 3.5k to 4.7k in the back office depending on the bank. IB generally starts from 9k while a select few offers 5k onwards.

And when I say local, I mean public funded universities. Private grads generally do not get full-time offers to join a bank program, they tend to be in 1 year contract at 2.8k.

By the time you reach associate, 6k to 8k is about right if you came out from their grad program. IB, I'm not sure, I think most people can't take the hours and leave for PE or something

Also, depending on MBA programs, usually 1/3 of the graduating class will move into consulting. This is only looking at US programs, you do have some programs such as NYU and Columbia having more grads moving into banks due to their geographical location but generally, no one does an MBA to say they wanna go into IB after that.

And to TS, unfortunately I think your DL degree is your Achilles heel here. No respectable MBA program will take in a DL graduate. An average masters at a tier2/tier3 is probably your best bet.

[wahlaoeh]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

With only a LOCAL degree, you can expect between 3.5k to 4.7k in the back office depending on the bank. IB generally starts from 9k while a select few offers 5k onwards.

And when I say local, I mean public funded universities. Private grads generally do not get full-time offers to join a bank program, they tend to be in 1 year contract at 2.8k.

By the time you reach associate, 6k to 8k is about right if you came out from their grad program. IB, I'm not sure, I think most people can't take the hours and leave for PE or something

thanks! that sounds just about right from all my research. i will just get my masters done (hopefully get decent results to improve my profile) and try, if it doesn't work out then try the civil service or one of the numerous private firms that require analysts.

happy to make 6-8k by 35, buy a small apartment, get out of the low-income ghetto northern neighbourhood (within a 2 blocks radius, there were serial stabbers, terrorists detained by ISA, molestors and lots of robberies) and save some money. many of my peers from a special secondary school are making that amount now (at age 29). the neighbourhood is really unlivable. grew up in bishan and people were much nicer there.

i have been ranked top 10% annually at work (among a few hundred employees) and got a few raises but from discussions with my boss, i can sense there is no long term future in my company.

Originally Posted by wahlaoeh

thanks! that sounds just about right from all my research. i will just get my masters done (hopefully get decent results to improve my profile) and try, if it doesn't work out then try the civil service or one of the numerous private firms that require analysts.

happy to make 6-8k by 35, buy a small apartment, get out of the low-income ghetto northern neighbourhood (within a 2 blocks radius, there were serial stabbers, terrorists detained by ISA, molestors and lots of robberies) and save some money. many of my peers from a special secondary school are making that amount now (at age 29). the neighbourhood is really unlivable. grew up in bishan and people were much nicer there.

i have been ranked top 10% annually at work (among a few hundred employees) and got a few raises but from discussions with my boss, i can sense there is no long term future in my company.

Get real lah, with your kind of grades and work exp what sort of Masters you can get? That Monash Malaysia you mentioned earlier?

And like that want to get make 8k shortly after graduating in a bank? Also 8k is a Senior Assistant Director in civil service, for a local uni grad to reach SAD by 35 is already consider above average and you want to be a SAD as a Monash grad mid career hire?

And please not that nonsense about you being top 10% in exams and work. If you are really that hot shot you wont be stuck at where you are now.

Really you sound like some sort of deluded huckster. That nonsensical tirade how desperate you are to get out of a HDB neighborhood which you describe until like a Pakistan taliban tribal area is just plain disturbing.

Seriously get out of the house and start consulting real professional recruiters instead of sitting at home online fantasizing. You already admit you sent out hundreds of applications and got nothing, not even an interview. Go and seek professional help, don't be stubborn and narrow minded everything just masters/banks/big money.

You are right about the CS part.

But if he really does get a masters from Monash. 6k to 8k by 35 is very realistic in a foreign bank especially.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are right about the CS part.

But if he really does get a masters from Monash. 6k to 8k by 35 is very realistic in a foreign bank especially.

nope, not realistic at all. first off most foreign banks are not interested in a monash malaysia grad even for back office unless we are talking about the usual joksters like RHB, Maybank or some asian bank offshore branch.

secondly, even if he can get in, maybe for someone who started off as a contract 2.8k in early 20s & slowly work his way up after that then yes realistic to get 6-8k by 35. but it is not realistic for someone to join in his early 30s then expect to straight away catapult to 6-8k by 35.

in fact if you look at the industry, the most common finance jobs pte uni grads tend to end up with are either consumer/sme sales in banks or back office work with outsourcers like Citco, Marsh or claims ops with insurance co. this is the hard truth i'm afraid.

[wahlaoeh]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You are right about the CS part.

But if he really does get a masters from Monash. 6k to 8k by 35 is very realistic in a foreign bank especially.

thanks, i am just a normal guy trying to break into the 5k-6k level and open some doors to the 10k level later on in life. i already earn 4k or so and it is not a problem getting a job at the same income level.

i have no doubts that most people look down on me and my lousy hdb + lowly intellectual/job background.

luckily, i was recently interviewed by a top 30 uni for a scholarship + stipend for post grad. i am not sure if i got it, but i was shortlisted and interviewed. results out next month.

look at nus's FAS's phd candidates, it doesn't just apply nus, but to many top unis in the uk/aus/etc.

NUS Department of Economics

there are 3 singaporean looking names in this list out of 30 phd candidates. i am not sure if 3 of them are singaporeans, because, i reckon one or two can be malaysians.

you got tons of people from the university of no 2 in shanghai, university of wuhan, university of bangalore, university of vietnam capital, in these universities, on scholarships even.

now, i got a pair of 160 for my gre, mostly 'a's for o levels, and a first class hons from a uk uni

these guys got, maybe, 150/163 for their gre, and a degree from university of saigon or manila or itt or etc.

in fact, nus/ntu set up master degrees in chinese specially for chinese students. and at very low prices as well. this tells you how much they love their uni of wuhan et al graduates.

draw your own real life conclusions if you will. no doubt it is hard to gain entrance, so i will just cross my fingers and hope that some chinese/nigerian/russian/mogolian guy lets me have a chance at starting a family!!

i am just a charles and keith, not a gucci.