Question on MAS
 

Hi, saw a posting on MAS looking for an assistant director. Have some questions and would like to see if anyone can shed light on it. I'm a local law grad (second upper), with a masters degree (first class) and will be getting called to the bar this year. Thinking of applying for the role. I won't consider myself to have any working experience although I did my legal pupillage (6 months) in the same finance area as this AD role entails.

1. Is this an entry level role? Or is it meant for people with a few years working experience?
2. Assuming my credentials, what is the approx pay I should be looking at?
3. How's the career progression like?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

AD is not for fresh grads.

If you are not doing legal roles, starting pay is probably 4.2-4.5k at best for either analyst/associate or manager role depending on how they inflate the titles.

You are better off doing the rounds and spend 4-5 years in a reputable legal firm to up your marketability. Jumping straight to non legal roles w/o experience will just end up wasting all the time and effort used for your law studies and revert you back to no different from any typical business degree student with good honors.

Thanks for the reply.

Well, I scanned through some LinkedIn profiles of ADs at MAS and it seemed like some of them started as an AD as a fresh grad (based on a quick comparison of their educational and work timelines). Leaving aside the question on how accurate/reliable my quick scan on LinkedIn might be, was just wondering whether it could be due to the degree or grades obtained. Saw that a few of these ADs graduated with an overseas law degree or was a scholar back in university.

Ha ha, what a joker. Are you talking about some profiles like this 2?

s://sg.linkedin.com/in/kelly-teo-790ba03
s://sg.linkedin.com/in/paul-ho-08b4b818

In case you read too many lawyer papers and eyesight blur, Kelly has worked for 11 years and Paul has worked for 8. They are definitely not fresh grads. There are NO fresh grad ADs in MAS. Try MTI if you want to be a fresh grad AD.

Fresh grad are given the title of AD in some ministries/statboards. This is especially so in places where officers have frequent interaction with middle-senior management in the private sector or foreign delegates.

Dude, pulling out two LinkedIn profiles amongst the many others available to prove your point just doesn't cut in. If you would notice I said some, and not all. You should probably spend more time searching before just randomly linking the first two Google search results you found. I could post the LinkedIn profiles here but I don't think it's nice to do that.

I work in MAS, and I can confirm that the AD title is only for those with at least a few years of work experience. Fresh grads start off as Associates.

If you're interested in the job posting, no harm trying. It's possible they would consider fresh grads for an AD role, since associates and ADs generally do the same type of work. But your title would be Associate, not AD.

Funny guy. If a fresh grad can become AD then I better complain to my boss on Tuesday. Worked 3 years already and still an associate and some fresh grad expects to saunter in and become my manager?

bro.. don't be jealous. accept and embrace that you are less talented than that fresh grad who becomes an AD. This fresh grad can be a FCH with esteemed scholarship, done community work and worked both at an MNC and a ministry as an intern during his uni.

Yea, just to add - Kelly doesn't look right to me. She says on her profile that she was an AD since leaving school 11 years ago. If that's really accurate, she must have really screwed it up badly to be stuck without a promotion for so long. Most likely she simply updated her job title to last held and skipped the associate part.

Not sure how Paul Ho is relevant to. The guy spend 4.5 years as an analyst and senior executive before getting the AD job.