Which degree is the best return on investment

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Another clownfish dreaming of riches as a trader / investment banker but no idea what it is...

Then you should enlighten him/her.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Then you should enlighten him/her.

I also dunno lah, dun think there will be real IB waste time chatting here. But keep seeing this sort of question duno whether to laugh or cry. Dun understand why so many local grads obsess with IB / lawyer / doctor when they dun even know or care abt the work.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I also dunno lah, dun think there will be real IB waste time chatting here. But keep seeing this sort of question duno whether to laugh or cry. Dun understand why so many local grads obsess with IB / lawyer / doctor when they dun even know or care abt the work.

Same can be said about any other job. I don't think one needs to know what goes on inside a job to know it pays well. And thus, your question on why these jobs garner so much attention from undergrads has been answered.

Originally Posted by swagdaddypimpin

I am planning to apply for a local U next year. Due to personal reasons, I will be paying for my own education either through a study loan or hopefully picking up a scholarship.

I have excellent results and can get a place in almost any degree course. Barring subject interest as I have no particular course preference, what degree will offer me the best ROI upon graduation and in the long-term. Money is a priority to me and I want to provide my family with a good life in the future.

From my knowledge, I've heard high finance (IB, trading) pays the most but the hours are one of the worst. The law market isn't doing very well and compsci grads are being replaced with foreign grads. Accountancy and engineering are pretty stable but the starting pay is relatively low. My parents have also advised me against going into arts although I wouldn't mind doing it provided it pays well.

Assuming I wish to get a job in investment banking, will a finance degree (biz) from a local U suffice? I have also heard stories of many finance grads going into property/insurance due to oversupply. The job market seems pretty depressing and I really hope to secure a good job in the future.

Getting a finance job is just about impossible regardless of grades. Straight A students with multiple finance internships and CFA level 1 battle each other in multiple round interviews only to be eliminated somewhere in round 7. Just forget about it. It is something people just refuse to accept and keep dreaming despite reality. If you think you are smarter than your competitors, look again. As mentioned, straight A student intakes are the norm, not the exception.

It is true that law is not doing well. And with current AI technology, both law and accountancy jobs will be massively disrupted by the time you graduate. Comp Sci and Engineering are good bets. However, Singapore is not Silicon Valley. Your expertise will not be as appreciated or recognized.

It is time to recognize that the Singapore job market has been in a race to the bottom and the consequences are hitting us hard now.

If ROI is your concern, then your surest bet is to take a civil service scholarship, study comp sci or engineering, then camp there in your ministry or stat board forever. Unless you are willingly to venture outside of Singapore, this is just about your only choice.

://.salary.sg/2017/graduate-employment-survey-2016-published-2017/
://pay.sgcharts.com/

There are plenty of resources out there to get you a good sense of the starting salaries of graduates, the operative word being "starting".

Success in life is one that has many variables and in my opinion, your basic degree's impact tend to lessen over time to degrees. Computing some kind of ROI is simply a fool's errand.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Getting a finance job is just about impossible regardless of grades. Straight A students with multiple finance internships and CFA level 1 battle each other in multiple round interviews only to be eliminated somewhere in round 7. Just forget about it. It is something people just refuse to accept and keep dreaming despite reality. If you think you are smarter than your competitors, look again. As mentioned, straight A student intakes are the norm, not the exception.

It is true that law is not doing well. And with current AI technology, both law and accountancy jobs will be massively disrupted by the time you graduate. Comp Sci and Engineering are good bets. However, Singapore is not Silicon Valley. Your expertise will not be as appreciated or recognized.

It is time to recognize that the Singapore job market has been in a race to the bottom and the consequences are hitting us hard now.

If ROI is your concern, then your surest bet is to take a civil service scholarship, study comp sci or engineering, then camp there in your ministry or stat board forever. Unless you are willingly to venture outside of Singapore, this is just about your only choice.

Excuse me but what does a finance job include? Does it include equity analyst? Is it hard to get an analyst job?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Excuse me but what does a finance job include? Does it include equity analyst? Is it hard to get an analyst job?

I'm pretty sure he's referring to jobs such as in M&A, Capital Markets, Private Equity, and Equity Research. The rest of the jobs in finance aren't that impossible to get.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Excuse me but what does a finance job include? Does it include equity analyst? Is it hard to get an analyst job?

How hard is it to get into a local uni business or accountancy intake? This is the most recent 10th Percentile to 90th Percentile range:

NUS Accountancy - AAA/A to AAA/A, 3.89 to 3.98
NUS Business - AAA/C to AAA/A, 3.85 to 3.98

NTU Accountancy - AAB/B to AAA/A, 3.80 to 3.97
NTU Business - AAB/C to AAA/A, 3.81 to 3.97

SMU Accountancy - AAB/B to AAA/A, 3.72 to 3.96
SMU Business - ABB/C to AAA/A, 3.72 to 3.94

Do you understand what this means?

Extrapolating from this, a 3rd class honours from a local uni biz/acc graduate typically scored ABB/C or 3.72 for their A levels or poly. The level of academic intelligence is that high.

The 10th Percentile to 90th Percentile. These are your competitors for mid end finance jobs, such as analyst positions that you mention. First class hons from science and engineering are also trying (and mostly failing) to get an analyst position.

For your lower end finance jobs like private banking and operations, you have your choice of first class/2nd upper SIM graduates depending on how low you want to pay.

For the upper end finance jobs that just about everyone wants, your competitors are those with double degrees - and got first class hons in both of them. Other fancy stuff include integrated Masters, CFA, overseas internships.

By the law of statistics, getting straight As for your A levels is now the norm. Your differentiating factor is actually the number of As. Do you have 7 As, 8 As, or 12 As?

In such a level of competition, you actually see very good candidates being forced into lower level jobs.

Actually this sort of question reflects why many locals keep getting pawned by employers and foreigners. Instead of seeing pay and promotion as combination of office politics, connection and work performance, they put all their focus on getting certs and choosing degrees to study.

Those who can make it to IB won't ask silly questions online, need to ask means not there.

Ask also no use cauz no IB around in a forum that mostly deal with student, unemployed or junior exec job seekers.