he’s looking for an easy visa and immigration route. can’t blame him for trying but it does get tiresome because it’s less about the academics and career and more about immigration convenience.
I totally understand that aspect and not grilling him for that. But, i feel since he is 22, he can maybe work more and then try for higher education because it will have more value then. Sure it will take a few more years, but its less risky imo. Also finding a job with experience will be easier as the employer would have more confidence in him compared to someone who is a fresher from a different country. Also, I am just saying this based on reading his post. OP could be a competent person who has what it takes - always a possibility.
Thank you for the response. I’ll provide some backdrop to add some context to my situation. I completed my BBA in Finance in 2016. I was interviewed and selected by an investment banking KPO on campus. This was one of the few companies that came to our college for a core finance domain (or so we thought). I started working in October and it didn’t take me much time to discover that my role doesn’t even require me to have any finance knowledge. Believe it or not, most people working here are engineering grads from some of India’s best ranked schools. There’s also very little to learn six months or so into the job.
Most other jobs in the finance sector are also back-end. The decent jobs here require candidates to have completed their Masters. So this presents me with two options: Either complete a Masters or slog it out in shitty roles. Please keep in mind that although it might be tempting to equate the two, the entry level roles in the West simply cannot be compared to those in India.
Another point of contrast between India and the West is the approach to an MBA program. I understand that the average batch age for MBAs is considerably higher abroad, with more inclination towards candidates with work experience. Here in India we have 22 year olds going for MBAs fresh out of graduation. Yet another problem presents itself here: during placements season, companies overlook majority of these candidates since they don’t have work experience. Even though many of them may actually be competent, they’re eliminated from the pool before they can even demonstrate this in an interview.
I personally want to settle abroad, which is why I’m exploring programs abroad (such as MFin which don’t require work experience in the first place).
Now a couple more things:
-
What is wrong with looking for Masters programs that have placements on campus? After all, the end goal of pursuing a Masters is to make myself more employable and having on campus placements would serve to bolster my chances.
-
I’m interested in the domain of corporate finance
-
The programs I have been looking at (UNSW, IE Business School) are really good, but none of them offer industry placements. They mostly have offices that assist in looking for jobs and professional networking events/workshops and job fairs. Is this common for Masters programs abroad?
-
Yes, I’m aware that these programs would only get me an interview. But that’s certainly better than being eliminated at the very beginning (due to no Masters or lack of work experience).
1. What is wrong with looking for Masters programs that have placements on campus? After all, the end goal of pursuing a Masters is to make myself more employable and having on campus placements would serve to bolster my chances.
Nothing wrong in pursuing a master’s. But, I feel your idea behind the question why is a bit short sighted and shallow and could lead you to being disappointed with what could follow. I see you are pretty frustrated with your current position and that’'s understandable. However, you need to understand what value a master’s would add to your current profile. Just because a master’s doesn’t require significant work experience, doesn’t mean that the firms looking to hire you off the placements are not looking for prior work experience or wouldn’t prefer it. As you mentioned, your job profile is that of something that doesn’t require a background in finance. Do you think that after you complete your master’s it is suddenly going to change that? I’d say probably not.
Here are a few suggestions:
-Look for things that you can add to your profile that other’s around you do not have. eg: excel skills, skills in financial modelling, any basic understanding of a programming language. These are things that are sometimes deal breakers in getting or not getting the job.
-Try to pursue a certification like CFA. It will give you significant amount of knowledge even if you do not complete it.
-Try to get into a more significant core finance job role before pursuing your masters with atleast a couple of years of experience.
You have to choose.
1- Do a master’s now and have the minimum requirements to get a job abroad, which only portrays you as someone who is trying to just get by instead of someone who knows what they are doing (Not very appealing to an employer).
2- Work, gain experience, learn secondary skills(Excel etc), study more on the side (CFA etc) and then do your masters and have a much higher chance at getting a job (Probably something that pays more and scales better into the future compared to what you may get without them because it shows that you are someone who can do things on their own - more appealing to an employer. Less likely to come across as someone who wants a free ride). - The cost of this is effort and a couple of years at the most.
Competition is very strong and being average isn’t going to benefit you. You are 22 and have a lot of time to learn things.
The longer your keep your education horizon the better because higher education + work experience > higher education.
If you want to win then take the winning route, not the one that merely has a chance of winning.
Again, many thanks for your response.
This is exactly why I’m seeking MFin courses that are specifically for candidates with little or no work experience. And hence it would follow that the companies looking to hire MFin graduates would hire them for entry level roles that don’t particularly require work experience. This is exactly why I didn’t opt for an MBA. Because even if I overcome the work experience hurdle and somehow get into the program, the companies coming to hire would only consider candidates with work experience eligible.
Yes, I’ll be giving level 1 in December and plan to enrol in some courses on financial modelling
But this is the catch, isn’t it? I’m trying to pursue a Masters just so that I can get into an entry level core finance job? Suppose I had 2-3 years of work experience in my current job profile, would I be valued more? Wouldn’t this work experience be rendered irrelevant?
The relevancy of your work experience depends on how well you tell your story. If you tell them that it was irrelevant, well that’s your own fault then.
Alright thanks for your help. I’ll apply for a few more jobs and in the meanwhile strengthen my profile by applying for courses on financial modeling, etc.
Hey folks. Gonna be interviewed for this position: (http://www.goldmansachs.com/a/data/jobs/46355.html)
Thoughts? Should I go for it?
I can relate with the op. To get into core finance in India you need to have MBA or masters because companies are hiring MBAs at the same cost as an undergrad. Its pathetic. I tried for 6 months to shift from my previous job (finance dept of a manufacturing company) to into a core finance job. The only options remotely available were financial analyst positions which were painted rosily but when you research about it, it turns out to be unrelated to finance and just a data management job.
What I have planned now and I think this is relevant to you too op, is to give GMAT and go for STEM designated Masters in finance degrees in USA. A little background, I am 22, graduated in 2015 (BSc Eco), giving CFA level 3 in June. I agree with many of the points people mentioned above. But I think some of them dont get it. We are earning barely $4500 pa in a job we dont like and irrelevant to what we want to do. And for what we want to do we need a masters or MBA, post which we will be earning only slightly better. So why not take a chance and go to USA for a masters and achieve those minimum requirements to land an interview there?
Dost, look up University of Mannheim MSc. in Management in Germany. The course is completely free and in English. Although you would possibly need to learn the language if you want to work there, still a better option than Ireland imho.
Good luck!