Managing (future) income risk
Managing future income risk has been something I considered since high school. It was the first time I took into account how my actions, decisions and performance affect my future, income and lifestyle. I researched degrees to study at University and the job market relevant to these degrees. I asked around relatives, family friends and mentors to see which degrees will suit me and what kind of jobs I will be able to work in after I have obtained the degrees. After making a decision on my degree (commerce and economics) I looked at the mark needed to get the degree. Therefore, I focused on my studies to ensure my marks were good enough to get into the degree.
I further had to manage my future income by choosing a major within my degree. I decided to major in Finance and Accounting. I chose fiancé because I had a high interest in it and jobs in investment banking was challenging and lucrative. I also chose accounting because the job market was much easier and high demand for graduates. I used the accounting major as a safety net if I weren’t able to land a job in finance.
Throughout my university, I engage in various extracurricular activities such as joining finance and trading societies which are equivalent to business fraternities in US colleges. These actions were done in regards to managing my future as it very important for my internship to network and gain insights into the industry. I also participated in consulting case competitions as they were an important part of the interviews and recruitment process.
Also I wanted to see if I was comfortable in a role to have a career in it. Therefore, I did internships in restructuring, transactions and investment banking before choosing a career path. This allowed me to see if I would be successful in a certain field and if I can see myself working in that role. Therefore, I believe working in different roles with different companies was a good way to manage my future income risk
I am currently on exchange from Australia, the decision to study abroad and come to America was an expensive choice. I believe the costs will be outweighed by benefits in helping me reach my long-term professional and personal goals. I highly want to work in Investment Banking and Markets on a global scale, including work in the U.S. The Economic courses and the overall study abroad experience will allow me to understand more about the American economy, markets, culture and learn about different perspectives on economic concepts from different ways of teaching. Furthermore, studying at UIUC will give me strong networks and the experience of living in the American culture, this will be highly valuable in my stride to reach my professional goal of working in America.
On the study abroad part of what you wrote, I wonder if you have some evidence on the benefits now that you've been here for a while. Are your prior expectations being confirmed by coming to the U.S.? There is, related to this, that while the U of I is a very good university, Champaign-Urbana is a small college town. Investment banking happens mainly in big cities, New York especially. So I wonder how the pieces you described fit together.
ReplyDeleteAs I wrote when commenting on a different student's post, there is also the risk regarding your own preferences and if, quite apart from the income you would earn, you would get some satisfaction from doing investment banking work. Some bits of college have each student learning about himself, both preferences and talents. The choice you made in high school might be the right one for you, but it might have to be revised based on what you learn about yourself.
Let me note one other point, which regards flexibility in the future - changing jobs because the opportunities change down the road. Part of preparation that reduces risk is having such flexibility so you can adjust to circumstances as they change.
I can tell that how you selected your majors in college is quite different from how I did in my country. In my country, students need to choose their major before entering college and most students stick with that major until graduation. Which makes me wonder, you said that your majors are Finance and Accounting, does majoring two disciplines make you more competitive in your country? Or it doesn't since every students in your country can choose more than one disciplines. As far as I know, students in my country can't find internships easily. And you mentioned that you've done many internships, probably your majors can find you a great job in Asia? In that case, will you be interested in working in Asian investment banks?
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I think that it is great that you have thought so far ahead to the job market and to pursue multiple degrees in order to secure your future employment opportunities. It is interesting to me to hear about how you have done it, since it was something similar for me in terms of thinking past schooling. I had originally started as an actuarial science student based on my love for math and the application aspects that the field had to offer. The field is in high demand and rapidly growing, but also increasing in competitiveness. The University of Illinois is on the list of accredited universities that are ranked as excellent, one that for actuarial science students is important because there are not "rankings" of programs. I soon found that my passions lied elsewhere, but when changing majors had concerns regarding future job prospects.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have come to find out is that there is a part of the future job prospects that lies in the degree field, but there is also a portion of what you do outside of the classroom that is important. The passion that you have and the experiences that you have gained from help to prepare for the job market and can often be what differentiates folks in terms of graduating from the same program with similar grades.
I wish you the best in your continued studies and future job prospects. It sounds like you have a good plan and idea of where you want to go in the future!