Anyway you are right about your statement, working in US has more risks involved but they also have better opportunties, so in general the standard is around the same, no worry I luv USA.
Guys maybe I did not make myself clear but I am working in the “technology field” in a Banking environment, back office. I really like what I am doing hmm actually I don’t have intentions of moving to the front office, my reasons, I don’t want to end up as a middle aged women, wearing heavy make up, high heels, counting bill notes, opening new accounts, selling insurances and telling people how to invest their money (
Sorry but that’s how I see the front bankers, it’s not bad, but its not me.)
CH: I agree it’s important to know the background and the more knowledge about other intern sectors one has, the more chances of moving ahead. I have seen investmentbankers asking us technical quesions, as they lack in that direction, they may be good in their field, but they have no sense of the background enviroment.
Saadia: In large financial services institutions each department, let's take I-Banking for example, Equities, Fixed Income, IBD all have their own IT superstars which dictate the terms of technology implementation and set the strategy for that particular department. They are not necessarily selling financial products but are making sure that from the pespective of their particular department there technology needs are being met by the back office techies. Sort of technology champions if you will.
This expereince can allow you to move in/out of industry to consulting and still stay technologically current while having input in the decisioning cycle.
[This message has been edited by Chaltahai (edited July 11, 2002).]
chaltahi, isnt the current move towards integration, which has been the basis of the whole IT/ERP/CRM etc revolution. Meaning there are serious reductions in each departments IT staff and there is more generall IT staffing.
by the way Fraudia the fact that in Europe you CAN NOT work beyond a certain number of hours per week means that you need a lot more people to do the same stuff compared to the US. From a german worker, I learnt that they close the offices at specific times and people are not allowed to work more the 35/40 hours per week nor take work home. So of course compared to the US (where consultants are generally pulling 60-80 hour weeks regularyly) they are gonna need twice as many people.
By the way, US's unemployment rates are still way lower then the 10-12% we have seen in the UK.
[quote]
Originally posted by Fraudz:
**
............but make sure that the grad school is a good school, preferably has profs with good industry contacts and pref in an area where you can network in the industry while in school.**
[/quote]
can this be decided based on the stats/rankings provided by usnews?
***I dunno where I'm going. I dunno what for. But I'm making progress.
and secondly in situations like these its best to set priorities for urself ..and to see what u think is best for u…is delaying education! or its consequences!
***I dunno where I’m going. I dunno what for. But I’m making progress.
well honestly speaking, i myself would prefer to have some experience before i go for a grad school which would not only help me to gain an insight about my field but what exactly would i want to my masters in.
working in the practical might changeone’s plan for an ms.
but then again…sometimes u plan to go to visit Niagara Falls but end up in Disney land
i think u did a good thing by going for a job instead of an ms at that time. look at the advantage u will have over ur fellow class fellows while enrolled in an ms program.
b/w i once took a business course.
our professor told us that she had taught an advanced version of the same course to part time students. The students to her surprise understood the material and its practicl implications better than the ones who had no work experience; which makes sense. ms is normally an extension of bs(ofcourse depending on ur major)..b/w she also said that though being a strict teacher(that she was)she was forced to give A’s to all the students.
b/w 4 yrs is not very bad considering that u will be working while studying..and i would suggest u to get an ms. experience apni jaga magar ms is ms.
[quote]
Originally posted by Fraudz:
** dude you have not heard the joke about economists. i.e. an economist is a person who will tell you tomorrow about what happened yesterday and why. That is pretty much it.
If i had to hazard a guess on the economy, I would say mid 2003. Not just a view on the economy, but economy and the marketplace.
I had been involved in some projects involving large cost reduction planning, which included headcount reductions. Just by the number of companies we were doign that for, and number of other companies we bid on but did not win, yet know that someone else is doing it, I am afraid but there will be more cuts in some major companies in the coming months.
It does not mean that opportunities are not there or will not be there, but for more specific skill sets.
**
[/quote]
actually thats an interesting thing to know about economists...one of these guys is taking this as his major..and i asked him the same question ...his reply was "we predict by studying the flow of the market/economy in the past"
did u have something specific in mind when u mentioned specific skills set?
***I dunno where I'm going. I dunno what for. But I'm making progress.
[quote]
Originally posted by hmcq:
**chaltahi, isnt the current move towards integration, which has been the basis of the whole IT/ERP/CRM etc revolution. Meaning there are serious reductions in each departments IT staff and there is more generall IT staffing.
B]
[/quote]
HMCQ: The integration of technology and the greater push towards accountability in technology spending has moved the IT budgets and ecision making to the front and mid-offices in banks. IT departments no longer have the strategic bandwidth to spend and make decisions as they did in the past boom.
The reductions in IT staff is more due to prioritization and optimization of tech spending than convergent technologies. Business leaders need a greater business case to implement a new product or service and when there are less $$'s to go around, it is ancillary functions like IT that take the first hit. Strategic projects are whittled down and most IT spending is geared towards BAU activity.
many large companies also have little fiefdoms of technology spend set up. One of the largest fin svcs company which is soon going to see a rather large cut in IT personnel, had no idea what ist IT spend was, how can u manage something when you dont even know what it is that you are managing.
IT groups had the business by the cajones late 90's due to teh Y2K hoopla and other blue sky technological wizaradry scenarios. Now that companies are belt tightenign, they are looking at the returns that they are getting from their IT spend.
consolidation, shared services, packaged app approach, reduction in custom development and more than anything a very business case driven apprtoach for any IT spend is something that many techies are just getting used to now.
did u have something specific in mind when u mentioned specific skills set?
**
[/quote]
No, I guess they are looking for people who fit a specific position, have a background in it already. let me also clarify that by specific skill set I dont mean a one trick pony at all because the companies seem to be looking more for people who are all rounders. Kinda like jack of all trades Master of one (not none)
In past when the demand was more than supply, recruiters would see whether u can learn or have potential to be successful in an area, now they are looking more to see if you ahve existing experience or knowledge of the area.