1. Why/How did you choose your field?
I think the common misconception instilled in our minds about our future career is influenced by how much we can make with that job and the novelty behind it. I don’t blame you for having this kind of mindset when it comes to deciding your career path as we all are Asians where you can only be a doctor, lawyer, engineer or a failure. Although these factors do play an arguably important role in our career, this mindset would most probably make your future life quite miserable as you start to realise that there’s more to life than cha-ching $. My chosen course in Finance is not exactly the most traditional of choices, but here is my guide on how I came to this decision.
1. What you think you are interested in vs what you are actually interested in
I used to have this undying interest in law as I was intrigued by how the law, despite its
original intention to uphold morality and instill accountability in its subjects could still be
manipulated via legal loopholes to set the framework for injustice. Basically, the grey-area of the justice system was what intrigued me. I won’t bore you with the details of what I did to culminate my knowledge in this area since I did not end up choosing it, but for me, everything changed in 2020 during the pandemic.
During the MCO, I got bored studying for my SPM and basically I started delving into the
stock market since it was something I really wanted to learn about but didn’t have the time to do so. I then took an online course about financial markets and long story short, I kind of got
hooked to learning all I could about financial markets and the field. And when I say “got hooked” I mean actually spending hours a day reading and paper trading.
Hence, the first thing you can take away if you still have not set your mind on any field, is
to find something that intrigues you and can make you spend hours reading or researching
about it without making it feel like a chore. Like me, today I can safely say that I did not have the same level of interest in law as compared to finance despite me initially thinking that i really wanted to be a layer. Looking back now, doing what actually interests me instead of what i thought interested me has been something I do not regret.
2. Research, Research, Research
It is crucial to know what you can do with that area of interest, because another
drawback of solely focusing on your interest is you not liking the job prospect of your selected
field, which more often than not would be too late if you have already finished your tertiary
studies and started working. For example, I may have liked law, but may not have liked the
amounbt of exams and time it would take before actually being able to become a lawyer. It
would be extremely beneficial for you to know the real job world application of your field and see if your personality and ability to adapt would allow you to enjoy potentially working in that field. Do also research about what you need to study at Pre-Uni level in order to be able to take that particular subject field in university. For example, taking Further Mathematics (A Levels) if you would want to read Actuarial Science. Another beneficial way to know more about your field of interest is to reach out to anyone you know who works in that field. But fret not if your contacts are not as extensive as the Internet suffices.
That was basically what I did only to choose my field. Doesn’t sound too challenging
right? With information literally at your fingertips these days, I believe you won’t have much
problem coming to a decision.
2. Why/How did you choose your scholarship, what was the application experience like?
I may not be the best person to advise on this particular area, but I will tell you all the things that I did that you should actually avoid because you could say that i was quite santai on scholarships, which happens to be the first thing you shouldn’t do:
1. Don’t Santai
Nobody in this day is just going to pay for your whole tertiary education because it is as
expensive as it can get. Even for huge corporations like my sponsor, UEM, sponsoring just 5 scholars would cost them more than 6 million Ringgit over the course of 5 years. To put into perspective just how much money that is, UEM’s asset management branch, UEM Edgenta only made 42.4 million in 2021, so for a batch of scholars, it would already cost 14% of their profits from this particular branch. Basically what I am trying to say is do not take these opportunities for granted like I did, because it is not going to be cheap sponsoring scholars, but if they still offer the chance, why not? For your information I only applied for 4 scholarships, because I was quite lazy at that time, still santai from the post-SPM period. The fact that you are reading this means you are interested, so capitalise on your interest in scholarships and apply for as many as you can. I promise you you won’t
regret it even if you get rejected because the process is an excellent learning experience.
2. Don’t last minute
Although I sometimes brag about last minute-ing the UEM scholarship and still getting it, it is something I would really advise you against. I only started and finished the 2 essays required in the first stage of application the night before the submission deadline, and here’s why you should never ever last minute. Right after i sent it in, I started to doubt the quality of my work as which could have been obviously avoided if I had started earlier. I guess i can only say that God was being kind to me for that application and I somehow managed to get it. Otherwise, the post-submission self-doubt is something you would never want to experience and you can easily avoid it by starting early. I know doubting yourself is something every applicant would face, but if you know you have done your best, just move on and hope for he best.
3. Interviews
For me, I head both a group and individual interview. Getting the call and email for your
interview for sure gives you 10 seconds of ecstasy but the stress soon catches up to you. Again, just try not to fret and prepare yourself as best as you can. What i would really advice you doing like i did was reading up on current affairs. In my group interview, we were asked to decide on whether companies should pay up in the event of ransomware. (this was in relation to the JBS Holdings and Colonial Pipeline cyberware attack in 2021). Obviously, if you were not up to date with current affairs, this could be a challenge.
One thing interviewers look for are students who can lead the conversation and discussion. However, this may be tough when you are put in a room full of everyone scrambling to show the interviewers that they are a leader. One trick that I learnt to do is to play Devil’s Advocate. Of course, give credit to whatever that first person says but try to oppose them with an idea contradictory to theirs and substantiate. This demonstrates your knowledge in that particular topic and showcases your analytical and argumentative skills. Think of your scholarship interview as a job interview, because if you think about it, these interviewers are not just interviewing you for your academic prowess, but your eligibility as a future employee of their company. Hence, you should always remember to contribute and try to steer a discussion in your favour, but never overdo it.
Coming to individual interviews, there is really not much you can do to prepare except to
reread your essays as the interviewers may ask you questions based on it. The only advice for you in this stage of your application is to be yourself and of course, make sure you know exactly what your intended course of study is all about. If you can, make sure to also read up a little on the company, and identify areas your course can contribute to. The reason for this is to be able to insinuate your potential contribution to your potential sponsor, and interviewers greatly appreciate this kind of input. Again, remember that your sponsors are looking for potential employees and not the average student. This particular point of knowing your stuff is extremely important as I was interviewed by 2 UEM Board Members who are specialists in their respective areas, so you would not want to be spewing nonsense out of nervousness if you did not prepare.
That is all for my advice to you and I hope it was beneficial for you reading this blog. All the
best for your applications! I hope to see some of you readers of this post in college next semester.
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