Singapore Expats

After having secured my PEP i will be entering singapore by the end of this month. I searched the job sites and figured most of the IT jobs(atleast the good ones) are in the banking domain which require knowledge in banking or business finance. Can anybody suggest a good diploma course(part time/evening) which would equip me with those credentials. That would be a welcome addition to my existing skill sets. I am looking for a max of 6 months to 1 year courses only.

I'd forget about doing a diploma of some sort - it will add very little value and will be expensive, and you could pick up the gist of things yourself just as easily and at a greater pace.

Try looking into some of the online tutorials - I can't remember the names now but google should do it - that provide an overview on the full spectrum of finance and banking.

Also, perhaps consider more specific vendor / product training such as Fidessa, Murex etc. - Skills that are in short supply in Asia.

BillyB,
Thanks for the suggestions. But will a diploma or some sort of finance degree be a requirement for these kind of jobs ... I'm seeing a lot of mundane software development/analyst jobs garnished with "knowledge in finance/banking a must"

If your first degree isn't finance related then you will need to brush up on your knowledge, but I don't think a second degree / diploma is the best option particularly as you are on an PEP so you have 6 months to find something?

Or do you plan on this as a career transition into banking IT?

What's your background and also plan of action with regard to employment when you arrive in SG?

I am a Sr Developer/Analyst with development skills in microsoft technologies(C#, ASP.NET, SQL, etc) and analytical skills in SAS(BI and predictive modelling). My plan is to find something irrespective of the domain initially and then transition into banking(financial risk management to be specific). I have been working in the tourism/travel domain(IT) and see that even though singapore is a tourist destination not many IT jobs matching my skill set can be found here. The best matches are in the finance sector.

Okies, so you have the technical skills, you just need to get up to speed on the business side of things.

Maybe a masters would be a good option, but I still believe you could find benefit in some of the online learning packages. It's not a distance degree or deiploma - it's an organised collection of modules that help to develop your understanding and would include risk management - market, credit, counter-party, ops risk etc.

If you are specifically interested in risk, look to understand the systems the banks use and then tweak your learning accordingly - murex, algo, quic are vendor risk systems and from what i hear, skills are always in high demand especially murex.

Good luck!

A masters in business finance would definitely help. But doing one in a good university is time and money consuming. Will have to think long and hard about it. Will look into the e-learning packages available online. Any suggestions on good ones would be appreciated ... Thanks for the wishes again!