CADETSHIPS 2012 Discussion Thread (4 Viewers)

[seremify007]

Mate, I think I've seen you at a campus event... I also think I met your girlfriend at a friend's bday party! (If her name begins with a J...)

On topic though, I'm very sure I want to work at the firm when I graduate, the only question is whether I'm willing to let go of the opportunity to work in law. That's what is getting me the most. I'm not sure I am ready to let go of my legal ambitions to pursue a career as an actuary.

LOL I think you might have met her then- I'll PM you in a sec.

I guess the key thing you need to decide, which hopefully uni and meeting people will help, is whether or not you want to do law or actuarial. From what I can tell, law is extremely competitive if you want to work in one of the top firms, and people will do whatever it takes to get there. If you don't feel 110% committed to it, I wouldn't bother wasting your time for the not-that-stellar pay (for the hours) and just do what you enjoy. Actuarial is pretty flexible, offers a lot more international transferability, etc... so if you end up enjoying it at uni (note: 9/10 of my friends who did Actuarial in uni ended up dropping it) then maybe pursue that.

 

[oyuck]

Just out of interest, where does determine do the cadetship? And which division?

 

[seremify007]

Just out of interest, where does determine do the cadetship? And which division?

I don't know but most people tend not to be that direct/open about it.

 

[krizbro]

what ATAR is required to hold a cadetship in any of the big4 ?

 

[seremify007]

what ATAR is required to hold a cadetship in any of the big4 ?

None. You just need to be in a CA recognised degree. Are you starting your cadetship in 2012 or 2013? If the latter you may be able to change to a suitable course if you missed out initially.

(edit; if you saw my previous comment it was my mistake in confusion about someone else)

 

[FrozenSky]

Hey guys i'm considering a cadet ship for next year and i have a few questions

- How long does the cadetship last for? Does it last for the whole of your degree?
- How much will you be typically paid?
- How many many hours/days do we get to attend to uni? (I'm really worried about this because I do a double degree Bus & Med sci - The med sci requires significantly more contact hours than my business degree)
- Are there any work from the cadetship which is required to be completed at home? If so how long do you typically spend on it?
- How many days do we actually get for uni-studying? (excluding the days which are used to attend uni)

Thanks in advance

 

[BiancaC]

Hey guys i'm considering a cadet ship for next year and i have a few questions

- How long does the cadetship last for? Does it last for the whole of your degree?
- How much will you be typically paid?
- How many many hours/days do we get to attend to uni? (I'm really worried about this because I do a double degree Bus & Med sci - The med sci requires significantly more contact hours than my business degree)
- Are there any work from the cadetship which is required to be completed at home? If so how long do you typically spend on it?
- How many days do we actually get for uni-studying? (excluding the days which are used to attend uni)

Thanks in advance

To start with by the sounds of it you are going into your second year of uni? I doubt you have much chance of getting a cadetship this late, most of them are year 12 leavers and occasionally they will get a person before they start their second year of uni.

Added to that you can only do a single degree for a cadetship. In other words, you will have to drop med sci altogether.

But to answer questions
- Usually offered on a 4 year contract
- You get anywhere between 4-8 hours paid study leave per week.
- You are working a full-time job in an accounting firm, whilst you are often working 9-5 chances are you will be working later frequently and be expected to take stuff home


If you are considering a cadetship, read every single comment in this thread. Most of your questions have been answered in a lot of detail and that will help you

 

[determine]

To start with by the sounds of it you are going into your second year of uni? I doubt you have much chance of getting a cadetship this late, most of them are year 12 leavers and occasionally they will get a person before they start their second year of uni.

Added to that you can only do a single degree for a cadetship. In other words, you will have to drop med sci altogether.

But to answer questions
- Usually offered on a 4 year contract
- You get anywhere between 4-8 hours paid study leave per week. - You are working a full-time job in an accounting firm, whilst you are often working 9-5 chances are you will be working later frequently and be expected to take stuff home


If you are considering a cadetship, read every single comment in this thread. Most of your questions have been answered in a lot of detail and that will help you

It depends on the firm - in my case, I get 3.5 hours of time off to attend university lectures, which from what I've heard, is quite small compared to that offered by other firms.

 

[seremify007]

Hey guys i'm considering a cadet ship for next year and i have a few questions

- How long does the cadetship last for? Does it last for the whole of your degree?
- How much will you be typically paid?
- How many many hours/days do we get to attend to uni? (I'm really worried about this because I do a double degree Bus & Med sci - The med sci requires significantly more contact hours than my business degree)
- Are there any work from the cadetship which is required to be completed at home? If so how long do you typically spend on it?
- How many days do we actually get for uni-studying? (excluding the days which are used to attend uni)

Thanks in advance

In short,

1. 4 years but you only are working 2 of those. Read thread for more explanations.
2. Pay varies year on year but expect low 30's. It's not a lot but it's more than enough especially if you are working in a firm which gives you a day off per week during semester (i.e. you are only working 4 days a week).
3. Double degree will be very difficult especially if you want to do med sci. I'd also reconsider whether a cadetship is really for you if you have interests in med sci- cadetships really only benefit people who are 100% set on a business/commerce career. For everyone else it's a painful and time consuming exercise especially if your heart isn't in it.
4. Yes you sometimes might need to work overtime or from home. No set hours but wouldn't be too much- realistically you will be doing overtime if you're in a Big4 firm. More likely than not it depends on which firm and division you apply for- everyone knows which divisions are more hectic than others (e.g. auditing - financial services is known to be a lot more hectic than other areas). Don't expect (in any case) to always be finishing at 5:15pm on the dot and disappearing.
5. You get the weekend to study- I survived this with 4 hours of leave a week. Nowadays most firms range between 4 and 7.5 (i.e. either 2 hours for 2 days, or 1 whole day).

Hope that helps.

 

[FrozenSky]

In short,

1. 4 years but you only are working 2 of those. Read thread for more explanations.
2. Pay varies year on year but expect low 30's. It's not a lot but it's more than enough especially if you are working in a firm which gives you a day off per week during semester (i.e. you are only working 4 days a week).
3. Double degree will be very difficult especially if you want to do med sci. I'd also reconsider whether a cadetship is really for you if you have interests in med sci- cadetships really only benefit people who are 100% set on a business/commerce career. For everyone else it's a painful and time consuming exercise especially if your heart isn't in it.
4. Yes you sometimes might need to work overtime or from home. No set hours but wouldn't be too much- realistically you will be doing overtime if you're in a Big4 firm. More likely than not it depends on which firm and division you apply for- everyone knows which divisions are more hectic than others (e.g. auditing - financial services is known to be a lot more hectic than other areas). Don't expect (in any case) to always be finishing at 5:15pm on the dot and disappearing.
5. You get the weekend to study- I survived this with 4 hours of leave a week. Nowadays most firms range between 4 and 7.5 (i.e. either 2 hours for 2 days, or 1 whole day).

Hope that helps.

Thanks a lot for the reply BiancaC & seremify007
Urghh i've been applying for Cadet around the December-Jan period and I have not received a single call :/
My mate been telling me that this period is really competitive since I'll be competing with some graduates & HSCers.
My friend also suggested that my double degree is pulling me down (his doing a finance cadet) as most firms want a straight commerce degree :S Do you think this is true? I have transferred to a regular science/commerce degree, I do hope that they find a science degree less intense than a med sci degree...
And anyway, I am sure that I want a cadet despite my interest in Science. I want to gain some experience in the field of accounting and while I'm at it gain some funds in order to start my own science-related business.

 

[seremify007]

In all honesty maybe a cadetship isn't for you. It's really aimed at people who want to get through uni asap and get their post-grad qualifications (i.e. CA). CA is really when you are valuable both to your employer and other companies, and it's when you also have the most power (i.e. you can leave and command a decent salary, you can travel abroad and be recognised for your qualifications, etc). I wouldn't say you should drop science if that's what your'e truly interested in, but keep in mind that the cadetship benefits those who want experience in the field of accounting, because they want to pursue a career in accounting (or at least, commerce). I wouldn't say the double degree makes you less employable but rather, it just doesn't mesh as well with the objectives of the cadetship (i.e. to get employees who are fully trained as well as professionally qualified asap). If I were you I'd consider whether or not you can focus on your Commerce subjects with a view of potentially dropping the science degree- this is the kind of thing which a potential employer would want to know.

 

[FrozenSky]

Thanks for the insightful comment, i'll rep you
Guess I'll have to reconsider my career path

 

[hpatdh]

What should we put in our cadetship applications?
Structure and length?

 

[asadass]

I assume cadetship applications open around the time of the CA cadetship evening?

 

[seremify007]

What should we put in our cadetship applications?
Structure and length?

Typically they are online forms which have specific questions asking for examples, and have a recommended word limit.

I assume cadetship applications open around the time of the CA cadetship evening?

Yep they all tend to open at around the same time. I'd expect them to be open slightly earlier than the cadetship evening typically so maybe just keep an eye out on respective websites of the firms you are interested in in the time leading up to the evening. Some firms use rolling recruitment so getting your application in early will work to your advantage.

 

[Vagabond]

When dealing with cadetship recruitment, the big4 will recommend against double degrees because schools outside of commerce/business have longer contact hours and don't fit the routine of full-time work and part-time study.

This all changes when it comes to graduate recruitment when the big4 try to brand themselves as "more than just accounting firms'. They'll hand you flyers with stupid photos of people doing irrelevant things like jumping on pogo sticks, and market themselves to people from essentially any background.

If you were already leaning towards a commerce/finance career then cadetships are a great way to get started, however, I'd highly recommend against compromising your choice of studies simply to please a company. Stick to your guns and if you're really interested in something then you should study it. You only really get one shot at doing your bachelors.


---


Open annual reports and look at the types of degrees the executive management and board of directors have.

This is all public information so go look for it.

 

[seremify007]

Welcome back Vagabond. We all missed you.

 

[Vagabond]

Welcome back Vagabond. We all missed you.

Just dropping by =)

 

[eskimogenius]

Sorry to be bumping a somewhat old thread, but I was hoping you guys could give me some information on this. I'm thinking of applying for a UBS Cadetship.

My question basically is, will they take me if I list Bachelor of Economics as my first preference, and then Engineering Degrees for other two preferences? I'm not interested in the other fields of Commerce/Business, I just want to purely head into Economics.

Also, are there any cadetship style programs for Engineering? I doubt this considering Engineering has many contact hours per week, but I'd thought I'd ask here anyway.

 

[seremify007]

Sorry to be bumping a somewhat old thread, but I was hoping you guys could give me some information on this. I'm thinking of applying for a UBS Cadetship.

My question basically is, will they take me if I list Bachelor of Economics as my first preference, and then Engineering Degrees for other two preferences? I'm not interested in the other fields of Commerce/Business, I just want to purely head into Economics.

Also, are there any cadetship style programs for Engineering? I doubt this considering Engineering has many contact hours per week, but I'd thought I'd ask here anyway.

What type of engineering? Back in my time there was a cadetship for project management/construction or something like that but I don't know much about it. Try Googling "Abi group cadetship" as that's where my friend worked.

As for economics... hard to say. UBS cadetship realistically will be a back or middle office role at best; both of which are more finance or accounting oriented than economics.