Career advice (1 Viewer)

[TheRealIce]

Hi guys!

So I am a bit of an impasse in regards what I should do with my job/career/uni. Basically I am currently working for a big 4 bank in a branch role (opening accounts, offering tier 2 advice etc) whilst studying commerce full time at Monash uni. Eventually I want to get a graduate position within a bank, preferably in something like product development. I enjoy working in finance but also like the marketing side of things hence what I want to do (and my dual finance marketing major).

I am 19 and have been in the job for 6 months or so and am really happy with how everything is going. But last week I was thrown a curveball and they offered me a full time assistant manager position within the branch paying almost $80k a year. For most people this would be great but it would mean dropping down to part time study and adding 2 years to my degree. However, it was highlighted to me that showing I can handle management responsibilities early on in the bank, will be a great differentiator when I apply for graduate positions later on.

I would just like to hear some thoughts and have some advice on how i should proceed.

Thanks for the help guys!

 

[enoilgam]

I'd take it, as long as you keep working towards the degree it should be fine (a degree will eventually be needed). By doing this, you might be able to bypass the need for a graduate program, as you will be well ahead with your career by the time you graduate.

 

[Angel_HSC]

I would take it.... I know that it might add 2 years to your study but that will go quick... plus think of how much you would be saving as well as paying off your student loans... if you have any.

I know personally I would take it.

 

[JT145]

take the job and drop down to part time

80k is a LOT of cash at our age and the experience would be great

 

[RenegadeMx]

take the job and drop down to part time

80k is a LOT of cash at our age and the experience would be great

this, dont be a retard

 

[TheRealIce]

the main thing holding me back is that im enjoying life at the moment and feel like it might be too much too fast. i have a good job, doing good at uni and have a good social life. this could potentially really throwout that balance and make me 'grow up too fast' in a way. i still want to enjoy life while im young, but i guess i want to know if this opportunity is too good to pass up.

 

[nerdasdasd]

It's a tough job market , take the position and delay uni!

 

[nerdasdasd]

Ultimately if you want to maintain the uni marks then your social life will take a hit ... You need to make sacrifices

 

[OzKo]

the main thing holding me back is that im enjoying life at the moment and feel like it might be too much too fast. i have a good job, doing good at uni and have a good social life. this could potentially really throwout that balance and make me 'grow up too fast' in a way. i still want to enjoy life while im young, but i guess i want to know if this opportunity is too good to pass up.

Maybe you can talk to your manager and take on some of the duties of an assistant manager as a trial?

It will give you the chance to see if the work-study-life balance will be thrown out of whack if you did end up committing.

 

[enoilgam]

the main thing holding me back is that im enjoying life at the moment and feel like it might be too much too fast. i have a good job, doing good at uni and have a good social life. this could potentially really throwout that balance and make me 'grow up too fast' in a way. i still want to enjoy life while im young, but i guess i want to know if this opportunity is too good to pass up.

Im in a position where I work full-time and most of my friends dont. To be honest, my social life has taken a bit of a hit because I dont have the freedom they do and Im not in a position to do certain things with them. So I would carefully consider your social life - you have many years to work, but you only really get to enjoy the uni age/lifestyle once. Im not saying you shouldnt do it, but it is something to consider.

 

[RishBonjour99]

the main thing holding me back is that im enjoying life at the moment and feel like it might be too much too fast. i have a good job, doing good at uni and have a good social life. this could potentially really throwout that balance and make me 'grow up too fast' in a way. i still want to enjoy life while im young, but i guess i want to know if this opportunity is too good to pass up.

I understand what you mean here but I think it would be a great decision for your career development to take on the role IF you are pretty set on staying with the bank. Yes, it will be more full than than your current one, but it will be a PROPER distinguishing factor when you apply for almost any graduate program. It shows 1) you did well in your current role for them to offer the 'promotion' to you, 2) you can be trusted with real responsibility and 3) Not many people will have experience close to that. I wouldn't take into account the $80k cash too much (it is AMAZING for your age) because a grad at in most commbank divisions will also makes around that with your income progressing more rapidly.

I'm assuming you're in your 2nd year given you're 19? Did you ask or talk to HR if they can put you in an internship to try out the division you want? The only disadvantage I see here is that you're getting bogged down too much at an early stage when we still should probably be trying to find out what interests you - i.e. interning at different firms/divisions. Given you like the bank and they clearly want you with them, I think ask their HR if you can possibly do a small internship stint (not that it's necessary given your experience - but it will give you a little taste of product development).

 

[seremify007]

There has been some very good advice in this thread, and as others have done, I wouldn't really look too much into the cash component which is very good for your age. That being said, if I were you, I would most likely take the role and see how well I could manage doing 3 subjects at uni (so not total part time) and balancing it with work. The promotion will definitely put you in good stead for future applications and I wouldn't worry too much about finishing uni one or two years slower as a result especially as the experience you get will be amazing.

That all being said though, a couple of things come to my mind.

Firstly, do you know what the role of assistance branch manager actually entails? I am most surprised/impressed that you are being offered this at your age given your very limited level of experience as there are so many moving parts you need to be aware of as the second in command in a branch. How much do you know and realistically what are you capable of because with that kind of coin being invested in you, and no other more experienced candidates, I wonder if there are bigger issues you just aren't aware of in terms of historical compliance, profitability of client base, etc...

2. Given your longer term ambitions, have you discussed what your plans are in terms of moving into other roles beyond branch land? A key challenge for you would be ensuring you do not become 'stuck' in a certain area especially if you have ambitions elsewhere, and how you manage the expectations of those around you in terms of where you are trying to get to.

There's probably a few other important factors but I think you'd want to get the above two downpat before you risk taking on a role you don't fully appreciate. Congrats on getting the offer though!


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[BLIT2014]

I'd probably take it as experience such as this will provide a definite edge over other job applicants in the near future.

 

[seremify007]

Maybe you can talk to your manager and take on some of the duties of an assistant manager as a trial?

It will give you the chance to see if the work-study-life balance will be thrown out of whack if you did end up committing.

I'd also be mindful that the challenge of the role will greatly depend on the performance and style of your branch manager. With my limited experience in branchland, the role will officially be full time but the amount of effort outside of business hours may be more than anticipated as surprises can come your way. It also depends on which bank you're with and their reporting structure (i.e. regional branch set up, is your BM actually spread quite lean across multiple branches, etc).