Work experience or Masters? (EU/Greece/Germany)
Hi guys and gals,
I'm a university graduate from Greece. I studied Maritime Studies (i.e. Business Administration for Shipping), graduated in 2017. After my compulsory military service in the Greek Army (Jan - Oct 2018) and 5 months of unemployment I landed an internship in the German Parliament, where I am still now. As per the internship, I could take courses at the Humboldt University in Berlin and so I took German Banking Law. I am returning to Greece on the 31st of this month.
While I was in Germany, I was applying for internships, but as I am not an enrolled student I got rejections by the bucketload because they would have to pay me the minimum wage (~ 9 EUR per hour) in my case. I was also getting rejections from trainee programmes because my degree isn't finance-focused, so I will definitely need a Master. So I applied for Masters. I was accepted into the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management's MSc Finance with a scholarship, but I turned down the offer because I would have to take out at least 24K in loans and that is too much (in Greece we don't have student loans and I am debt-free, and I would only like to take out loans* in extremis*).
Here are my current offers. I have an offer for an internship at the office of a politician in Greece. I also have an offer at the MSc in Applied Economics and Finance at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB). It's for 3 semesters. The AUEB is very good in Greece, but it's unknown abroad. I am also waiting on decisions from TU München and the University of Hamburg.
What is my goal? I want to get a job in finance in Germany. Specifically, I want to specialise risk management. However, I have a year in front of me and I have no idea what exactly I should do to get myself to where I want to be. Hence, I am in quite of a conundrum. I am not sure what should I do.
- Should I do a Masters in Greece and then go to Germany?
- Should I do two Masters (the one in Greece and one in Germany, since I have a better chance with a German degree)? Most entry-level jobs in Greece are customer support roles with no relation to finance whatsoever.
- Should I do call centre work and save money for my Master in Germany, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with finance?
Unlike most Greeks, I feel horrible still being dependent on my parents, since I am 24. My mum is also nagging me to do a masters in Greece and she is willingly offering to pay tuition, and I feel even worse.
Why bother with all these thoughts? Greece is finished economically (I have no appetite whatsoever to get a job remunerated with €850 per month with a masters in Greece) and I see myself in Germany (I don't speak Dutch and the UK is about to leave the EU).
I have also been thinking of doing the following activities while in Greece:
- Resit the GMAT. I flunked it the first time (580). If I am to resit it, I aim for a 100-point improvement.
- Join as a volunteer fireman in the Greek Fire Service.
- Return to the Greek Parliament Model and seek a leadership/project management role.
- CFA Level I
- Finance club at the AUEB if I choose to accept the master there.
Which would you recommend?
Here is my profile: My GPA is 8.38/10 and I was 4th of my class. I speak Greek, German, and English fluently. I have a basic knowledge of French and Turkish. I also speak rudimentary Albanian because of my parents' "migration background." I have an internship in Shipping Finance at the National Bank of Greece that lasted 2 months in 2017. I was at AIESEC for 17 months in various roles, including a project management role wherein I managed a team of 6. I was also in 2 simulations of the Greek Parliament, one of which as a parliamentarian and another as the minister of commerce - I even drafted a bill for debate in parliament. In the military, I was a commissary store salesman and managed up to €2,500 of goods for a month and a battalion adjutant (basically the secretary of battalion commander) for 3 months.
Thanks for your time and patience! Any input would be appreciated. I understand this post may be somewhat chaotic, but I need guidance.
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