The inevitable

A few weeks ago I decided to sign up for WallStreetOasis, at first sight it seemed to be a website full of professionals with a background in Finance. However, this view was too narrow; it is filled with people that have a wide variety of backgrounds. But one thing remained the same; they all have a passion for Finance.

The enormous amount of blogposts has been a tremendous support to give me a better understanding about Finance as an industry on itself.

But what is my background? Why do I google around on WallStreetOasis to know more?

I am a Dutch student, currently studying Finance & Control (Bachelor of Economics). Recently I finished my internship at a company within the top-10 of the F500. This internship showed me that there is more to Finance than the eye can initially see, or in other words, what is initially taught at school. Therefore I went on a search to find out more about Finance, and the possibilities within this industry. This website has given me alot of insights about all the positions, roles, responsibilities and tasks that one could do.

However, I am not yet satisfied with the information that I already received/read. I have a few questions/problems, that I hope that someone could coach or advice me on.

Accounting is an interesting topic, however, it is not that difficult, the problems are easier to comprehend and in the end it is the “art of balancing”. “Controllership” as companies describe it, has relatively tough responsibilities, but still, in my eyes it is manageable.

I want to be intellectually intrigued; therefore, I recently started to learn basic programming (Java, JavaScript (web based) and C#) and a scripting language (VBA), this is a great experience and teaches you a profound understanding of “logical reasoning”, and I think it is more challenging than what I’ve currently learned at school. However, the fact remains the same that after my studies I have the “papers” for a controllership – auditing role. The reason for stating it like that is that I like the roles and responsibilities that come with it, but I am not sure that I will use my full potential; one other issue is that it can be too in depth, you are not busy with the company as a whole, but with one specific subject. Therefore, I would like to have a view at “pure” Finance or a way to combine Finance and IT in such a way that it stays intellectually challenging.

My questions/problems

At this point I have one more year to go for my thesis. However, I am already busy with looking for a Master’s. I have two likeable options; Finance & Investments (entrance for CFA) – Accounting & Auditing (entrance for CMA/CPA);
• After finishing Finance & Investments, the “best” opportunity is to apply for a banking internship/job and likely studying CFA. However, I would like to be honest here, banking sounds intellectually challenging and intriguing, but the hours, that is something that I am not willing to do. I have read multiple times that the hours are usually 75 - 80 and maximum 100 hours a week. And therefore I am curious if there are any roles/responsibilities within banking/corporations that give you a slightly less busy workweek (60/70) but with the same level of challenging and intriguing Finance. Notice, that I am not speaking about pay; this is not a motivator for me;
• After finishing Accounting & Auditing the path is reasonably clear, Controllership at a corporation and studying for CMA, or Auditing (Big4 or internal) and studying for CPA. Hours can get high at Auditing but it is easy in comparison with banking I suppose;
• Is the curriculum of the CFA certification a good “starting point” to get to know ‘”pure” Finance?
• Maybe an easy question to answer, but I could not find proper information about this subject. If one has a strong combination of Computer Science and Finance, what types of jobs are applicable for him/her?

I hope you guys could give me some advice or coaching, if more information is required. Please, write a reaction/comment, I will try to respond as quickly as possible.