St.Gallen - what about working in the french speaking part?
Hi everybody!
After having red lots of posts on the forum, I have decided to create my own, and hopefuly will find an answer to my questions!
First of all, I'd like to introduce myself:
I come from Geneva and I am currently doing a bachelor in economics and chinese in the UK. I will graduate at the end of next year (June 2012), and I am thinking of doing my master degree in St.Gallen (Master in Banking & Finance). For the moment, I have done 3 internships; 2 of them in Geneva, in a small sized Asset Management company, and 1 of them in China, in a chinese company doing financial analysis on the chinese futures market. My mother tongue is french, but I can also speak english (fluent), chinese (advanced level, should be able to speak it in a professional environment by the end of my bachelor), and german (intermediate level). My aim is to work in a bank as a private asset manager for chinese clients.
My questions:
I am thinking to do my master in St.Gallen because I am planning to work in Switzerland after graduation. Although I should be able to get into one of the top European business school (LSE, HEC Paris, etc...), it seems to me that none of them will open to me as many doors in Switzerland as St.Gallen will.
1) However, I am wondering about the extent to which German is important when going to Networking events or Job Fairs organised by the University of St.Gallen? Although I can already speak a bit of German, I doubt that I will be fluent by the end of my master :-s. Therefore, I am afraid that my german ability will reduce my chances to make good impression to potential employers, and ultimately reduce my chances to find a job...
2) Apart from that, I would like to know if studying in St.Gallen gives equal chances to work in the french and the german speaking part of Switzerland? Or is it easier to find a job in the french speaking part with a master from Lausanne? Are there employers from the french speaking part coming to the events organised by St.Gallen? After all, the 1st city for private asset management in Switzerland is Geneva !
Coming from a country with 4 national languages is a great thing, but can sometime also be a bit troublesome haha...;-) !
Looking forward to your answers !
Greetings
Hi Basouille,
I work for PE firm in Switzerland and can tell you St. Gallen will open a ton of doors (most people at my firm went to school there). I did a study abroad there and found most opportunities by the job boards and Career Days event on campus. Most work in Switzerland is done in English so I do not think you will have much of a hard time (I am from the US originally). I find networking at the junior level is less important in Switzerland than other parts of the world, although interviews are not any easier. Good luck.
Basouille, See below: 1) In Geneva the working language tends to be English (or French), in Zurich it tends to be German so you should be fine. BTW, how did you manage to learn Chinese?
2) HSG places very well in the German speaking part of Europe (incl. Geneva), however, given the choice I would easily prefer to do a masters at LSE or Oxbridge. Also, why do a masters in the first place, getting an MBA after 2-3 years seems much more sensible.
Initialandrew, PM me if you would like to chat sometimes, I've also recently started a PE gig in Zurich. Given that you are in Zug I can only think of 2 firms... ;-)
Thanks very much to both of you for your answers!
To Initialandrew: Could I ask you if you speak German? If not, could you please tell me how well did you manage to pick it up while studyin at St.Gallen? What do you mean when you say "I find networking at the junior level is less important in Switzerland than other parts of the world"?
To bbballer: Where did you red that I am in Zug? I am not in Zug lol ! Appart from that, I've just PM you!
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