G Ravi Teja, Premji Invest

Questionnaire

Q 1. What is your motivation for Finance?

My interest in Finance can be traced back to my childhood. Furthermore, when I was exposed to the subject of Finance in the Institute, my interest expanded. It would not be wrong to say that Finance domain offers a competitive market of jobs and I found it worth to be a part of the race.

Q 2. Tell us a bit more about the company and your profile.

My team is primarily involved in building models that would predict the liquidity impact for the bank during stress times. It consists of gathering knowledge of various products offered by the bank, study the customer behaviour, identify and quantify risks associated with it. Such a profile demands constant interactions with different teams and managing time lines to meet the regulatory requirements. The important aspect is to periodically monitor the performance of the models.

Q 3. How is a regular day at your firm?

Ahh! Everyday brings something new as my work is not tied to a fixed process. Behaviour analysis, customer reactions, modelling, coding, testing hypotheses and monitoring predictions are the key tasks. For leisure, I also play chess with colleagues and have compelling conversations in the canteen.

Q 4. Would you recommend any courses or
certification for Finance aspirants?

It would be my personal advice to take up a fullfledged Master’s course in Finance or an MBA (if you are already pursuing engineering). It helps in strengthening the base and one can surpass all the other certifications. Also, I would recommend
enrolling for these after gaining 2-3 years of work experience.

Q 5. Do you think exams like FRM and CFA are beneficial?

This topic is quite debatable and personally, I don’t seem to have an inclination for these exams, although I have passed both of these. Such courses are useful when one belongs to a non-finance background because CFA/FRM would get them well
acquainted with the jargons/terminologies widely used in the industry. Though, if there is a possibility, best to go for a Master’s degree or MBA. One must note that there is a mismatch between the number of applicants for these exams and jobs roles available. Hence, only a CFA/FRM certification may not be sufficient for someone to be distinguishable.

Q 6. Any additional skills that you would suggest?

I would highly recommend finance enthusiasts to learn programming. Technology is taking over and coding and Data science will soon rule the industry. Recruiters now focus more on these additional skills than simply short-listing based on Finance knowledge. Especially for people from engineering background, they expect them to be master at problem solving, maths and programming. In my little experience with recruiting, we do scan to look for any programming history in the resumes.

Q 7 .How to choose from a myriad of online courses available on platforms like Coursera?

If you are looking for courses that will help you for a job, then shortlist the companies/job roles that are in line with your future goals. Start reading the job descriptions by various companies and focus on the skill sets required. You can then
take up courses to enhance those skills.

Q 8. Exit opportunities

Exit opportunities varies from person to person based on their career plan. My exit plan would be start my own venture. Other possible options could be higher studies, civil services or joining some start-ups.

Q 9. What is your advice to students?

My advice to students would be to enhance their communication and networking skills as they play a major role once you get out of the campus.Ensure a good balance between
placement/academic headache and insti life.

— Avichal Agrawal (Co-Founder editor)