My recent SAT score is terrible:

Section	Score (/800)	Average Score	Percentile
Critical Reading	600	502	79th
Mathematics	670	515	90th
Writing	540	494	65th
Essay	6 / 12
Total	1810 / 2400

Admittedly, my command of the English Language has never been good. My best result ever gotten in an English Language test was a B3 for 'O' levels. That couldn't have happened without the constant nagging reminders from my wonderful English teacher then, Mrs Karen Yeo.

"You can't force a horse to drink water when it doesn't wants to" - Mrs Yeo

In polytechnic, two language-related modules - Business Communications 1 and 2 - smeared my academic transcript. The two Bs became my lowest-scoring modules.

Now that I am in the Army, the only nagging I get everyday are from my superiors, who are... not exactly the kind of people that can help to improve my command of English. My vocaburary is hopelessly limited, my grammar is helplessly poor, and my mind is simply unprepared.

With questions such as identifying sentence errors and improving sentence structure, the SAT is damn technical. Growing up in an environment where broken English (with some extreme variations such as "howww ishhh euuuu?? gudd or nott?") is practiced commonly, taking the SAT while serving the Army is like being thrown into scalding hot oil, and I am the chicken nugget.

SMU's requirement to gain exemption for their English module, Academic Writing, is to achieve a combined score of 1210, made up scores in the Critical Reading and Writing sections. Having missed the cut by 70 marks (out of a possible 1600), I should just, in perfect Singlish, suck thumb.

71 days left!

Dogbert's fast-track degree:

SINGAPORE: Singapore Management University (SMU) graduates are finding better paying jobs and getting employed sooner, despite the Class of 2007 being 84 percent bigger than the 2006 cohort.

Three-quarters of them found jobs even before graduation, while the remainder secured employment within six months.

Graduates with cum laude degrees, or degrees with distinction (GPA 3.4 and above), started with an average pay of $3,500 - which is $200 more than what the 2006 cohort got.

69 graduates also landed high-flying jobs that paid between $4,000 and $10,000 a month.

The overall starting pay for the Class of 2007 rose by 6.7 percent to $3,040 from $2,850 for the Class of 2006.

The data are from a survey of 618 respondents.

I do realise that graduate survey cannot be entirely "correct" due to the fact that not every graduate has participated, especially those who couldn't find a job in half a year.

And perhaps, the price of a higher starting pay?

I cannot understand the level of competitiveness in SMU accurately. A friend majoring in Information Systems described his class "full of gold medalists" (In Temasek Polytechnic, top students of every courses are awarded with gold medals). Another friend majoring in Accountancy has been mentioning about the amount of stress (piled on him) since the start.

I do not think this video served as bad publicity for SMU. To me, that level of competitiveness (as mentioned by my friends) serves as good preparation for the future: to be on the ball, to be bold, to strive for excellence. I have never bought the idea of "a vibrant and exciting school" anyway, except for the fact that girls dress better there

Perhaps I'm just dull.

Perhaps I've forgot to add in pit stops to my planned journey.

At least I'm adaptive, fortunately.

Finally, the root of all evils:

When I tell people that I study Business IT, they never failed to amuse me. Most of them believed that a course in Business IT is just made up of 50% business subjects (like basic accounting, basic organizational behaviour, basic economics) and 50% IT topics (like basic database and basic programming). Notice my usage of the word "basic".

Well I don't blame them; you have to have some experience before you understand what this job is about. I'm not saying that I am a pro here, but I am on my way there, with a pretty good understand of what to expect. But it's disappointing to know that even some of my course mates in polytechnic failed to understand what can a Business IT graduate do. I do get really pissed off sometimes when people insists that I studied a crap course in school.

Do you know there's a job out there called a Business Analyst?

So, what's a business analyst?

One reason why it is so difficult for the general population to understand the job scope of business analyst is because the term is too broadly used! Here's a more "official" definition of business analyst:

The International Institute of Business Analysis has the following definition of the role:

"A business analyst works as a liaison among stakeholders in order to elicit, analyze, communicate and validate requirements for changes to business processes, policies and information systems. The business analyst understands business problems and opportunities in the context of the requirements and recommends solutions that enable the organization to achieve its goals."

The British Computer Society proposes the following definition of a business analyst:

"An internal consultancy role that has the responsibility for investigating business systems, identifying options for improving business systems and bridging the needs of the business with the use of IT."

For more information, below are some other links to posts specializing on defining the business analyst role and responsibilities, as well as some ideas on how BAs can best be used to solve business problems.

1. Business Analyst Job Description
2. What is a business analyst
3. Who is the Business Analyst?

Career paths of a business analyst

By Business Analyst Blog - Is Business Analysis the road to the Top of Your Organization?

In the next few years I think we are going to see more and more Business Analysts move into executive level positions in both business and IT organizations. Many individuals holding these positions currently have strong business analysis backgrounds (whether or not they ever had that job title). The progression of a Business Analyst into executive management is very logical and smart from a CEO's perspective. BAs understand the core business and understand how to solve business problems. We are very good at looking at business areas from a strategic perspective and recommending forward thinking solutions. Because we understand what technology can do, we can see possibilities for future growth in our organizations and can see a path to get there.

And this blog post by Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama describes the various paths a Business Analyst can go during his career. Click here to read.

Call it bias, but I love that

Career prospect in Singapore

If you have been reading on the job roles offered to Information Systems Management graduates from Singapore Management University (list is here), there is a significant number of business analyst jobs there. And notably some of the employers were Citigroup, DBS, UBS. Banks, the companies that many students in Singapore would like to work in.

A guest comment by Chris Mead, general manager of Hays (global HR consultancy, www.hays.sg) in Singapore for eFinancialCareers.sg - Singapore is the new centre for finance tech:

While for some time Singapore has been considered an ideal location for global banks to build development, support and infrastructure hubs to support their expanding global requirements, more firms are now enhancing their presence there to align these technology centres to trading desks. While few firms house their regional trading franchises locally, they are looking to Singapore to provide a range of trading-specific functions.

This is creating a greater need for technologists with a more diverse skill set, including specific knowledge of traded instruments. As a result, the demand for finance technology candidates has never been higher. Demand is across the full gamut of skills, from the traditional focus of development and support functions to the increasingly popular project skills such as business analysts, project and programme managers, service and delivery lead skills, as well as QA and testing functions.

In light of the demand for staff, salaries have risen. For example, business analysts are in short supply (a reflection of Singapore becoming locally responsible for regional projects), and there is a definite willingness from most employers to increase their salaries, especially where candidates have a high level of relevant business knowledge.

If you still need a further push to believe business analyst are important, check out the comments by CIO magazine (CIO.com) - Why Business Analysts Are So Important for IT and CIOs:

What is clear: The most successful business analysts are the ones who blend the temperament and communications savvy of a diplomat with the analytical skills of an intelligence officer. And business analysts are a hot commodity.

The in-depth April 2008 Forrester Research report by analysts Carey Schwaber and Rob Karel provides a better understanding of this crucial yet largely undefined role. "Everyone agrees on the importance of the business analyst role," the analysts write, "but few know exactly what it is that business analysts do."

The ultimate blurring of the business-oriented business analyst and the IT-oriented business analysts, contend the Forrester analysts, is what they term the business technology analyst. And the person in this role can be a CIO's and the IT department's ace in the hole, as well as a better-equipped business liaison.

Salary wise, business analyst are paid pretty well:

If you've read the part about the career path of a Business Analyst, you would have known that this job only represents the early to mid stages of a career. In the figure, jobs such as Project Manager and IT Manager are some of the career options available to Business Analysts from mid-career onwards.

Salary reports from Payscale of Business Analyst, IT, Singapore, 1 Year Experience: Click here to download.

Business Analyst is ranked 45th best-paid job (based on the 75th-percentile gross basic monthly income) in Singapore in 2007: Click here for salary ranking by salary.sg

After a year of hesitation, I finally applied for the National Infocomm Scholarship this year. Actually, the only reason for me to apply was the sponsors: there are 3 banks, namely Barclays Capital, DBS and UOB.

I want to work in a bank as an IT business analyst for a start. So if I can win a scholarship with any of these banks, I can start my 4-years undergraduate course at SMU knowing that I have almost secured a job in a bank.

The Call

iDA, the organiser of the scholarship, called me up on a morning. The voice was sweet, but she told me I am to go for a interview with.. Oracle!

Oracle is a world leader in enterprise systems, which are what I have been studying since my polytechnic days. But heck, I want a bank!

Mixed emotions. I felt lucky to be even short listed for an interview. I know there are people who are willing to take my place any time. But on the flip side, the 3 banks rejected me. Disappointing.

All right, I told myself. Go for the interview. If I score a deal with them, work for them, gain experience, then move to a bank. The interview was at iDA's office located at Suntec Tower 3, last week.

The interview

I don't know why but, I was shivering when I stepped in. I had a cup of hot coffee after registration. I also met another scholarship hopeful who studied EEE. Interesting enough, since this is an infocomm scholarship after all.

When I stepped into the interview room, 5 pairs of eyes greeted me. Woah! I am a first-timer in this, you know. I screwed the interview, in my own opinion. They didn't ask tough questions. All they asked were simple questions like the usual 'Tell me about yourself', 'What do you see yourself in the next 5 years", my former business (plusone), and some IT topics like the impact of Open Source software.

Right after the interview

I don't know if I can score it. In fact, if I am offered, I don't know if I want to accept it. I know I suck. It's money vs interest. We're talking about over $34,000 worth of sponsorship, but it is 3 years of my career!

I asked my friends about how they felt about my situation. Generally, they advised me to stick to my interest. Hmm..

I spent that whole night thinking over this. I know it is too early to say, but I hate to wait and see. I want to get it sorted out fast. I envisioned a career path as a scholarship holder. And then the path I wanted (bank). Then, I realised how silly I was.

The feeling I got when envisioning both paths were so different. It made me realised that my desire to work in the financial services industry is actually so strong.

Thanks, Oracle.