Sup everyone, I am a year 4 full-time business analytics student at SUSS who has just completed my final semester in uni (ORD lo) and will be officially graduating around the third quarter of 2022. I've decided to create this post to reflect on my 4 years of SUSS journey, and to hopefully benefit anyone reading this post who is currently taking FT business analytics in SUSS or considering to enrol in this spicy programme.
In SUSS, there is an option for the students to withdraw from their exam/TOA without any reason and the "W" grade will be reflected on your semestrial result slip. During year 1, I withdrew from the MKT202 exam paper because it falls on the same day as my HRM203 exam. The nature of these both papers requires intensive memorisation and has a huge load of theory content to memorize. BIG mistake on my part because the moment I withdrew from taking MKT202, it began to snowball to my next semester of exams and it was so stressful to cope. Luckily, I was able to end this addictive cycle of withdrawing paper in year 1 and MKT202 is the only paper that I have withdrawn so far in my 4 years in SUSS. SO NO W-ing pls
Always start early - In university, it is a place for you to get your degree (obviously) but more importantly, it is the best time to discover what you want to do in life! If you realize halfway through your uni life that you are not interested or passionate about your major, that's perfectly fine. But do take the time to explore your interests by doing more internships or signing up for talks or mentorship programmes. University is really the best time to figure out what you really want to do so pls do not idle your life away or just focus on completing your 200cu modules and the non-academic graduating requirements.
If business analytics is something that you really want to do maybe because of your exposure during your polytechnic days or relevant work experience, do take initiative and apply for BA/DA internships when you are in year 1 or 2. Start exploring early. Business analytics is a discipline of study that can be applied to several industries out there. Go explore and see what roles suit you more - e.g Business intelligence, Project management, Data Analytics, Data Science, Data Engineering or Tech Sales, and the industry which interests you - e.g Finance, Healthcare, Tech or Supply Chain. Do not just do a 6-months work attachment and feel that it's enough
Pick a minor or the modules that can bring you closer to your dream job. I have always wanted to do business analytics or project management role in analytics in the banking sector. I picked financial technology as my minor to make myself more attractive to my future banking employers. During my ANL488 semester (which is the final year project module for business analytics students), I decided to do "predicting financial distress in SMEs" using machine learning techniques in python so that it will make my resume tailored more toward the banking industry. Luckily for me, things work out in the end and I managed to secure a placement in the full-time graduate programme of a bank. During the job interview, I was able to explain and show my understanding of financial technologies to the interviewer and showcase my final year project. All of these really did elevate my chances to get into my dream banking role.
Please try to complete your non-academic graduating requirements like community engagement and overseas experience as early as possible (preferably during your year 1). This is because the modules will get harder when you are in year 2 onwards and you would want to spend your precious semester breaks on internships/work attachments instead. Please do not try to do things last-minute and pls do your due diligence to ensure that you have fulfilled all the requirements and submitted the deliverables required to pass a graduating component.
Do not be entitled and expect the school to teach you everything. Some skillsets like SQL, python and visualisation tools are the bread and butter of a business analytics student. These skills will only be taught to you during your year 2 and some of them are optional as electives. Please do not wait till then to take it up because you will be left behind when your peers are getting BA/DA internships and you need time to practice these skills too. Take the initiative to study it on Udemy or the free courses available online.
Please take care of your mental health - There is no shame in re-moding or retaking a module (as long as you tried your very best). Over the years in SUSS, I realized that your mental health is WAY more important than your education. Better to have a degree of sanity than just a paper degree. Although GPA is the KPI in universities, you should balance it out with a couple or few internships experience, fruitful community work, memorable oversea trip, and some student life (and fun). I was in a mild depression state when I was balancing between my internship and 5 modules (will not recommend this combo to anyone). I end up screwing up on both so I decided to pace myself better in my studies for the next coming semesters, exercise more regularly and prioritise my mental wellness. Everyone has their timeline. Just because your path is different from other people doesn't mean your lost.
For the work-study programmes (WSP) in SUSS, I will recommend it if you are pretty sure that you want to work in that specific industry. E.g StanChart WSP - If you are certain that banking is for you. I have friends that regretted their WSP choice because they realize that banking is too fast-paced for them. I also have friends who loved it and enjoy the culture there a lot. There are a couple of WSP programmes like Shopee, CPF and Certis but it depends on the availability during that specific year. My advice/opinion is that you should try out different internships in different industries so that you know which industry SUIT you better. This will allow you to make a more informed decision when you want to secure an FT job because you experienced the different industries. I interned in healthcare analytics, marketing analytics, HR analytics and Financial analytics role before concluding that I want to join a bank. Hence, I will recommend WSP only if you are certain that you want to join that industry because the attachment duration is a year.
Adjusting your mindset - If you are a SUSS student, you realize the comparison that people will make between SUSS and other local unis like NUS. It's true that these local unis are more reputable than us and they will have unfair advantages since their universities have existing connections with some MNCs. However, this doesn't mean that there is nothing you can do about it. Please do not victimize yourself and belittle yourself. You made it in SUSS and it's an amazing feat which you should be proud of. It is never about the degree but what you do with your degree. E.g for my case, I decided to go for many internships, go to networking sessions and connect with more people on Linkedin to ask for their experiences. After my 4 years of hard work, I was the first SUSS student to enter that specific bank graduate programme which was largely dominated NUS students. Hence, I just want to say that you should not let the circumstances that you are in define who you are, it is about what you make the MOST out of the circumstances that you are in.
Have fun - Don't just keep studying studying, interning interning then you toh. Have some fun, and spend time with your family and friends. Build a strong emotional support of network with your friends in SUSS and expand your network connections on LinkedIn or through attending physical networking sessions. Learn to build a good balance between studying, interning and having fun so that you will have a successful adult life when you graduate.