2013 - The year I've achieved one of my dreams

As the year draws to an end, suddenly I feel like blogging again to record down the year gone by. Looking back, I've traveled 5 times this year, to nearby countries in Asia. We've spent about a week in Myanmar in Feb 2013. In May, we were in Hanoi & Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. In June, I went to Boracay, Philippines, with 2 girlfriends. October was the best travel month, with visits to Siem Reap, Cambodia with my mum and Beijing, China, with my girlfriends. The rest of the time, I was either traveling for work to Sydney, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Brunei, or working hard in Singapore. My biggest achievement this year will be changing jobs to a position I've been wanting to pursue.

So after graduating with my MBA in May 2010, I've landed a FX Specialist role with Bloomberg's Analytics desk. I was there for 8 months, before moving on to Execution Management Solutions (EMS) Sales role with Bloomberg. I have always wanted to join a front office position in a Financial Services industry and EMS sales role was a perfect fit for me. It allowed me to network in the Finance industry and build up my own lists of contacts. I love my job in Sales and Account Management, as it allows me to talk to clients from various financial institutions and provide solutions which fit their needs. It was then that I've realized I want to be in Financial Sales and build my career in this area.

After having spent 3.5 years in Bloomberg, I feel it is time for me to move on to find new challenges and join a bank. After 4 rounds of interviews, I've been offered an Assistant Vice President, FX Sales role with State Street Bank's e-commerce Sales & Trading team. Finally, from starting my MBA journey in 2008, to 2013 today, I have finally realized my goal of working in a front office role in a bank, with a salary I've always dreamed of getting. After 5 years, including the years in MBA school, I can finally say I have achieved what I set out to reach for.

I've been with State Street Bank for 2 months now and it has been a steep learning period for me. However, I've enjoyed every moment so far. There is so much more for me to learn in the FX space and I am building up my own network of FX contacts in Asia. Thank you, 2013! I'll always remember you as the year I've attained my dream job. Life's awesome!

P/S: FX = Forex = Foreign Exchange = Currencies