It feels really weird though being back in school after 10 weeks of internship. It feels different to just sit and listen and take notes instead of being on the go, doing something all the time. And learning comp finance stuff all over again after being exposed to corporate finance for the past few weeks takes a bit of time to get used to. That being said, my last year in school is going to be very fast and I hope it will be a good last year.
That aside, I have grown accustomed to little things that I had picked up during my internship. Whenever I say the phrase "I see I see" (which I realise I used quite frequently), it feels weird not to hear someone else adding "I" just after I finish the phrase (referring to the Indian bank, ICICI Bank). Whenever I say "cheesy", no one will now pick on "cheesy smile" and what my supervisor had said to me when the group of us went out drinking one night. The word "BBQ" will never have the same meaning again and if I happen to catch Martina Hingis on tv, I will always be reminded of "Swiss Miss" (which also happens to be her nick). Ah well. To top it off, I have also grown so used to hearing the names of the projects that I was working on. And I still check SGX website everyday for announcements on one of the projects I was involved in. The project will officially close on Thursday and I am really looking forward to finding out the outcome.
Anyway, I manage to get my decision deadline extended to Nov 1, following the school's policy! It's better that way I guess than the 2 weeks I had initially to decide. But I hope I'm not giving the impression that I don't want to take it at all. I actually am leaning towards taking it, but I still intend to apply for other positions, and it would be really bad if I say yes and not take it up in the end.
That aside, it has been a very fulfilling summer and I have no regrets at all taking up the internship, even if it means sacrificing a bit of my social life and time spent with family and friends. I had my first taste of what banking life is like, the work that they do and the skills that can be learned and I guess after being through it, I can now understand why bankers put in long hours and why they still go back during weekends to work even if it means sacrificing their social life. I would say that most people think that banking is a very glamorous job and it really is not, and most outside banking don't really understand what it is like to really be in it. Even I have a hard time explaining to my family/friends the long hours put in (though I must admit the interns stayed up way longer than full-timers).
I went into this internship wanting to learn more about what banking is like and know more people (to put it in broad terms) and I would say that I have gotten more than what I bargained for. I would say that the best part of this internship was the people. The Singapore team is very small but that's what makes us really close. I really bonded with the other interns as well and I kindda miss our daily lunches/dinners/banters, all the nicknames haha, "second shifts" and all that craziness past midnight. The hardest part about this whole experience was obviously the hours and lack of social life. The first two weeks was really tough, but I started to get used to it, though not compeletely. I guess this is something I will have to deal with if I want to go to banking full time. Having to balance your life and managing your time properly is really not easy.
The past two weeks have been a blur, with all the evaluations and offer decisions. It felt a bit overwhelming when the VPs and directors started coming to talk to me and ask me about how I like my time there. And I have been thinking about whether I want to do banking, but I guess this whole experience has been too intense that I barely have had time to catch my breath and reflect properly. I guess I really need time off (but school starts next week and I will be very busy again).
Anyhow, I guess it is time to move on to another phase of my life - my last year in college. It will be a blur and a very bittersweet experience. I am quite looking forward to it, but at the same time, I don't really want to graduate and work you know. I will be a TA again, this time in math finance, so it should be quite fun. There will be interviews to go through again, this time for full-time and not internships, and decisions to be made regarding my future..hoping I can postpone that as long as possible. My parents are planning to visit me as well this sem cos they will be travelling to US for a week. But after working for 10 weeks, I am not quite sure whether going for classes will ever be the same again. That being said, we had a joke about a certain Mr Chua emailing me work to do and him still working even after I have finished classes for the day haha.
Time to pack, even though I really don't want to pack at all. Can't believe that summer is already over and I don't really want to leave home at all!
So after 6 weeks, I guess it's time to reflect on this entire experience so far, and I have to pretty much decide soon whether I would want to do this full-time. The past 6 weeks have definitely been an intensive learning experience. I have learned so much more about the process, the going-ons behind deals, and of course, lots of more advanced accounting principles and have become more adept at reading financial statements and calculating trading multiples, from doing comps and company profiles. It has definitely been rewarding in that sense, though it would have been more rewarding had I been able to use more of what I have learned, besides stuff I learned from Intro to Accounting, which I have forgotten already anyway.
The biggest struggle I have the past 6 weeks is definitely finding a balance between work and everything else. Work basically takes a priority over other areas of life and it was really hard for me initially having to stay till late at night and also come back over weekends to work, because I still want to spend time with my family and friends, knowing that I don't have much time left. Let's just say..my priorities aren't exactly in tune with what's expected of me. I got used to it over time and I have come to expect to work late nights and over weekends as well. But there's still this nagging feeling of having no life outside work at all and I guess that's something I'm still trying to deal with. It seems that it's a really busy time for the bank, especially for my team (even the VP stays until 4am). Being involved in 2 big projects was already tough and I pretty much went back after midnight everyday, and I was involved in another later on as well. I was lucky if I could get 5 hrs of sleep (went home at 2-3 everyday), but the accumulation of lack of sleep and late nights really leaves me feeling tired. On the flip side, I was able to learn much more, and I dare say more than what other interns are learning.
Besides that, I like the people at work and the working environment. The department is relatively small and I guess that's one reason why we get to interact with the people in the department a lot. In fact, it doesn't really feelThe other interns are quite funny as well and I've been getting along well with them..and it helps that they also work till late as well..at least I'm not the only one working late, though I've been going back much later than them recently. I'm really going to miss them after this.
So it's down to the last 3 weeks of my summer holidays, and 2 more weeks of work left, with the last week of internship in Hong Kong being supposedly more relaxing. I have been frequently asked whether I have really enjoyed my holidays, especially since work takes up most of my time and it is really very hectic. Honestly to me, being back here and at home is already good. And I guess it feels different to be taken care of instead of having to look after myself all the time. I don't regret taking up the internship at all, well, except that I wish I could have spent more time with my family and friends. Time is definitely not on my side as I try to find time to meet as many friends as possible before I head back. And I barely have time to settle school stuff as well, which is mainly finalising the courses I want to take. After this internship, I'm more inspired to take accounting or corporate finance-related courses haha. Though I still can't seem to decide whether I should go into econs or business. Ah well.