Aamey Mehta and Michel Verhasselt found their way to the finance sector immediately after finishing their undergraduate studies.

Aamey, who is from India and has a degree in commerce from Christ University in Bangalore, secured a role as a portfolio associate at Wells Fargo, a US-founded financial services company.

Michel, who is from Belgium and studied language interpretation and translation at Université Libre de Bruxelles, joined insurance broker WILLEMOT.

These experiences convinced them finance was the place they wanted to grow their careers, and they turned to the ESSEC Master in Finance (MiF) at ESSEC Asia-Pacific to help carve out their careers.

A Top French School, But Based In Asia

“Doing the MiF at ESSEC Asia-Pacific will allow me to work and study in Asia and Europe. This would expose me to two markets, compared to what I’d get with other programs,” Aamey explains of his choice.

In addition, with the MiF program consistently being ranked as one of the top in the world year after year and Singapore’s reputation as a global financial center, joining the school would offer them the advantages of world-class European education while tapping into opportunities in a growing region.

The Appeal of a Two-year Program

Aamey and Michel are in the early stages of their careers, so they saw the two-year MiF option as an advantage. “I would have the opportunity to do two internships and explore different fields of finance,” Aamey says.

True to this, in his first year, Aamey found a role at Motion Ventures, a venture capital and private equity firm. He supported deals in the maritime and supply chain industries there, gaining valuable experience in making investment decisions and managing client relationships.

Michel, too, scored an internship in his first semester in Singapore at AI solutions firm Selendis Technologies.

“Although I was interning in the business development department, I was able to speak to more senior employees who gave me real-world insights into what it means to be a hedge fund trader,” adding that these conversations helped him shift his focus from private banking to trading.

Opportunities to Learn About New Pathways

Michel explains that one of the key benefits he has found at ESSEC Asia-Pacific is learning about the different finance roles available through alumni events, company visits, and guest talks from industry professionals.

“Through these events, I met traders from places like BNP Paribas. I contacted them on LinkedIn and asked for coffee chats—it was extremely enlightening,” he says, adding,

“Overall, the program taught me much about finance roles. I realized I could have confidence in becoming a trader instead of worrying that I didn’t study engineering or math.”

Aamey agrees, noting that despite his work experience, he, too, has found the insights shared about finance roles and how to improve one’s chances of finding a role extremely useful.

Gratefully, he says, “The career services advisor gave me tips to improve my LinkedIn and CV. He taught me how to rephrase areas to make them easier to understand and explained how to curate my cover letter using keywords from the job description.”

Looking back at his time in Singapore thus far, he has no regrets.

“There are many opportunities to experience cultures, make friends, and leverage the knowledge of top-tier professors. These will all improve your profile for when you join the working world,” he concludes.