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I am Graduate Trainee Officer (GTO) at Bank AL Habib Limited, Karachi, Pakistan.
I did start my career in banking 15 years ago working for Standard Chartered bank selling a product that was new in the Indian market the2-in-1 account. An account that has the fleibility of a savings account but any amount in excess of10000 get transferred to fixed deposit earning fd interest. Thus any large amount left in the savings account would earn fd interest. I had a degree in B.com from Callcutta University and a diploma in finance and marketing. later on I went in the mutual fund and insurance sector and became an independent associate for ICICI, TATA AIG,and that went on for2 years. During that time I entered a course in Applied Computer Sciences which included rdbms, Oracle, sap, etc and joined the booming it secor. I have since thhen worked in the it/ites/tech heldesk sectoes supporting customers remotely for Sovreign bank US, OPTUS-SingTel Australia, Relaince infocom ,mutual funds all over India, and now I indirectly support clients in the NA region of US.
For the entry level--A graduation in commerce or Economics is preferable along with Basic computer skills and good Knowledge of English+Regional language--Almost all banks have their own Software and Security systems-You will be perfectly trained after the selection in software matters for which the basic skills are useful.
For the day today operations, the knowledge of the Financial field is essential because many concepts/terms are to be absorbed for the intended meaning of it--Accounting knowledge for different practical applications--Marketing for various financial products--Numerical and analytical abilities--and Must be familiar with all economic fields to have a basic knowledge to be successful in Credit appraisals of the clients. These knowledge can be acquired after joining and the interest for learning should be a continuous process as the Career growth mainly depended on these things.
Global outlook
