Financial Engineering is offered at JKUAT University. One of the form four leavers was admitted for the course but he doesn’t know whether the course is marketable or not. I received this message from him:
“I scored an A- and got selected for Bsc in Finance at JKUAT. I have never heard anything about this course. I got stressed after asking my relatives and friends about the course and none knows about it. Since you have been advising students about good courses, I would like to know whether this course is marketable?”
Answer
In Kenya there is no specific course that you will say is bad, no matter the course you pursue, what matters most is how you position yourself in the job market. Specifically, for Financial engineering, if you want to get a job in Kenya easily, there are important things to do:
- Pursue Chartered Financial Analyst course
Financial Engineering is related to finance, investment and stock market. A degree alone won’t give you leverage in the industry. You should add the professional course in CFA. With CFA and Financial Engineering degree, you will easily secure employment in Kenya.
- Pursue Professional Actuarial Certification
Another good professional course you should pursue. This will land you a job in actuarial field. The course is very marketable and only a few Kenyans pursue it.
- Pursue Certified Fraud Examiner course
If you want to join the audit field, pursue CFE professional course. It’s also marketable.
While in college, ensure that you score first class or at least Second Upper. If you score second lower or pass, you will find it hard to get a job in Kenya.
- Get a scholarship after undergraduate
Another good strategy to use is to get a scholarship to USA, UK, Canada or Australia where you will further your studies. Ensure that your score in undergraduate is first class so as to get a scholarship easily abroad. Once you earn your masters or PhD abroad, you will easily get a job there. Even in Kenya, most companies prefer graduates with degrees from abroad.
Those are things you will do about your degree and leave the rest to God. You might be surprised that after graduation, it’s not your degree that will give you a job. After graduation, apply for entry level jobs like Graduate Trainee. Audit firms, banks and insurance companies are some of the sectors that employ graduate trainees.
Salary of Financial Engineering graduate in Kenya
If you get a job as a graduate trainee, your starting salary will be Ksh 70,000 to Ksh 90,000. After training, you are likely to earn Ksh 100,000 to Ksh 120,000. With 5-7 years’ experience, your salary will rise to Ksh 150,000 to Ksh 200,000