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Real Investing Experience Gives Graduates Real Career Advantage

It can be difficult to find a job in the finance industry, especially if you have no experience using the tools that top financial institutions use daily. Many young professionals finish their degrees and will take jobs to gain experience with these necessary tools. This can be extremely frustrating, leaving many to abandon the finance industry in favour of easier industries and careers.

Jan 25, 2021
  • Education
Real Investing Experience Gives Graduates Real Career Advantage

At the Edwards School of Business, located at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, students graduate with expertise using industry-leading technology thanks to the creation of the Gordon Rawlinson Finance and Trading Room, outfitted with 16 state-of-the-art Bloomberg terminals.

David Stobbe / StobbePhoto.ca

Bloomberg is the top information platform used by businesses, financial institutions, and government agencies around the world and can report on everything from stocks and bonds to general news.

“The resources available through the Gordon Rawlinson Finance and Trading Room add to our employability,” says Jeremy Riddell, a fourth-year finance student. “We are developing practical skills that allow us to deliver value immediately as new graduates in the workforce.”

These 16 Bloomberg terminals provide information on the financial world, and enable the undergraduate and graduate students at Edwards to complete the Bloomberg Market Concepts certification, allowing them to demonstrate capacity and competence to prospective employers on their resume.

The Gordon Rawlinson Finance and Trading Room is an integral part of the Dembroski Student Managed Portfolio Trust classes, giving students real-world investment experience trading over $2M on the stock market.

David Stobbe / StobbePhoto.ca

“Students put their core knowledge into practice managing funds in an investment account through a course where undergraduate and graduate students work together on teams to manage the fund,” says Faculty Advisor, Dr. George Tannous, Ph.D.

Edwards School of Business has a history of success with its alumni, many of which have earned prestigious roles in top financial institutions like Westcap Management, RBC Wealth Management, Canadian Pension Plan Investments, Raymond James, TD Asset Management, and Greystone Managed Investments.

Edwards has a full suite of educational opportunities, from certificatesbachelor’s degree to graduate degrees in finance, and a strong co-operative education program which helps students gain relevant work experience. Edwards School of Business is a top contender for students seriously looking to pursue a career in finance.

“A career in finance can be interesting, challenging and rewarding,” says Associate Professor at Edwards School of Business, Marie Racine. “To paraphrase Steve Jobs of Apple fame, you should be pulled into your career and not pushed. Some of the ‘pulls’ or ‘draws’ are: you like people and numbers or you like data, numbers and modelling.”

“Finance has something for everyone. If you like people, then perhaps you want to be a certified financial planner. If you like numbers, then maybe something on the analyst or research side and there are also plenty of options in between. The Finance major at the Edwards School of Business will give you the theoretical material you need and the opportunity to apply those concepts in a practical setting through a suite of courses that include personal, corporate, institutional and international finance, derivatives, financial modelling and our student-managed portfolio trust.”

“With the addition of the Bloomberg lab to our already extensive databases, we now have real-time access to the material that global business professionals use to inform their decisions. No matter where you are on the people-numbers continuum there is a good education fit to let you be pulled into your best finance career choice.”

David Stobbe / StobbePhoto.ca

Article written in association with Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan.

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University of Saskatchewan, Edwards School of Business