My Learning Diaries: Why and how I entered fintech after trying my hand at humanitarian work and start-ups

The rapidly changing nature of work has prompted many Singaporeans to upgrade their skills to stay relevant. TODAY’s Voices section publishes first-hand accounts of young Singaporeans who have recently taken it upon themselves to boost their careers, or even pursue new paths in life.

In this installment, Amrit Kaur Sukhdev Singh, 33, shares how she felt lost after realizing her dream of being a humanitarian worker was not for her. Exploring different avenues led her to discover an interest in technology and later fintech. However, breaking into the financial industry felt “elusive” at first due to her lack of experience, until an immersion program under the SMU Academy gave her a foot in the door.

In my twenties, my goal was to be a humanitarian worker and live an impact-driven life.

I started volunteering in 2010 and took on various community engagement projects in a non-profit organization and later a religious organization.

It was during a disaster mission to Nepal in 2017 that I realized that doing this as a career would not be sustainable for me, nor did I have the right skills to deliver quality impact.

I felt compelled to make changes, so I decided to find a job that would help me expand my skills.

This marked the start of my somewhat convoluted journey into the financial industry.

I was 27 at the time and employed as a research assistant at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

When I thought about going a different path than what I first imagined, I felt lost. I became hyper-aware that I didn’t really know what was out there.

I quit my NUS job in July 2017, without any particular plan.

I moved into a part-time role at NUS, which I held until December 2018. This gave me space to explore other opportunities.

During that time I stumbled upon the private institute Hyper Island through an event held by one of the students.

I believed that technological know-how would add value to me and resonated with their approach.

So I decided to take a leap and enroll in a part-time master’s degree in digital management in 2018.

The program helped to develop my curiosity about new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence.

I was so fascinated by the possibilities that I co-founded a startup in 2019. We helped other startups and companies test their ideas in the market with real customers.

After completing the master’s degree in 2020, Covid-19 struck. Innovation budgets for companies dried up and I decided to leave my startup in December of that year.

In October of the same year, I also joined another start-up that built software in the pharma-tech area as a project manager.

Part of my work involved research into streamlining online payments, which in turn sparked an interest in fintech (financial technology).

I found the developments in that sector exciting, such as digital credit cards that have a unique serial number for each purchase to protect against identity theft.

I left that startup in January 2022 and did some freelance work while applying for jobs at various fintech startups.

It was clear that I lacked experience and industry knowledge to enter fintech.

I tried to bridge that gap by reading books and chatting with the authors afterwards. I also connected with experts on LinkedIn and chatted with people in the industry.

Finally, I turned to SMU Academy’s Technology in Finance Immersion Program (TFIP).

It started in December last year with three months of training delivered by experienced practitioners in the financial industry.

For the rest of the year-long programme, we are linked to financial companies as trainees.

I now work in a private equity company, Partners Group. It has been an enriching experience to implement project management methods, such as scrum, with supportive colleagues.

In my current role as “scrum master”, I facilitate scrum “events” for various projects. These are about short “sprints” of work to make a project more manageable.

It feels like a tall order when you’re starting out, but luckily I have mentors who I meet regularly for guidance.

Alongside the training, I also made many friends in the program who join me in the industry.

We come from all walks of life, and each of us seeks a better career opportunity. We calculated the average age of the participants in my class to be 35.

It took me a year to break into the financial industry.

I was hungry for opportunity, but it felt elusive no matter how many books I read or people I met.

The TFIP program helped me accelerate the process of gaining experience and industry knowledge.

Change can be unsettling, but it has been important to have mentors to guide me through this transition.

They have helped reveal my own blind spots, filled in knowledge gaps and grounded me when things felt overwhelming.

ABOUT THE PRINTER:

Amrit Kaur Sukhdev Singh, 33, is a TFIP trainee at private equity firm Partners Group. She graduated from NUS with a degree in Sociology in 2013. She is also an oral history enthusiast who volunteers with the National Archives Singapore to capture the oral histories of older Singaporeans.

If you have an experience to share or know someone who would like to contribute to this series, please write votes [at] mediacorp.com.sg with full name, address and telephone number.