The Not-So-Famous Universities

Everyone who has ever considered getting a degree education knows about Harvard , Standford, Imperial College of London, etc..

What happens if the leader is a retard?

But, in all this hype, students forget that other not-so-famous universities also provide world-class education at lower prices.

University of Hong Kong (HKU)

The most under-appreciated University, without a doubt, has to be University of Hong Kong. They are amongst the top 25 in the world (and the best in Asia). When I tried to google some information on it, there was hardly any. Except for a few articles from people who have already been there, people hardly seem to notice it.

The University Of Hong Kong

Amongst other things, HKU lets you change your field  when doing your masters provided you’re competent. They are very cheap compared to other universities because they are subsidized heavily by the government. After completion of your degree, Hong Kong allows you to work there for one year to gain some valuable experience. Anybody considering education abroad should definitely consider HKU. The link to the university can be found here. Also, there are 2-3 other universities in Hong Kong which are world renowned, namely, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the City University Of Hong Kong.

Australian Universities

I’m not sure if it’s because of the recent racist attacks or the high fees, but, the student’s going to Australia have been decreasing rapidly for many years now.

A few links to support this theory: Link 1, Link 2 and Link 3.

Yes, that is a Kangaroo. No, it doesn't have too much to do with education.

I personally feel that although a few of the attacks could have been racist, most were just co-incidences. To disregard a country of 22 million people because of 10 attacks is unfair. Australia has many universities in the top 100 which include Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Adelaide, etc.

Also, Australia has been constantly striving to increase immigration and provides lucrative opportunities for students wanting to get post-study work experience and/or permanent residency.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a combination of a not-so-mainstream AND a world-class institute, you might just fall in love with the above mentioned universities. And besides, we should all remember that education is not the only way to success, it is merely a catalyst..

Bye Bye Post-Study Work

The United Kingdom Border Agency had planned a overhaul on immigration a few months ago. In layman’s terms, PSW (Post-Study Work Visa) was the easiest (and I believe the only way for most of us), to get employment in the UK. Since, it said that there would still be a possibility of getting a job visa provided you had a job offer, I had the impression that I could work harder than most, and easily get past this hurdle.

UKBA

Only recently, after having a conversation with a international student advisor working for a reputed UK college, I realized that it is not so.

The conversation went something like..

Me:  “When exactly can we start applying for jobs during the academic year? (Assuming my degree starts in September and the results come by June) My main worry is obviously the small window given to us to find a sponsor in the new visa system. Can I do interviews without having my results in hand? (And accept a job offer with a condition that I must get x.x as my result) Also, I looked at the current jobs available on a website advertised by you (some website), at the end it says, “Applications will only be accepted from candidates who are authorised to work for any UK employer.” Are these employers eligible as sponsors? Can an international student apply for them?”

University: “There is a new work visa called Tier 2 (General) which you may be eligible to apply for when you graduate.

There is a list of acceptable licensed employers, which are valid for Tier 2 visa applications.

You are correct that there is only going to be a small window in which to apply for a job. You will therefore need to be very proactive in contacting employers and trying to secure a job interview. The job must fit certain criteria including having an appropriate salary and being on the shortage occupation list It may be difficult to secure interviews, but you will have to try your best to explain your visa situation and ask that you are interviewed.”

Me: “I checked the list of occupations you gave me. And I don’t think any profession is linked to my degree at all. It says that if that is the case, the employer will have to NOT find an employee from the UK in order to even consider me? I cannot apply for the PSW before my degree completes(which would be around June/July I assume) right? These rules seem harsh.”

University: “Yes, you are correct that it is a much stricter visa and the rules have become a lot tougher. The PSW visa route will end in April 2012, so yes you will unfortunately not be eligible to apply for this visa.

To answer you other query, if you are applying inside the UK for the Tier 2 visa, the employer does not need to carry out what is called a “Resident Labour Test”. This means the employer does not need to prove there is no British citizen/resident instead of the international graduate available for the job. However, the job must still be on the Shortage Occupation List and meet the other requirements. If you apply for the Tier 2 visa in your home country, the Resident Labour Test does apply.”

Me: “One final question, you mentioned that the “Resident Labour Test” should not be applicable, but the occupation HAS to be in the list? I don’t presume the list will be changed anytime soon. The closest I see to Software Development is one small sub-section in the photography and animation occupation. So, finally, unless the job is in the list, there is absolutely no way to get a visa, right?”

University: “Yes, you have understood the rules correctly. It is a very strict system!”

IN OTHER WORDS, unless your a doctor/photographer or a highly acclaimed chef/dancer/singer, you will in NO way get a job in UK. So much for my plan to earn back my loan. Seems like I won’t be needing it at all..

Bitcoins, a new way to waste resources!

A BitCoin

Sorry fan-boys, I’m going to have to say that the BitCoin system, although innovative, is highly flawed. I am not saying this from a third person’s perspective, I have used the ‘software’ myself. For those who don’t know what i’m talking about, this would be a good start, BitCoins.

BitCoins is a new-age crypto-currency which uses a peer-to-peer network to be exchanged. It was originally discovered in 1995. It has started to gain popularity rapidly in recent times. This article focuses on the main drawbacks/problems that the currency may have.

The biggest problem associated with this crypto-currency, I feel, is GREED. The whole concept of using it as a currency system has been overshadowed by people waiting for its value to increase. In other words, keeping it safe, locked behind their digital wallets. What good is a currency that no one wants to spend?

That brings me to the second problem, DEFLATION. The currency has deflation built into the system. As more currency is created (or mined), the harder it gets to get. Currently, there are thousands (if not millions) of people, wasting CPU/GPU cycles, trying to calculate the next block of coins (Yes, some of these pools have reached collective speeds of 1000Ghash/s).

Look ma, I found some gold!

This is the problem called the MINING PROCESS. BitCoin claims to have no central authority and all mined coins are chosen at random, with a set limit of 6 or so blocks per 10 minutes. That’s fine, except, people who have been associated with since the start, basically got free currency till it the idea caught up. Sure, you can give early adopters a boost, but simple giving away 6 million coins (each coin right now is said to be worth $7) is not what we like to call ‘fair,’ to the new-comers.

Although I could go on forever, my final problem, being an earth-loving human is, “Why the HELL are a million computers solving useless hashes?” I mean surely, the world should have another equation to solve, one that is more useful.

All it takes for such a scheme to go bust is panic. If any one of the websites that holds these wallets for users, gets hacked, there is going to be outrage. And since everything is supposed to be anonymous, no one (or everyone) can claim to have lost coins. If everybody starts trying to cash-in on their coin collection, the value will go down to 0. Mainly because except the fact that some companies offer services for these coins, they have no value.

Still, all the rest aside, the creator of BitCoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, has mined all his gold already. In fact, nobody even really knows who he is.

So, if you have a cluster of computers that have nothing better to do than solve hashes and/or if you want to provide a good/service in exchange of a digital currency backed by nothing except hype, you’ve just found your match..

Game Plan

This is a brief overview of how I plan on giving all the exams and hopefully coming out with a bunch of certifications 2-3 years down the line.

CAIA
Level 1 – September 2011
Level 2 – March 2012

CFA
Level 1 – December 2011
Level 2 – June 2013
Level 3 – June 2014

FRM
Level 1 – May 2012
Level 2 – November 2012

The weighted average pass rate for CFA has been 39.7%, 44% and 57.7% respectively for levels I, II and III respectively. CFA Pass Rates

The pass rates for CAIA are approximately 71% for level I and 58% for level II. CAIA Pass Rates

FRM has a passing percentage of 39.3% for level I and 54.9% for level II. FRM Pass Rates

Using simple probability, the combined pass rate for all levels is 0.397 x 0.44 x 0.577 x 0.71 x 0.58 x 0.393 x 0.549 = 0.864% (approximately)

So, 1 out of 115.7 (let’s round it to 116, since we don’t expect headless humans to give these exams) candidates (who give sit for all 3 certifications) would pass each exam on the first-go.

Mary Kay Ash once said, “Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” Don’t we all now hope that she was right?

Time to put on your game face!

No offence to this kid's mother.

An Introduction

As I sit here, thinking about everything I could have been and want to be; I realize that it’s time to get serious. I’m Ashwin, 19, a resident of India, with dreams that go far beyond the norm. I’ve lived here all my life. I can’t say that it’s been too bad. But, I’ve always felt that this place brought me down. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be something, I just couldn’t figure out what that something was. Fortunately, I think I may have some clue now. I study IT but wish to become an investment banker. If all goes well in the coming months, I’ll be on my way to Sheffield, England; This is where I’ll complete my degree.

I’ve recently decided to study for certifications including CFA, CAIA and FRM. Most of you may have heard of these, especially CFA. The fact that they are so difficult to get, makes me want to have them more. I’ve prepared myself to do whatever it takes. Be it missing that one movie that everyone has to watch or the endless study sessions..

This is the start of my long journey. My journey to become everything I ever wanted to be; and you’re all welcome to watch..