Being an AFM Student

On Episode 5 of SAF Ready the Podcast, Sam sits down with Aline, an upper-year Accounting and Financial Management (AFM) student. They discuss her experiences as a student in the AFM program from the transition to university, co-op searching, joining extra-curriculars, and more!

Transcript

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Hi everyone, and welcome to SAF Ready the podcast here at the University of Waterloo. On this podcast we will have a variety of guests, students, faculty and staff to let you in on all that School of Accounting and Finance has to offer. I'm Sam and I'll be your host. We want to ensure that you're hearing everything that you want to know about the School of Accounting and Finance. So after listening to episodes, feel free to DM us on a variety of social channels as well as send us an email at saf@uwaterloo.ca with any more questions, topics, or people that you want to hear from? Tune in for our next episode on Buzzsprout, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Honestly, any platform that offers a podcast, we're most likely on it. Today we have Aline joining us. She is a current AFM student and is going to talk today all about things, knowledgeable the program and just kind of day to day existence. just going to kind of dive in right here. So I kind of gave it away about your program, but what program are you in and what year are you in? I'm in the accounting and in financial management program. I'm currently in my third year. Nice. So we're just going to kind of dive into just like everything that you kind of like been enjoying about, like the generals of the program, not just overall understanding. So what would you say some of your favourite courses have been so far? And could you give like a little synopsis, I guess, of each course? Yeah, for sure. So, in terms of like first year courses, I remember I really liked the introductory courses to, to entrepreneurship, okay, there’s one course called BET100 and basically I just could do like an outline of, like, entrepreneurship, the different types of businesses that you can have sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, and a bunch of other types of businesses. And it's really fun because there's a lot of assignments. Yeah, and they might have changed up the course a little bit now, but when I took it, it was online. But it was very fun, the prof, was also really cool, So I really enjoy that one. But I guess my all time favorite AFM(Accounting and Financial Management) course is an elective that I took last fall. Okay. And it’s this course called Equity Investments. Oh okay. and it is taught by Professor Ecclestone. Professor Andrew Ecclestone. He's an amazing prof. Really loved him. And it's a very small classroom. Okay. That's how I choose my current elective, which is my all time favorite course ever. It’s not accounting related, but certainly it's like a soundtrack to film. My friend took the course. It’s so amazing! It’s so good. Yeah, and that's kind of nice. That you get to have that, like flexibility with AFM that you get to still kind of explore your other interests with electives and stuff. Cause I think that's sometimes with some courses it feels like you have no room to breathe, so it's kind of nice that AFM offers you a little bit of like room to play and finding out other interests and getting to at that university levels. So that's kind of fun. Yeah for sure, so sorry you were saying about the your favorite course in AFM, sorry keep going. Yea, in AFM it was this equity investment course which is a smaller classroom. not that many students and also no finals. So you will be doing I think it was one midterm and it's very fun because I really like finance and it’s something that I'm interested in, especially in terms of stocks and there aren’t a lot of courses that you can take that talk about stocks or how like actually it's more for someone who would be like on the floor living your Wall Street life. I know! What's the Canadian Version Bank? ST No, no, it's Bay Street. Bay Street. Okay, okay. But it was very fun because we did like stock simulation. Cool! We would go to like the computer lab and then we use this platform that was created by the University of Toronto. But, it was very, very fun because every day we would go to class, we would go to the lab, and then he would give us, so this is what you be doing today. You're going to try to short these stocks. And it would be kind of like a competition because you get to see these like on the top. gotcha. That was really fun and very different from like most courses here. You also get to do the presentation, but because it's like a small classroom, it's not as intimidating. Yeah, it's very good to practice your presentation skills and learn more about stocks and equity investments. And at the very end you have to do a market research report. Okay, so it was very fun. It was like an overall, if you're interested in finance, if you're trying to get to like big banks becoming a banker, like most students of finance bro. Ya, that's the way to go. That's a great course, I really loved it. Okay, cool. Definitely. That's yeah, Definitely something to look out for. That's really fun. Yeah. No, I like the you get to like it feels like kind of like that sounds like it's like a real world simulation. Like if you are going to be like, working on the ground floor, it's kind of like they're giving you that, like, whole experience of like, this is what it would be like and give it a go. You know? So that's kind of fun. I love that. So, yeah, I guess I kind of like that's actually kind of a nice way to move into the next question is kind of like, would you say there's like a good mixture of like classwork, assignments, test exams. So like you feel like you have like a it's not all like test work. It's just like a bit of both. Like what can you kind of describe overall? Yeah, I think especially like all throughout the years of not like just in first year seocnd year, or in your third year, there's always a good mix of the assignments that you have to do. There's a lot of group projects that you have to do, Oh nice. And I feel like it's perfect because it translates very well into your actual like workspace, because especially if you're interested in going into audit or tax you will be working in teams. So it’s very important to build those skills and be able to work with other people because it's not always that you would get along with everyone. Yeah, it's work is learning to work with people that you kind of like collide with, but I guess that's just kind of like life. I feel like you can never escape it. I'm like, well, like once I graduate and it's like, no, that's not going to happen. I feel like the biggest test is not like, how do you like, do the work, but like how you get along with other people. But yeah it's a good mixture cause you wont be stuck with the same team all the time. Yeah, It will be switching and will be doing actual individual work. There's some like individual assignments that you have to do, some test, some courses have like no finals at all. Oh wow, that's nice. So it's like maybe just a midterm and a couple of quizzes and whatnot. So most of them, they're all laid out differently. So there would be something for everyone and you will figure out later on which ones you like the most. Exactly. But there's definitely a good mixture of the course load. That's good. Yeah. Because I feel like when you, like, move into like, university, I think we all have that expectation of like the giant when you see the PAC and like, they have it all set up for exams and it's like, my gosh, this is going to be my life. And so it's kind of nice that they have like that break up and you feel like you get to like kind of honed to your own skills. I know personally for myself, testing is not my strength. I am much more of a project person, but I also know that there's like people that are the opposite way. So I think it's like nice that there's like a good amount of break up between for all that kind of stuff. But yeah, do you have any speaking of kind of going into like types of like testing and things like that, what advice would you have for transitioning study patterns from like high school to university? Like what's kind of like your go to when you're studying for an exam or a midterm or something like that? For sure. I think in high school people don't study as much. I feel like the thing with high school is that you get a lot of help from your teachers. Not to say that you don't get help from your professors, but in terms of like reminding you of what you're going to do and reminding you, you have to study this person that they do tell you in advance. Professors are very helpful, but you do have to take it into your own hands to practice every day after class. You won't get homework assignments, like you won't be like, now for some courses they've been implementing it where you have to submit some things for grades, but most of the time you won't get homework assignment. Like, you have to practice this. You have to practice yourself. Yeah. My biggest tip would be don't leave it for the day before or even the week before a major assignment or assessment just every day after class. Go and revisit what you did while it's still fresh Exactly, and just like, take notes, Be like, I didn't really get this in class. Actually attend lectures and seminars I know it can be tough because for some of them they don't really have attendance and you won't be getting a notification sent home that you didn’t attend class. Yeah, but also just like, you're paying for it. Exactly, just go. Why not? I feel like you're just going to get more knowledge and then you also just get to, like, make a connection with the prof more if you're in class, like, I know for a fact Profs. Remember who comes to class. They do, they're like final shows up and they're like, I haven't seen you in like a month. And you're like, oops! They do, because last term, which was my fall term because I was working during the winter, I attended, I attended almost every single office hour for one of my professors. And I remember after my exam he was like, Thank you so much for your curiosity. Like, I really enjoyed having you in my class. That's so nice! And they really do remember you. And like, he knows me by my name now. Every time he sees me in the hallway, he’s like Hi Aline, and he even asked: do you want to join? Like, this course that I'm doing right now? If you want to join it, like there's space. I mean, he said that there wasn't space, but he'll make space for me! Oh my goodness. That's so nice. So definitely go to class. Go to office hours. To talk to your profs or even like it's a great opportunity for you to meet people so you can reach out to them. If you're intimidated to ask the Prof. ask someone else like, Hey, did you get this on what the prof said or something? Yeah. Office hours got me through some first year courses, I swear. Oh my goodness. Yeah. So. And I know it can feel like it's also like when you go to a lecture of, 100 people, it's kind of intimidating to be like, Let me just raise my hand. Like, I'm sorry. Yeah. So and I said, like, office hours is one on one or like there's maybe just five or six students that actually show up to office hours. So it's nice to like, just have that more, like, connected time with the profs where you're not in front of everybody because I know you're like. But I will say though, nine times out of ten, if you're like, my gosh, my question is stupid. It is not stupid. Someone was thinking that and you're just the one who's saying it. So no question is a stupid question. That's always that's I feel like that's a rule of thumb in university, for sure, even fun facts. I've learned that professors really enjoy fun facts, Oh yeah, Yeah. I started giving out fun facts and then, just recently. In my ethics class, and then the professor said something and then I just quickly, like Googled it, what it was like, what the amount that they had committed, the fraud for now was, currently, because I didn't want to disrupt it. She was like, you should have just said it in class. I love fun facts! Everyone would have wanted to know. That's good, I love that. But yeah, no, anyway, that's great. Yeah. No, ten out of ten. But no, definitely taking that time to like, do the work outside of class. I think that like there are so many resources available. I think that's also something that like I feel like when you get university, you're like, no one's like telling me what to do. I don't have anybody to like, reach out to. We have the resources available. You just now have to be the person that reaches out for them. It's more like you need help. I need to get out there and get the help, but it's not like it's not available to you, which I think is also a bit of a misconception. So definitely don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. And specialty, like coming into university, trying to find your groove or trying to find how you study best. Like if you're a morning person, try to switch your classes to later on in the day so you can study by yourself. And the motivation to actually do it. Ohh that's smart. That's one thing that like it took me this whole time, like three years to figure out. But I'm very much a morning person and it gets to about like 7 p.m. and I can’t study. I can't do anything. Yeah, so I switch, most of my classes are now like in the afternoons or evenings. So you're just getting all the information, like I prep before going to class so I never go to class without, like, reading. Do your readings! Even just look at the slides cause the professors post the slides before. Just look at the slides, see what the class is going to be about. And then when you get there, it's going to make such a difference because you won't be lost the entire time. You’ll have questions to ask the professor after it and then once you go and the class is done, you only really have to do exercises, especially for anything that's like finance or accounting where you have to do or they give you questions where you have to like actually practice like the math behind it or yeah, its not just like memorization. So definitely do exercises after class so you can like solidify everything that you learnt so then you just feel like really good about it because then it's like I also feel like it's just like it's just the best prep for the exam because and if you do them after class and they're already set for you, then you can just like redo them when you're studying for exams or midterms, which I think is like super handy because then the answer's like already there, you don't be like, I should go back and do these exercises to help me prep, But I don't remember the answer, you know? So it's kind of nice to have like that bit of a mixture there, which is really cool. But yeah, no, definitely. That's really good advice. I didn't even think about like doing like that switch. That's so smart because I'm like, I'll put my I'm like more of a morning person, so I'll do the classes in the morning. That's so smart. But yeah, not me going and rearranging my schedule. For the fall, but yeah. So you were just saying how you had a work term. Co-op is a huge part of the undergraduate program at SAF. When starting your job, especially your first job, I know it can be daunting. Do you have any, like, tips for, like, prepping for your first co-op job? Prepping for your first co-op job, The first thing that you'll be tasked with is just doing the PD courses where it'll be you trying to get or learn about the soft skills, because the technical skills you get from the courses that you're already doing. Yeah, but PD which are professional development courses. They'll help you with your soft skills and just the basics of how to act professionally. So that be your first step to getting ready. Then definitely going out and using the resources that we have at the university to just really make sure that you have your resumé to the best of what it can be. Yeah, go to or like Careers Center or even the Student Success Office, I believe that they do it as well. Yeah, they definitely do. They have mock like resumé critique, not mock resume critiques just resumé critiques that they have. Yeah. And they'll really help you out with your resume so you make sure that it's pristine and has everything that you want to convey because that's going to be like how you're going to set yourself before getting an interview. Yeah, absolutely. So definitely make sure that your resumé is it's good. Yeah, I know. I think it's also like I was I think I talk about this like an episode about co-op, but like they tell you how to like structure episode to like highlight your skills, which I think was like something I didn't know about. I think like we were like growing up or like you put your experience oldest, your newest to oldest and then think whatever they really like, show you how you can like change it up and like, make it highlight to the, what the job that you're applying for, not just like the your overall experience Even a big thing with resumes is not only outlining what you did, but like what you accomplished through it. And if you have anything like, you were a camp counselor and you helped out like ten students, but like, what difference did you make? Like, you make sure that the one student that always used to get lost in the past and didn’t get lost or something. Yeah, absolutely. And also mock interviews. Those are really good to go and get some practice in for because interviews can be very intimidating. It can be the worst thing, especially the zoom ones where you're like, Where do I look at my camera? Do I look at myself to look at the person or look at the camera? I don't know. Interviews are probably like the most scary part about the whole process of applying for co-op, but certainly that's a lot. You can practice and get better. Yeah, it won't be as intimidating the more that you practice and it'll help you with the communication skills, which are also like a big thing whenever you go into your first job. My biggest tip would just be communicate with your superiors. Whether that is a manager, whether that as a senior, if you're an audit, which most students will go to audit and definitely communicate with them because otherwise you might be lost when they could have helped you. And I'll just delay whatever you're doing. So yeah, so it's just kind of nice to just kind of get the Yeah. Again, there's like, it's just like it's no problem asking for help. I feel like they're not expecting you to know everything. It's why it's a co-op they want you to learn. I find that most of the co-op experiences, they're always like, What do you want to get out of this? Like, what do you want to learn? So it's kind of nice. But we had, don't be afraid to talk to your superiors in that sense, which is really a big tip as well. And I guess I kind of like perfect too. Like, So what was your co-op position like? Where was your last one you're done two now right? Or just one? I've done 2 but they were at the same company, oh okay, cool. So where were you working? I was working at Ernst and Young. Okay. Nice! It’s an audit firm and I was working downtown as just the staff, audit staff. Nice, I was working in the financial sector. So I got to work with TD Mutual funds. I got to work with some smaller clients as well. But definitely a great experience. And as you said, please go in not with the mentality that you have to know everything. The expectations for especially a first time co-op are very low. So just make sure that you make the most out of it. Obviously, just be professional, try to learn as much as you can go is like a learning mentality, I would say. Of trying to learn as much as possible and trying to get, make those connections. It's a perfect opportunity for you to network that work as well. Yeah, just make sure that you look at the positive side and you try not to be completely overwhelmed by how scary it is or how intimidating you might be. Experienced. Yeah, I know. I think I always like joke about it, but like going inside to go to my big girl job, but it's like it does feel like that doesn't feel like that level to me. Like I'm working 9-5, like this is crazy, like, you know, it's kind of a different way of going about it. But I think it's still it can be intimidating, it can be nerve wracking. It's not something that you're meant to just be like, Yeah, I got this like, it's obviously like the whole point. I feel like the big point of co op is just to like, try and learn and figure out what you're good at because I feel like the expectation of like knowing exactly what you want out of life right when you get into university is a huge ask. So that's kind of a fun thing that you get to like experience and you get paid and it's just like it just works out so nicely. Are you a part of any clubs in, like, SAF, just in general, like in the university that you like, like getting involved in. I used to be part of this club called Stocks Club. And it was founded by a, I guess, an alumni now. And sure, he graduated, but he reached out to me and he was like, would you like to be part of the stocks club? So I, I am a huge fan of the club. I just didn't get around to continuing with it because of just conflicts with my own schedule. But it's an amazing club and especially for people who like more finance. And want to get to know more about stocks. Yeah, but that used to be the club, so currently I'm not part of any club. Okay. Yeah. But yeah, so in my last question, because we always have a final question at the end is what is your favorite place to study on campus? Oh, my personal favorite is D.C., But only because ohhh that's like an unknown answer. I feel like I haven't gotten that one a lot, sorry keep going, it's only because of the blue chairs that they have. You know what? You're so right. I like going to the one at the SLC just because of those egg chairs. Oh my God, I call them the Vector chairs. I'm calling them that from now on. That is so good. I'm going to wear two orange jumpsuit and just. yeah, do just that like the whole thing. It's so good. I was like, like every time. Because they're always taking, there's only like nine or ten, I would say. But I'm always like nature. So comfy too. And they have like the perfect view of everything. I really used to love them, but my thing is that I get distracted really, really easily. that'll do it. The thing with D.C. is that like you're in a small cubicle and that forces me to not look at anything else. Yeah, I put on my headphones and start studying. And then in the full work mode, also even here at third floor, at Hagey, if you don't want to go too far, if you're like coming just out of class and you don't want to go walk all the way to the library or something or some other place, third floor Hagey Hall like, old Hagey okay, has this really nice place. It's like a silent study area. nice. If you're lucky, you might get a good piano player to give you. Like, background music just like the esthetic, from down stairs. yeah. No, I know, I. I would. I love going to Hagey Hub like, just like if I'm not doing, like, silence study, if I'm doing more like group study with, like, friends, I like going in there and like, someone always goes on the piano. I'm like, I want to go, but I cannot play piano. It would be like the do do do. da da da da da. That's all it is to accomplish. So like when like people who are like going on and it's so nice. It can be a bit frustrating though, when you're practicing like very visibly practicing. So you're trying to study like, and they're just hitting the wrong key and it's an experience. You know, it's it's definitely a SAF experience. But, very, very good. But no, I love. Yeah, those, the, the DC spaces are actually really cool. I know they did like, they did like a glorified. I see. Like the Wes Anderson video and they really got some good shots because DC just like it reminds me of like a jungle gym, low key like with all the pipes and everything. Like the way that they built it. I guess like my number one thing would be like, what's your biggest tip for incoming or prospective students or students interested in the program? Just how fun is your first year? Enjoy. Obviously try their hardest in all the classes, but first year will be a transitional year. It might be hard and you might get stumped on some things, but just try to make friends. Try to get involved as much as you can with any of the clubs working, however, it is that you choose to get involved with the school, but that is like the perfect year for you to like balance between studying and just being a student at the university. Yeah, absolutely. And this is like totally off topic because I just remembered it. Now you're in third year, so have you picked you? Are you doing specializations? I am, Okay, so what specializations are you picking? Have you picked. I chose the CPA route. Okay, nice. So you're in the accounting specialization. Are you just doing the one? Yeah. Okay. Nice. I thought about doing another one, but I was told by the academic advisor that it can be very challenging. So instead I'm just picking things that I've wanted from the other specializations, oh cool, Some courses from there. that's fun. Yeah, that's nice. Then just sticking to the CPA but I think we're good. So thank you so much for coming today. No worries, thank you for having me. It was so fun. I'm so glad. yeah, I'm so glad. Okay, well, tune into our next episode on Buzzsprout and you'll be able to listen to Aline's episode, Super Slay. Have a great time. But thank you so much, everyone, for joining in. And we'll see you for the next episode.