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I am currently in my 3rd semester of the Master in Management specializing in Digital Business. In addition to my studies I am pursuing a Dual Studies Program together with UBS who are one of Frankfurt School’s cooperation partners. Prior to that, I graduated from University of Applied Sciences in Nurnberg with a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering (BEng) with Focus in Finance and Electrical Engineering. Furthermore, I had the chance to do a 6-month internship in Controlling Department at Deutsche Börse and stay there afterwards as a Working Student in the Project Management team of Xetra Trading Platform migration.
The current model allows me to work 24 hours per week (Monday – Wednesday) and to be in class from Thursday to Saturday. I believe this opportunity is a great option for students, who want to give their best during the Master program and grasp the tremendous benefits of being connected to both lifestyles: corporate and student one. I had my assessment center at FS in the beginning of May and got the offer sometime in June, as the successful passing of the interview was a prerequisite for the application at UBS. During vacation, I am also able to work full-time and then get the days either paid or used as additional time off.
As you might imagine, working part-time and studying is a challenging thing to do, however you get to experience how it is to be brought to your limits and rediscover your capabilities. I work in the banks department, where we are responsible for relationship management with the other banks. We serve third-party banks as the global single point of entry to various competence centers throughout the whole UBS Group and together with the product specialists drive commercial viability of the whole product palette offered by the bank. My team is spread around the world with the majority sitting in Zurich and others in Singapore, Hong Kong, Lugano and New York. Out of Frankfurt, we are 2 people, responsible for relationships with banks from 4 different countries: Germany, Luxembourg, Poland and Russia. It is a very interesting portfolio due to the fact that all relationships require different perspectives and are in need of different solutions.
During the semester, I sometimes experience pretty busy weeks which look like this: Monday morning we have a flight to Zurich where the meetings start at 9:30 AM. The whole Monday and Tuesday are fully scheduled with internal meetings and Tuesday evening we get to come back to Frankfurt. Wednesday is an usual office day where a client will come in for a meeting , but I also have to take care of the follow-ups from Zurich and plenty of unread emails during our trip. After work, I usually go to university to meet my group where we discuss the project due next week, which I had to prepare on the weekend before the trip. On Thursday until Saturday we have full days of classes, on Friday we also go out for drinks and dinner and Saturday a birthday party is planned. Sundays are the days, when I can sleep a bit longer but of course I also need to get ready for the week ahead, catch up with friends and of course, my studies.
It is not always this hectic but I am sure I will remember this period of my life as the one which shaped me as a goal-oriented, disciplined and a very open-minded person.
Choosing a cooperation partner during my studies at FS is definitely a highlight of my Masters. My recommendation is to really look out for such opportunities in case you enjoy a good challenge. If your employer allows for it, try to work full-time during vacation and take the days off when you have exams or projects. Although it might be hard to balance both your work and studies, try to avoid focusing too much on one or the other. Sometimes the career might look more promising but don’t forget you will have your whole life for it while university time is one of the most exciting periods of your life.
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