Weerapat Wonk-urai
MSc Finance, 2009
Country of origin: Thailand
Employer: Asia Plus Securities PLC
After I had completed a bachelor degree from Chulalongkorn University, I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bangkok and worked as an audit assistant for 13 months. I also worked at a medical and travel assistance company which belongs to my sister in Bangkok.
My decision to come to Lancaster for my MSc in Finance was influenced by several things. LUMS is ranked among the top five business schools in the UK. Its reputation is confirmed by many accreditations such as the Financial Times MBA ranking, Times Online Education and TOP non-US one-year business school programmes.
LUMS’s world class faculty is one of the most important factors I took into consideration in choosing to study here. A number of professors and lecturers have teaching experience from world-famous business schools. Some also have working experience from financial institutions and government agencies.
The University’s location was also extremely important because it is just one hour by train from Manchester. The campus is outside the town centre which has numerous shops, pubs and supermarkets. Lancaster itself is a small, safe and tranquil town which is suitable for doing a postgraduate degree.
The MSc Finance programme at LUMS is perfectly designed for students who want to take CFA examinations. The course curriculum is aligned with the CFA exam content at three levels as the Accounting and Finance programmes at LUMS are CFA program partners. As a result, the programme is highly appropriate for prospective students who plan to take this exam.
On graduating I gained a job as an investment banker at Country Group Securities, a Bangkok-based company which is one of the top three brokerage and investment banking firms in Thailand.
Following the completion of my CFA level 1 exam in December 2009 I got a job as an equity analyst at Asia Plus Securities PLC, one of Thailand's top securities businesses. LUMS Department of Accounting and Finance has really supported my career advancement, as it granted me a partial scholarship for the CFA level 1 exam (the MSc Finance at LUMS is a CFA partner programme).
