START YOUR JOURNEY • EXPLORE CAREERS • EXPERT ADVICE • Portfolio Manager "Grades really matter when you apply for your job, after that it’s about showing up, paying attention to detail and putting in effort." 1. In plain English, please describe your current role and function. I’m an energy portfolio manager, my role is to manage a sum of money for my company by investing it into stocks in the energy sector (oil and gas and renewables and power), the aim is to buy stocks when they are cheap and make money by selling them at a higher price. 2. On average, how is your time divided across quantitative work (e.g., financial analysis), qualitative work (research and writing), presentations (to investors, management, etc), and other tasks? Please describe what falls into ‘other.’ 0% on presentations, 30% financial analysis (models or analyzing financial statements), 40% meetings with management teams to discuss their operations or calls with analysts who write research about the companies I want to invest in, or listening to conference calls for investors, 30% writing up reports on my findings, 3. Where did you attend college and what was your major/minor? Did you participate in any clubs in school or internships that you believe helped you decide what you wanted to pursue as your career? I went to Melbourne University, studied Bachelor of Commerce and information systems. I didn’t join any clubs during university for my career, but I did apply and completed 3 internships in the final year of uni, which was secured based on my marks and a competitive interview process 4. Do you have a graduate degree, and if so, what type? No grad degree, and not many people have one in finance initially. But some do an MBA when they have some work experience 5. What about certifications like as a chartered financial analyst, certified public accountant, or other similar certifications? I got my CFA a few years after I started work, but these days it’s popular to get it around the time you graduate. It was only useful to give me a competitive edge when I was a grad. 6. What did you wish you had known in college that would have made your transition into the working world smoother? That your grades really matter when you apply for your job, after that it’s about showing up, paying attention to detail and putting in effort. 7. How will the rising prominence of artificial intelligence (“AI”) impact your job and entry level jobs in your industry? It should be a useful tool to make my work easier, but as it stands today, it’s not advanced enough to replace entry level jobs, someone still needs to guide it to do the correct analysis and then also double check the outputs. Obviously, this may change as AI gets more advanced. 8. What skills or qualities do you look for when hiring for an entry job level candidate? Someone I can communicate easily with, no bad attitude, keen to learn, understands the basics related to the role, and understands that work is a means to make a living, not a place to just have fun. 9. Is there any other information you would like to share that hasn’t been shared through the questions above? No - pretty comprehensive set of questions.

START YOUR JOURNEY • EXPLORE CAREERS • EXPERT ADVICE • Davis Ng "Keep an open mind — you won't necessarily get your first choice of path right, and that's okay." 1. In plain English, please describe your current role and function. I'm a Director of an Engineering Team at BlackRock , one of the world's largest financial companies. My team builds accounting software used internally to support the firm's financial operations. 2. On average, how is your time divided across quantitative work (e.g., financial analysis), qualitative work (research and writing), presentations (to investors, management, etc), and other tasks? Please describe what falls into ‘other.’ My work sits at the intersection of technology and finance. A large part of my time goes into understanding and translating functional/financial requirements into system architecture and design, then guiding my team to build solutions that are both scalable and compliant with financial and regulatory requirements. The rest of my time splits across hands-on technical work, cross-team coordination, and management responsibilities for my team. 3. Where did you attend college and what was your major/minor? Did you participate in any clubs in school or internships that you believe helped you decide what you wanted to pursue as your career? I attended Macquarie University in Sydney, where I earned a double degree in Actuarial Studies and Computer Science. I also completed an internship in the computer science field as part of my coursework, which helped confirm that software engineering — not actuarial work — was the path I wanted to pursue. 4. Do you have a graduate degree, and if so, what type? I don't have a graduate degree. Within my team, some colleagues do hold a master's degree — often because it was the pathway they used to immigrate to and work in the US — but it isn't a requirement for advancement in my field. 5. What about certifications like as a chartered financial analyst, certified public accountant, or other similar certifications? Some professionals in my field hold certifications, but the majority don't. They're not required or generally expected for advancement in engineering roles. 6. What did you wish you had known in college that would have made your transition into the working world smoother? Keep an open mind — you won't necessarily get your first choice of path right, and that's okay. I actually switched from a law degree into computer science because I discovered a real passion for programming. Trusting that instinct and following what I was genuinely drawn to, rather than sticking with an original plan, ended up being one of the best decisions of my career. 7. How will the rising prominence of artificial intelligence (“AI”) impact your job and entry level jobs in your industry? AI is fundamentally reshaping my industry. Work that used to take months can now be done in hours, and projects that once required large development teams can now be built by a small handful of people. This is flattening the traditional hierarchy — the gap between experienced and inexperienced engineers is narrowing, and fewer people are needed to produce the same or greater output. 8. What skills or qualities do you look for when hiring for an entry job level candidate? I prioritize people who think well on their feet, learn quickly, and adapt easily to new and changing scenarios. Increasingly, I also look for fluency with AI tools — the ability to use AI efficiently to scale your own output and your team's output is becoming a fundamental skill, not a nice-to-have. 9. Is there any other information you would like to share that hasn’t been shared through the questions above? Nothing further to add.

START YOUR JOURNEY • EXPLORE CAREERS • EXPERT ADVICE • Accounting Firm Partner "In my opinion, people and leadership skills are now more important than ever." 1. In plain English, please describe your current role and function. Partner at a Big Four accounting firm specializing in cyber governance and risk management, primarily serving financial services clients. The role is focused on driving revenue through the delivery of advisory services, while also encompassing broader responsibilities such as team leadership and development, operational and financial oversight, and the innovation and enhancement of service offerings. 2. On average, how is your time divided across quantitative work (e.g., financial analysis), qualitative work (research and writing), presentations (to investors, management, etc), and other tasks? Please describe what falls into ‘other.’ Quantitative work: 10-20% time, budgets and financial tracking for ongoing projects and new work. Delivery management: 30-40% time, ensuring projects are progressing and outcomes are aligned from a quality and client expectation perspective. Client Management: 30%, maintaining relationships , finding new work. Internal management: 20%, people and internal networks . Most of my role is interactions and making decisions rather than doing the actual work. 3. Where did you attend college and what was your major/minor? Did you participate in any clubs in school or internships that you believe helped you decide what you wanted to pursue as your career? University of Melbourne (Commerce and IT Degree) - Finance and Accounting major. Was part of accounting and finance student societies but predominantly from a social context. Friends had a larger impact on where I was looking from a career perspective. I did do a summer internship at the firm I currently work at. 4. Do you have a graduate degree, and if so, what type? No graduate degree. 5. What about certifications like as a chartered financial analyst, certified public accountant, or other similar certifications? Graduate diploma in chartered accounting (CPA in the USA). It was basically mandatory when I started 20 years ago, but I have moved away from accounting work and it isn't required for my job role anymore. If you work in the audit or the financial accounting side of the business it is mandatory for progression, it is recommended if you do tax work. 6. What did you wish you had known in college that would have made your transition into the working world smoother? As a first generation immigrant to Australia from SE Asia, the key information that I would have liked is an understanding of what key attributes are expected in 'white" corporate Australia. The cultural expectations Asian parents drill into you from an early age around respecting your elders/authority figures, not speaking up, lack of emphasis on networks/relationships, putting your head down and letting your work speak for itself are not necessarily the recipe for success. 7. How will the rising prominence of artificial intelligence (“AI”) impact your job and entry level jobs in your industry? Significant disruption to knowledge work as a whole, but predominantly at the entry level as my generative AI tool can achieve what my graduate could in a day or two in a few minutes, often to a better level of quality and accuracy. I tell my graduates that if they are just copying and pasting the output before sending it to me, then what is the value of having them in the workflow? I can prompt much more effectively, and I have the experience and knowledge to know if the output is wrong. So the impact to senior decision makers is that AI makes us more effective, but the challenge for entry level staff is how they effectively utilize the tool and still learn. 8. What skills or qualities do you look for when hiring for an entry job level candidate? In my opinion, people and leadership skills are now more important than ever. Generative AI does analysis and coding work far more effectively than a human. So I look for graduates with the ability to communicate effectively and appear comfortable in the interaction. Interest/passion is the next thing and the ability to think critically and solve problems is also what I question. I prefer someone with a business or IT qualification from a top tier university, but it is less important these days. 9. Is there any other information you would like to share that hasn’t been shared through the questions above? N/A