Imarticus Learning
India’s leading professional education institute, offering certified industry-endorsed training in Financial Services, Investment Banking, Business Analysis, IT, Business Analytics & Wealth Management
With big data analytics continuing to achieve prominence at a number of software services companies, its popularity is growing to unprecedented levels. As big data analytics happens to offer many perks as well as great packages, it makes for a great choice for anyone looking to pursue a fulfilling career. Armed with certifications from various professional training institutes like Imarticus Learning, as a candidate you have millions of opportunities opened up for you. So if you are looking for a serious career change, or have plans of starting off in the data science industry, you would have a few questions. One of them being which data analytics tool should you master? The answer to this question would most certainly be either Hadoop or Python or both. Why you ask? Let’s talk about the reason why you must be getting certified in these two data analytics tools. Python Let’s begin with Python, due to its great similarities with tools like Java, C or Perl, the basics here are the easiest to master for the novices. As this tool happens to be very beginner friendly, a freshly graduate programmer would find it be a perfect fit. With having to write less code and other features like code readability, simple syntax and easy implementation, it happens to be one tool that every data analytics aspirant must study. For any Python programmer, the most difficult task is finding out bugs and squashing them, but in Python its unique design lends itself really well to all of its users. Writing less code, basically means that the programmers would find debugging easier and will also be prone to fewer issues as compared to other programming environments. In addition to all the above winsome attributes, Python also happens to be an object oriented language. This would make it easier for the user to migrate to any other object oriented language, just by learning the syntax of the new language. But one of the most important reasons why you should learn Python is, that it can power Google’s search engine, YouTube, Dropbox, Mozilla, NASA and IBM too. Hadoop Moving on to Hadoop, this is an open sourced software framework, which is very easily able to store and process great amounts of data. Many professionals have been blown away by its sheer horsepower. It has the ability to make a huge difference to many organizations by assisting them in their marketing needs. It so happens that Hadoop and NoSQL are believed to be the fastest growing technological networks in the market of Data Science. There have been reports which state that Hadoop will possibly grow in the Big Data Market and reach up to $13.9 billion by the year 2017. As Hadoop has quite a lot of implementations, professionals who have expertise in this Hadoop programming language have a wide range of career roles to choose from. All one needs to have, is the deep rooted understanding of how the framework of Hadoop works. As it is one of the most sought after skills, it also pays really well Thus, here we have the most touted reasons, as to why one must study Hadoop and Python.
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When it comes to retail banking, this book by Amalendu Ghosh is cited as one among the top 10 important books. This book is believed by experts to take an in-depth, as well as logical look at dealing with every single aspect of risk management, which forms a part of the banking sector. By providing the reader with an ample number of case studies and real life examples, this book attempts to simplify all the complex processes and present them for the reader’s benefit. The author, Amalendu Ghosh, occupied the post of Chief of the Department of Banking Supervision of The Reserve Bank of India, where he is believed to have served for about 36 years. He is well renowned as an expert in the supervision of banks and has been intimately involved in the implementation of the new Basel Capital Accord. His proximity to the world of commercial and retail banking makes him one of the experts on the topic, especially when it comes to the risk management aspect. He has also released a manual for conducting of bank supervision, especially that which is required in the switch related to risk based bank supervision system. He has had an enriching experience at his post of risk management consultant, to around two commercial banks, which intermittently make him the candidate, who is more than qualified for writing this book. This book, which seems to be right in the quintessential corner of Ghosh, was published by John Wiley who happens to be one of the oldest publishers of USA and is acclaimed for publishing a number of renowned titles under risk management, financial engineering, valuation, financial instrument analysis, among which Ghosh’s book seems to be a valuable contribution. Divided into about seven parts, this book essentially deals with the number of risk management approaches and systems. These are namely, credit risk management, market risk management, operational risk management, risk based internal audit, corporate governance and all the lessons that could be derived from the South-East-Asian and American Financial Crises. Beginning with the first part, it deals with a thorough analysis of what all constitutes a risk. The topics covered here would be types of risks and the various models on how each bank is supposed to manage their problems. The second part is all about the models, which is made use of by various banks in order to rate and evaluate all the credit risk management issues. Here the author offers a number of techniques, which are useful for credit portfolios and rating based loan pricing mechanisms. The book successfully brings together a number of concepts, ranging from methods and procedures in the field of risk management, to the author’s personal experiences. It is said that this book is the bible for all those financial analysts, students of investment banking, accounts aspirants and auditors. Mainly because it is a distilled form of all the valuable experiences of a top notch, seasoned banker and an authority figure on bank supervision. This is also one of the reason why professional training institutes like Imarticus Learning, usually ask their students to refer to this book. Hadoop is said to be an Apache.org project, which is adept at providing the distribution of software that processes large data sets, for a number of computer clusters, simply by using programming models. Hadoop is one such software, which is able to scale from a single computing system to close to thousands of commodity systems that are known to offer local storage and computer power. In a simpler sense, you can think of Hadoop as the 800 lb big data gorilla in the big data analytics space. This is one of the reasons why the use of this particular software programme is popular among data analysts. On the other hand Spark, is known as the fast and general engine for large scale data processing, by Apache Spark developers. If we go on to compare these two programming environments, then where Hadoop happens to be the 800lb gorilla, Spark would be the 130 lb big data cheetah. Spark is cited to be way faster in terms of in-memory processing, when compared to Hadoop and MapReduce; but many believe that it may not be as fast when it comes to processing on disk space. What Spark actually excels at is effortlessly streaming of interactive queries, workloads and most importantly, machine learning. While these two may be contenders, but time and again a lot of data analysts, have wanted the two programming environments to work together, on the same side. This is why a direct comparison kind of becomes a lot more difficult, as both of these perform the same functions and yet sometimes are able to perform entirely parallel functions. Come to think of it, if there were conclusions to be drawn, then it would be Hadoop that would be a better, more independently functioning network as Spark is known to depend on it, when it comes to file management. While that may be the case, but there is one important thing to remember about both the networks. That is that there can never be an ‘either or’ scenario. This is mainly because they are not per say mutually exclusive of each other and neither of them can be a full replacement for the other. The one important similarity here is that the two are extremely compatible with each other, which is why their team makes for some really powerful solutions to a number of big data application issues. There are a number of modules that work together and form a framework for Hadoop. Some of the primary ones are namely, Hadoop Common, Hadoop YARN, Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), and Hadoop MapReduce. While these happen to be some of the core modules, there are others as well like, Ambari, Avro, Cassandra, Hive, Pig, Ooziem Flume, and Sqoop and so on. The primary function of all of these modules is to further enhance the power of Hadoop and help extend it in to big data applications and larger data set processing. As majority of companies that deal with large data sets make use of Hadoop, it has gone on to become the de facto standard in the applications of big data. This is why a number of data aspirants turn to training institutes like Imarticus Learning, which offer comprehensive training of Hadoop. CFA or Chartered Financial Analyst, is a considerably well known designation, which is believed to give the charter holders, an entry into the most coveted circle of top finance professionals all over the world. This credential can not only guarantee you the dream job, in addition to no having to give any entrance exams but also can help you network with the topmost players in the investment banking and corporate finance industry. This examination is offered by the CFA institute in the United States of America and consists of three levels. Due to its approach and the kind of benefits it provides, the CFA credentials are very much in demand these days. More and more finance enthusiasts attempt to give these exams, both in India and abroad.
While some endeavor to attempt CFA on their own, the majority prefers to take up a professional course for the same. Institutes like Imarticus Learning, have a unique mentor run program, where every student is assigned to a mentor, who is an experienced charter holder and acts as their guide to crack this prestigious exam. If you are a finance aspirant and looking to become a certified CFA charter holder but, are still apprehensive about the usefulness or validity of the course; then read on why one should do this course, especially in India. Financial Times, which is a leading daily in India states the following about the CFA designation, “Among countless finance degrees around the world, the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification has become the gold standard.” Firstly, the designation is truly the most prestigious title in the field of Finance and Investment. It is not only know widely known, but is also one of the most respected qualifications in the field. Statistics state that there are about 128k professionals, in about 145 countries, who are all CFA Charter Holders. This means, that CFA holders can be found in almost all the major countries, over the world. Not only that, but there are also a number of CFA societies, that exist and function smoothly, giving the professionals, an unparalleled network, which can help leverage their careers. These societies are tied up with a number of top banks and financial organizations, which makes it easier for CFA holders, who are looking to get hired by the same. If you are a part of such a society, landing a job with the most elite of companies becomes a cake walk. One of the biggest benefits of having a CFA degree is the fact, that you don’t have to keep on giving entrance tests, or undergoing screening procedures, as a part of the interview procedure. There are reportedly 19 countries, which have waived off, wither a part of or all of their requirements, especially for professionals with a CFA license in the field of trading and investment. As a CFA holder, you have the chance of being employed by top global investment banks, majorly in the asset management and research departments. CFA holders are not only paid better, but also have a distinctive advantage over their competitors during interviews. These are the many benefits of this certification and must do it, for the sake of not getting left behind. The Indian Education Sector Seems To Be Experiencing A Revolution Courtesy Edtech Startups2/17/2017 Did you know, in the past two years, our economy has experienced the emergence and development of close to 900 start ups, all of which are entirely focused on the education sector. The Indian Education Sector values up to $100 billion and has been experiencing quite a lot action in terms of Edtech start ups. With the evolving age of internet and technology, more and more students are able to access the virtual world of learning. This includes interactive videos and textbooks, on line classroom discussions, exclusively customized learning modules and content from some of the best universities. With the addition of the online learning courses, the doors to education at a more accessible level have been thrown open. From foreign universities offering online courses, to professional training institutes like Imarticus Learning offering online certification courses in Finance and Analytics.
Conventional educational systems seem to be undergoing certain cataclysmic shifts, as the students and teachers both, try and embrace all the comfort, convenience and efficiency that is offered by these Edutech companies. The online courses trend is becoming more and more relevant by the day and being known as MOOC’s or Massively Open Online Courses, is witnessing increasing popularity and acceptance among the student population. While on one hand, time honored institutes like Harvard and Oxford are taking notice of this trend, the government of India is also accepting its importance. The HRD Ministry in India, in similar vein has launched the Swayam initiative, which is a program that is set to offer about 200 e-courses and another 10,000 e-courses under the AICTE, which will all be planned over the next couple of years. Statistics state that the number of students, registering for online courses has been steadily increasing at the rate of 70% per year. Nikhil Barshikar, who is the CEO of Imarticus Learning states, “Online courses offer fantastic flexibility, convenience and customization; while delivering impactful learning outcomes for students”. He went ahead to add that, “Our online course have been popular among students because they are upgrading their skills with industry relevant subject matter, that is not available in their university curriculum.” As HR Managers come to recognize the importance of updated curriculum, broader talent pools and thorough online assessments, these online certification courses are clearly gearing up to change the way training and learning takes place. This revolution has been driven by many key factors, one of which includes the emergence of Big Data and Analytics. This has not only revolutionized the way education is looked at, but it has also paved way for more efficient student-teacher relationships. For instance, insititutes have been able to leverage data analytics in order to assess the teachers’ abilities and help them provide better guidance to the students. While big data and analytics have paved a greatly important way in the education sector, they have received important implications in other fields related to the education sector. For instance, lets take the example of student loans. Student loans were earlier the domain of just the banking sector in general. This is no longer the case as there happen to be start ups, which are ready to venture into this field. All these companies have to do, is leverage analytics and provide the loans, with the completion of all the formalities in as less as 8 hours and more importantly, online. This huge change can usher in great benefits for those looking to get skilled by depending on loans. There are great chances of India becoming more and more tech-scary and paving way for technology being able to mold itself to the various different boards of Indian Education. It isn’t for nothing that the 21st Century has come to be known as the century of digitization and all of the credit, goes to the internet of things. Today the virtual world is capable of doing almost everything worth imagining by the human mind. There are a number of things, that come under this category, for instance internet has made it possible for companies, to multiply their revenue through targeted marketing, almost every industry is turning into a smart industry, data analytics is set to transform the world and so on. So, while internet is proving to be extremely revolutionary, why should the sector education be left behind. Today, it is absolutely possible for students and aspirants to take up online courses, in any and every subject they would like to master. As learning is a never ending process, anyone regardless of them being a student or a working professional, can take huge strides, towards bettering themselves academically.
There are a number of HR managers who look for the perfect candidate, with a developed skill set, which fits right in to the industry standards. But time and again and especially in the case of India as a country, there is an evident dearth of industry skills and the soft skills, which most of the professionals working with top investment banks and IT firms, are expected to possess. This is why, just getting a degree in any finance related field, is not enough. This is exactly why a number of professionals, especially in the field of Finance are looking to get professionally trained, through online courses offered by foreign universities, in a bid to climb up the industrial ladder. There are a number of esteemed universities, which offer online certification courses like the MIT or Stanford, but there are also professional training institutes, which offer certifications, acknowledged either globally or in countries like UK, USA and Canada. Imarticus Learning is one such institute which offers a number of comprehensive certifications, some of which also have international certifications to them. Their Certified Investment Banking Operations Professional course, offers a comprehensive coverage, on a wide array of subjects from Securities to various functions of Investment Banking. This course also offers the optional CISI certified, Investment Operations Certificate. Another program that is internationally endorsed by IIBA, is the Business Analysis Certified Professionals Course, which covers all the key Business Analysis topics. While the above are foreign universities, which offer certification courses online, there are also professional institutes within India, which aid candidates in cracking tough exams and achieving coveted designations. Imarticus Learning is one such professional training institute, which specializes in providing candidates with professional training, as per the industry standards, in the field of Finance and Analytics. They have been lauded with a number of awards, for the kind of educational services they offer. Imarticus has also been awarded as the best online training institute, by the Pride of Indian Education Awards. Their online offerings include courses like Certification in Capital Markets, Certification in Business Analysis, Assistance in cracking the CFA exams, all of which are not only industry endorsed, but offer internationally accredited certifications to the candidates. The world of Data Science has penetrated into every aspect of human life, from social networking sites, to home appliances. The world of business is no longer a stranger to the efficiency that Data Science brings with itself. It matters more in this field as it is able to assist firms, not only to operate, but also to strategize more intelligently. With the help of Data Science companies are able to achieve their end goal, which revolves around adding substantial enterprise value, by learning from their data. Predicative Analytics, happens to be one of the most important aspects in the field of Data Science. For instance, if an advertising firm, wants to find out which company or product has sure chances of staying, or chances of slipping in to oblivion. Or if a company is looking to evaluate their financial value for a certain month and further yet, which would be the particular product, that will end up being the most purchased item. All of these things could be determined in a very short amount of time, with the help of predictive analytics. To analyze and study data, the most primary requirement for a firm, is to have data. The process of acquiring this data is known as Data Mining. Data Mining is an analytical process, which is supposedly designed to explore huge amounts of data. The reason why this process is so important for the companies, is because this data is usually business related in nature and has binding effects on the marketing section of the company. The other processes that take place under this particular aspect, basically deal with looking for patterns so as to analyze the customer behavior, or detecting systematic relationships, which exist between variables. The next step here, is then to apply these findings to new data sets, in order to predict the possible outcomes. There are three primary variables, when it comes to data science, velocity, variety and volume. These play a major role when it comes to Data Warehousing. Over time many companies and firms seem to have highly developed their data warehousing capabilities, in order to meet enterprise standards. Especially when it comes to businesses, a data warehouse of any firm, must be able to deal with repetitive queries, be applicable to varied data structures and formats, to be advanced enough to be adapted to continuous loading methods; all of which is required in order to have data driven businesses, function. Machine learning is another process, which is imminent to the functioning of businesses. This happens to be the most popular process in the current times, as machines have begun to get the ability to work on their own, without the help of humans. In simple words, this process deals with not just extracting data and mining it, but also learning from that very data. As the world begins to accept the ever increasing power of Big Data, none of the business enterprises are able to remain immune. Thus, business firms where people don’t understand what data science is all about, are bound to lag behind in the near future. This is why a number of business professionals are trying to pursue a number of professional training courses, from institutes like Imarticus Learning. With a number of courses in Business Analytics, these institutes are able to create a niche for the said professionals. SAS Programming, as a data analytics tool has been existing in the industry, for quite some time now. It is interesting to know that many companies, who have this tool as their default programming environment, rarely use it of the data analytics purposes. It is only in the recent years, that the industry has come across the difference that SAS as a tool makes in the world of Data Science. The various attributes of this tool like the fact that it is licensed and has over 40,000 companies using it as their principal software, make it the go-to data analytics tool. While there are a great number of SAS enthusiasts, both at the university as well as the professional level, but it many of them have felt the pressing void, when it comes to programming as majority of them feel the need to learn a certain trick or a certain procedure, in order to make the process easier.
This is mainly the reason why a majority of data enthusiasts are looking to get professionally trained in the data analytics tools. Training institutes like Imarticus Learning are most sought after, mainly because of their multiple offerings in various data analytics tools like, SAS Programming, R Programming, Hadoop, Python, Tableau, SQL and so on. When you take up one such course and pursue it, it is easier to save your time and not program the hard way, because SAS resources and SAS efficiency, are two components that will guarantee you less frustrations and more time savings. Here’s a list of tips and techniques, which will help you become more efficient and find all the answers to each one of your SAS questions. 1. Knowing your data is most important While this may be a very generic advice, but after a sufficient amount of experience, you would definitely understand the absolute need for the same. Consider for instance, you are asked to sort out all the data, for senior citizens’ survey, where you are supposed to find out how much exercise they get on a daily basis. Would you not be flabbergasted, if the data states that, these very senior citizens, exercise for more than 4 hours a day. While they may not be doing any physical labor, but recreational things like gardening would also be counted as exercise. This is the reason why, it is imperative for a SAS programmer to check the data values, frequencies of those values, index variables, missing values and so on. 2. Never Over code It is not always necessary to build reports in the data set itself. While there are a number of Data steps, which are typically used to create and modify all the SAS data sets, these can be also used to produce custom-designed reports. You can not only investigate the data using various procedures, but also go ahead and rearrange it altogether so that the observations become variables and variable become observations. It is very important to never ever assume that you have all the knowledge you need about one single procedure, always reviewing them helps quite a lot. Always remember to have lots of fun with all the functions. The department of finance, makes for one of the most important department of any organization, covering everything from bookkeeping, to providing the heads with reliable, relevant and timely financial information, which is accurate to the T. This financial information is basically of key importance, as it has vital role to play in the dealings of the business organization. Those professionals who are responsible of performing these various duties, are known as Financial Analysts. Any Financial analyst, has a very important role in trying to determine, the company’s present financial value as well as future business prospects. Various other functions of these professionals include, analyzing financial information to produce forecasts, of any particular business, that helps in a number of investment decisions. They are supposed to interpret the varied data, that is responsible for influencing the aforementioned investment decisions. A financial analyst is involved in taking various other decisions, in particular those, that are involved in the creation of spreadsheets, conducting analysis, graphical representations in terms of charts, diagrams, graphs and so on but, not necessarily in the digital format. Most often these professionals perform roles, that revolve around illustrating various financial trends, in order for them to be transformed into, much simpler and understandable information in terms of the presentation of the same. Another responsibility that these professionals are assigned, is to develop a number of financial models, in order to be able to maximize business profits, which would be a direct result of accurate predictions of business opportunities and investments; while on the other hand maintaining minimal risk levels, especially when it comes to the maximization of the profits for the same. These functions are accomplished, basically by not only reviewing, but also analyzing revenues and expenses of the business entity and then presenting them to the senior management of the firm. The perfect candidate for a job like this, would be a professional who has sound knowledge about budgeting, making financial analysis and analyzing various business plans, in the most efficient and effective manner. Careers in this field are considered by many to be of a challenging nature, as they demand a professional to be of par excellence, especially when it comes to oratory skills as well as written skills. The industry of financial analysis, is usually on the lookout for potential candidates, who posses qualities like critical thinking, perseverance and investigating skills, especially for all the varied business related problems, that arise as an accompaniment to any business venture. While the job profile of any financial analyst, might expect qualities like determination and great responsibilities, this field is known to be extremely rewarding, especially in terms of salary packages. While there are many professionals working in the finance industry, who go on to change their jobs and switch to this field, it is not necessary to belong to a certain field to further your career here. Candidates can belong to any field of study, such as business, economics, math, computer science or engineering, as well as those who have an MBA degree in finance. But the most popular route is to pursue a certification course, which offers a candidate the perfect, comprehensive training, especially when it comes to working in the industry. Many professional institutes like Imarticus Learning are offering great courses for candidates in the field of finance, analytics and more The field of Finance is an ever growing field today, with many lucrative and challenging career opportunities being offered here. One can choose from the broad spectrum of investment banking, corporate finance, financial modeling, wealth management, retail banking, insurance, valuation and securities and many others. The basic qualification that is required here would be a graduate degree in a relevant field of finance. Of these, the professionals who deal with retail banking and wealth management are generally known as Private Bankers. These people offer their services to organizations or people who have a high net worth; in simple words, they act as personal bankers/financial advisors to rich people. Private Bankers are mostly individuals with a degree in statistics, law, or any other finance related subjects. They work with either investment firms, banks, or wealth management firms, providing personalized financial services. Individuals starting in the wealth management industry have to deal with constant financial analysis, studying of stocks and bonds and so on. As a Private Banker, one can broadly be dealing with either back-end operations like accounting, analyzing; investment banks or with individual clients and their finances. They offer advice on a range of topics from tax management, pension funds, financial planning and help their clients to find the best ways to invest their money. The professionals here start off their career by being the analysts in firms, these people then study stocks and bonds and draw up financial plans, reports and so on. They can also work with retail companies offering them financial advice on the current monetary situations and how they would be beneficial. There are various certifications that add value to a career of a Private Banker. By giving exams like the Chartered Financial Analyst, and acquiring the designation after clearing the levels. Addition of this certification thus can give a lot more of an edge to a private banker, to further advance their career. When it comes to wealth management, a career in this field can include working for firms which only deal with extremely rich families or portfolio management. While it involves financial planning and execution of stock and bond investments for the families, portfolio management deals with a professional handling the portfolio of one particular investor and dealing with their transactions. Retail Banking is primarily consumer banking; herein the career options for a Private Banker can range from Asst. Relationships Managers to the coveted Senior Relationships Manager. Whereas the entry roles involve dealings with people, and all the functions that a consumer bank has got to offer from provident funds, certificates of deposits, personal loans, debit/credit facilities and so on. The career in this field would be solely focused on an individual customer, primarily acting as a Personal Banker. One doesn’t necessarily have to be highly qualified to get into the career of retail banking and wealth management. A basic graduate degree in any related field like law, math, statistics or any other finance related subject would be more than useful. One can also opt for a number of professional courses being offered today by a number of institutes. There are a host of certification programs both long term and short term offering training in corporate finance, wealth management, retail banking, and financial modeling and so on. One can choose from all of these courses to enhance their career options as a Private Banker in the near future. |
About ImarticusImarticus Learning is a education institute based in Mumbai. We offer certified industry-endorsed training in Financial Services, Investment Banking, Business Analysis, IT, Business Analytics & Wealth Management. Archives
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