What's your job about?

Orbium primarily specialises in the deliverance and implementation of the Avaloq Banking software for the financial services industry. Not only does Orbium deal with consulting services and system implementations, but over time they have regularly identified the gaps in technological requirements and have in conjunction developed many different core banking software extensions which cader to the needs of the clients.

My role comes into play through the implementation side of the equation, as an associate consultant, my daily activities would revolve around gathering the user requirements, understanding why they would need what they need, how it affects their everyday role and what we can deliver to them within the required time frame and ultimately developing the solution through parameterisation. What really differentiates this role from other generic coding role is the requirement to learn and understand in depth the business or financial implications of your code. Being exposed to the business on a daily basis, you can engage with them and personally ask them about the terminology and business processes, revealing a depth of knowledge that you most likely wouldn’t have been exposed to during university.

For me, I was fortunate to be assigned to some really interesting projects. The time I joined was during the peak of implementation for a large project, where the business was preparing for the project launch phase ‘to go live’ (to have their system up and running commercially for the first time). This period had been an incredibly exciting experience, you could imagine that everyone was putting on their game face solving numerous issues unforeen until the final minutes. During this time despite being greener than grass, just being there and contributing as much as I could. I felt really involved and picked up on life’s valuable lessons.

What's your background?

I was born and raised in Sydney. I chose to study a double degree of commerce and information systems at UNSW. Why did I choose these areas to study? I thought this combination aligned with my interests in shares and securities, along with understanding the impacts of the recent technological advances on the commercial world. When it came to job finding, I was seeking industrial experience in both areas of expertise. I came across Orbium which was a perfect match for this criterion. The position offered, placed me in the centre of an extraordinary wealth management institution and enabled me to grasp fundamental insights into how professional wealth managers had traded their securities for their clients. Not only was I exposed to the financial side in this aspect, I also got an insight into just how the back-end system handled these trades. How various accounting rules can impact how the trade is placed, and how external institutions utilise SWIFT messages to communicate with the system interchangeably.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes definitely! Orbium provides ample amounts of training that will help provide you with the core basics to understand the system’s principles. In my case, I had to undertake numerous training sessions at a foreign country before starting my job which was arranged by Orbium. The training for my cohort occurred at Poland and included travel and accommodation for the duration of the program. Additionally, the extreme helpfulness of your colleagues will help fill any gaps in knowledge and will be there to support you every step of the way. The only characteristic that I feel that is truly essential is the thirst to learn and the genuine interest in picking up new concepts. Even though the degree I had studied was relevant to this role, there was still plenty of new content which was foreign at first. But you wouldn’t need to worry too much on that note, an ample amount of time will be given to adapt and re-adjust.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

For me personally, would be the travel that Orbium has offered me so far. I was more than able to tick off my checklist of travelling overseas on a yearly basis. As mentioned before, my initial training program had me flown to Eastern Europe, and Poland for a month. In addition, when I started working at project Crestone, management had been generous enough to send me to Melbourne a few times to experience how a ‘go-live’ was, which I am grateful for. Additionally the annual summer event last year was in Thailand where the company had organised flights and accommodations for everyone to spend the weekend team-bonding.

What are the limitations of your job?

Since Orbium has only recently started out in Australia, the current options for project locations within Australia can be quite narrow. However with Orbium as a global company, there is definitely that open opportunity for short term or long term overseas assignments, transfers and project opportunities.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Start applying for internship roles before graduating, these will definitely help open up more opportunities in the near future. You’d be surprised by the amount of edge they will give you when it comes to finding your ideal job.
2. Travel a lot more to explore this world and see with your own eyes how other people make a living on a daily basis, be grateful of what you have so far and utilise the opportunities fortunately presented to you.
3. Take time to enjoy the small things in life. Develop friendships along the way, as they can definitely last a lifetime.