u/Happy-Possibility-44

Background:
20M, final year college. Just earned ₹2L from a summer internship, with PPO expected at ~18 LPA next year. No credit history yet, so I'm going the FD-backed secured card route to build CIBIL before my job starts.

My dilemma:
I already have my savings account with ICICI, so their FD backed Platinum card feels like the "easy" option. But everyone seems to recommend IDFC FIRST WOW! instead.

My plan:

• FD amount: ₹50k–1L
• Monthly spend: ~₹10-15k
• Goal: build a clean 750+ CIBIL score over the next year, before better cards open up once I'm salaried

What I want to know:

• Has anyone actually compared ICICI Platinum FD vs IDFC WOW directly?
• Does staying with my existing ICICI relationship matter here, or is IDFC genuinely worth opening a new account for?
• Would you recommend any other?

Long-term goal:
Once the job starts, I'd love to eventually work my way up to the premium cards this sub loves talking about Magnus, Infinia, etc. I know that's a few years out and depends on building real relationship/history first, but figured I'd start on the right foot.

Would really appreciate input from anyone who started exactly like this as a student. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m a pre final year Mechanical Engineering student from a tier 2 college and I’m currently interning at one of India’s top pharmaceutical companies. They have almost 100% PPO conversion rate (18 lpa)

The dilemma is that I don’t really enjoy core engineering work. I’ve always been more interested in mathematics and problem solving. I have always wanted to work in finance, quantitative roles, or analytics related fields. ISI has always been a dream institute for me, and I’m considering preparing for M.Stat during my final year.

The advantage is that I don’t plan to sit for placements, so I’ll have sufficient time to prepare. However, I have a few concerns:

1. During placements at ISI, do companies significantly prefer B stream over NB stream? If yes, how large is the difference?
2. I’m not a topper academically. I generally struggle with rote learning and memorisation, but I enjoy mathematical problem solving. Would someone with this profile be able to survive and perform reasonably well in M.Stat?
3. Since my undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering and I have no formal background in finance, would that negatively affect placement opportunities in finance/quant/analytics roles after M.Stat?
4. Has anyone here made a transition from core engineering to M.Stat and then into finance, quant, data science, or analytics? I’d love to hear about your experience.

I’m trying to decide between a relatively secure PPO path and taking a risk to pursue something I’ve genuinely wanted for a long time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m a pre final year Mechanical Engineering student from a tier 2 college and I’m currently interning at one of India’s top pharmaceutical companies. They have almost 100% PPO conversion rate (18 lpa)

The dilemma is that I don’t really enjoy core engineering work. I’ve always been more interested in mathematics and problem solving. I have always wanted to work in finance, quantitative roles, or analytics related fields. ISI has always been a dream institute for me, and I’m considering preparing for M.Stat during my final year.

The advantage is that I don’t plan to sit for placements, so I’ll have sufficient time to prepare. However, I have a few concerns:

1. During placements at ISI, do companies significantly prefer B stream over NB stream? If yes, how large is the difference?
2. I’m not a topper academically. I generally struggle with rote learning and memorisation, but I enjoy mathematical problem solving. Would someone with this profile be able to survive and perform reasonably well in M.Stat?
3. Since my undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering and I have no formal background in finance, would that negatively affect placement opportunities in finance/quant/analytics roles after M.Stat?
4. Has anyone here made a transition from core engineering to M.Stat and then into finance, quant, data science, or analytics? I’d love to hear about your experience.

I’m trying to decide between a relatively secure PPO path and taking a risk to pursue something I’ve genuinely wanted for a long time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

My_Qualifications: Pre-final year B.Tech Mechanical Engineering student from a tier-2 college. Currently interning at a top pharmaceutical company with a potential PPO opportunity.

Hi everyone,

I’m a pre final year Mechanical Engineering student from a tier 2 college and I’m currently interning at one of India’s top pharmaceutical companies. They have almost 100% PPO conversion rate (18 lpa)

The dilemma is that I don’t really enjoy core engineering work. I’ve always been more interested in mathematics and problem solving. I have always wanted to work in finance, quantitative roles, or analytics related fields. ISI has always been a dream institute for me, and I’m considering preparing for M.Stat during my final year.

The advantage is that I don’t plan to sit for placements, so I’ll have sufficient time to prepare. However, I have a few concerns:

1. During placements at ISI, do companies significantly prefer B stream over NB stream? If yes, how large is the difference?
2. I’m not a topper academically. I generally struggle with rote learning and memorisation, but I enjoy mathematical problem solving. Would someone with this profile be able to survive and perform reasonably well in M.Stat?
3. Since my undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering and I have no formal background in finance, would that negatively affect placement opportunities in finance/quant/analytics roles after M.Stat?
4. Has anyone here made a transition from core engineering to M.Stat and then into finance, quant, data science, or analytics? I’d love to hear about your experience.

I’m trying to decide between a relatively secure PPO path and taking a risk to pursue something I’ve genuinely wanted for a long time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!