Tak Amasa- “Life figures out itself”
Tak is a U3 student in Psychology and Economics. He served as one of the two co-presidents for Japanese Student Association (JSA) in 2015–2016. After working with KPMG (one of the “Big Four auditors”) this past summer, he is planing to head back to KPMG as a full-time employee upon his graduation.
Tell us about what you have studied at McGill.
I started out as a U0 Science student, until I realized that being a doctor wasn’t the optimal choice for me (sorry dad). I ended up studying in faculty of arts, doing a double major in Economics and Psychology — two strikingly different areas of study.
What are you planning to do after your graduation?
Being someone who doesn’t necessarily fancy reading textbooks and going to lectures, I chose the path of working right after graduation.
Fortunately, my previous internship at KPMG in NY rewarded me with a full-time offer after my graduation.
I plan on eventually pursuing an MBA later in life, once I miss studying.
What are some pros and cons about your program?
Economics:
Pros: Its not too math intensive and there isn’t a lot of memorizing to do, so it’s a very good mix of studying. Also, it’s a major that’s applicable in various types of career, so it really doesn’t limit you to a single career path. Finally, there are 300 level bird courses.
Cons: There’s just so many economics students that it might be hard to stand out from a group of candidates for a position.
Psychology:
Pros: Very interesting, and much more applicable to your daily life than economics
Cons: Not as useful in job hunting. Especially in business. Another point I would like to make is that the program entails pure memorization, tons of readings. This hurt me a lot during finals as someone who habitually skip classes.
What were some valuable involvements at school that taught about yourself and oriented your goals?
JSA (Japanese Students’ Association) was a core part of my university life, and being president during my 3rd year made me grow both socially and intellectually.
Without JSA, my interviews would’ve been horrendous. What else would I talk about during my interviews to showcase my hard work, leadership, and how I have a life outside of academia?
I can’t stress enough how important extracurricular is during your university, and I personally think everyone should at least join one that suits him or her.
I’ve met and connected with so many people through JSA, and it definitely impacted my life so much (too much?).
Most regretful thing you’ve ever done at McGill
Not going to class and not studying as much as I should when I can. This is also why I couldn’t keep up in the faculty of science, but yolo (as in, sometimes things workout so don’t get too depressed about grades).
BUT studying at McGill in general helped me train my stress and time management, which was crucial working at my internships.
None of the work seemed nearly as challenging compared to all the adversaries I’ve faced at McGill (unlike my other fellow interns who were less fortunate). Finals suck, but it sucks more to not be able to handle stress/time.
If you were to go back to your first year, what would you have done differently?
Don’t be drunk the night before your midterm. Or maybe that was only me in first year. Also, don’t start smoking cigarettes.
On a more serious note:
stay positive and don’t let grades bother you too much.
I think grades are definitely important and it’s great to do well in academics — but more importantly, be sure to be a well-rounded person. Jump into the unknown and experience new things.
My perspective of my career and myself has drastically changed over the four years at McGill, and I largely attribute that to being exposed to difference experiences.
At the end of the day, I think life’s good if you think you did better than yourself from yesterday.
Just try to be better than your past self and take it easy.
Is there anything else you want to add on?
On a side note, when I applied for my internship position at KPMG, I had no idea what my job was about (Transfer pricing, like what) and I was networking drunk (after just three glasses of wine!) the night before at their pre-interview cocktail party.
Life figures itself out I guess, and you really don’t know what could happen.
