Carl Alvares

Year of Graduation from OCS: 2012

Education:
BBA in Finance from the Schulich School of Business at York University, 2012-2016
BSc in Computer Science from the University of Toronto Scarborough, 2017-Present

Work Experience:
Commercial Banking Analyst Intern at RBC (May 2014 – Aug 2014)
Commercial Banking Analyst Intern at RBC (May 2015 – Aug 2015)
Technology Analyst Intern at Alamos Gold Inc. (May 2017 – Aug 2017)
Software Developer Co-op at Caseware International (Sep 2018 – Present)

What you have learned about your field of interest/ what was good or bad about the pathway choices you made:

I initially went into Finance because I wanted to be in private equity (with a particular interest in Technology acquisitions), but in hindsight, I think that was for the wrong reasons. I realized that it was a field where only certain, highly sought-after jobs interested me (largely because of the money or prestige) and that I did not have much interest in some of the alternative careers in Finance (especially in Canada, where the field is largely focused on Oil & Gas).

At OCS, I had a hard time deciding between business and computer science. I ended up choosing business, but a programming course I took in my third year of undergrad reignited my interest in Computer Science. I began looking into careers at the intersection of both fields, which was becoming quite common as investment banks moved towards automation and the utilization of trading algorithms.
I decided to take on a second degree in Computer Science as a complement to my Finance degree, but I am enjoying the degree and my current role as a software developer so much (much more than any of my prior internships) that I would not mind working at a pure software firm. I am really excited to see where my career takes me from here!

What advice do you have for the current AP students

If you have an idea of what you want to pursue, think hard about your motivations for that decision. I think I would have been happier choosing what I genuinely enjoy over something that I thought would sound cool at a dinner party.
At the same time, don’t worry about making the right choice at the start, especially in high school. It’s never too late to change gears and try something new, so go ahead and take risks. Explore things that sound interesting to you. I went through a pretty drastic career change but I am much happier now and I am glad I went through it

Contact Information:Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about Finance, Business, Computer Science, choosing between different career paths, etc. I’d love to chat and help out if I can.
Email: alvares.carl@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-alvares-72b2865b
Facebook: Carl Alvares (https://www.facebook.com/carl.alvares)