Network, Research, and Adapt: A Young Indian's Guide to Studying and Working in the UK

I’m Ria V. Vaghela, and I’m currently a Mergers and Acquisition Executive at RSM UK. I got this role after pursuing my Master of Finance at London School of Economics.

I spoke with Leap about my journey for their expert student series—Indians who had studied abroad recently and are still in that country pursuing their dreams—because I want to help others wanting to take the same career jump that I made.

Q. Could you tell us about your background, where you're from, where you've studied, and your educational journey?

I was born and raised in Mumbai. I did my Bachelor's in Management Studies from Mumbai, but then I planned to do a master's. I worked for one year in an investment bank and realized a massive skill gap. Also, culturally, I didn't see myself aligned with some of the Indian firms.

The UK was a great good option for me because I have some family friends over there, and they were doing very well. In 2021 I did an MSc in Finance from LSE, graduated in 22, and did a few internships in London, again all investment banking, M&A, and generalist roles, nothing too sector-specific. And then last year, I started my full-time role at RSM, building their regional M&A team.

Q. How did you decide where to go?

I chose LSE specifically because it's renowned worldwide. I am a very risk-averse person, and my plan Z was what if I don't get any job in the UK or if I come back to India or go anywhere on this planet, will this course and will this university have any value?

And the answer was yes for LSE, as it has a lot of value everywhere. If you see the MSc Finance cohort, if you just go on LinkedIn, type MSc Finance and LSE people, and just look at their backgrounds, they are based worldwide. They're MDs, and finance directors, running huge companies, etc.

Q. How was it studying there?

Everyone wants to know you for who you are here, not just your skills. Even if you've taken a gap year, they want to know why you've taken a gap year, what you explored, and nobody's going to hold you to, “Oh, you have a gap; you can't work with me.”

In class no question is sneered at. And for the lectures themselves, we need to do some pre-reading, the actual class, and then we have homework, weekly assignments, exams, and we have to make applications. The course surpassed my expectations. It was very intense, but the professors were amazing.

It was a theoretical course but it is very applicable in the real world. If you go to a partner lvel or director level at a company, these are the things they are considering. They didn't spend a lot of time in Excel upskilling or learning how to make dynamic models on Excel, and because they know the company will anyway spend on training you.

Q. What kind of events?

LSE holds a lot of networking events. Then there are meetup and other apps that do networking, for business, startup, or meeting new people and dating.

London is full of immigrants, and everyone is alone and looking for friends. You have a lot of art sessions where you do a bit of art and then you network and make friends and go on marathons.

Q. How much were you spending living there?

My rent was eight thousand pounds a year, and my dad gave me about 250 to 300 pounds a month for everything else. It's manageable. You have to plan your grocery shopping, and I took a bus pass. In 300, I took a bus pass, which was 60 back then, pre-inflation times. And then the grocery was a maximum of 100.

Q. How did you find your job?

I started talking to people one-half year before I started my course, so by the time my course started and started applying for jobs, I knew when to apply and when the jobs were opening because they had become my friends, and the people who were actually working had become my friends.

I think I applied to only 50 roles. I did not do the massive 100, 200, which other people were doing, because I was only applying to companies where I had a relationship.

Q. What tips would you give to students who are looking for jobs now?

Always start early. And keep networking. I can't emphasize how much the network can help you. It's not just about getting the job but even on the job and going forward in life. So don't think about the short term: "Oh, I want a job.”

You will get a job. You will do fine. But build a long-term network. And even the receiver knows what you're coming for. Everyone knows that ultimately I want a referral, but am I asking for it? No. Am I making them feel nice about it? Yes. Am I being desperate? No. Am I asking the right questions? Yes.

And that matters. You need to ask them about their journey. You need to ask whether that is even the right company for you. Because I have had an experience where I entered the wrong company and it did not work. Culture and everything matter.

So use LinkedIn; to talk to people. Worst to worst, they'll just not reply, or they'll say, I don't want to help you, so go to the next person. There are millions of people on this planet just talking to them and making friends. You don't always have to talk about work or finance or something, right? You can talk about hobbies; you can talk about literally whatever the weather is; just talk about anything.

Q. Is there other advice?

I can't emphasize research. Please do your research. This country is not for everyone. People live very individualistic lives, very lonely lives, and not everyone is comfortable with that. You will not get house help here; you will have to do your own stuff yourself, like cleaning the bathroom.

Nobody's going to come here unless you can afford a house help. But even if that helps, you can afford it once or twice a week, not every day. Nobody's going to cook for you. And if you're looking for true independence, that comes at a cost, and you just have to deal with that cost, which is loneliness and people being very distant.

In India, everyone cares so much about each other's lives, and everyone's so involved in your life. Here, nobody's going to do that, except for Indians.