Jesús has a career he’s passionate about – thanks to his Masters from Vlerick

Jesús Molinos is from Venezuela – but he studied for his Bachelors and a double Masters degree in Finance and Management in Belgium. Even though he returned to his home country, he knew he wanted to go back to Belgium one day. When the pandemic hit and nobody was hiring, he started exploring further Masters options – and Vlerick’s Masters in Financial Management caught his eye.

“I already knew Vlerick by reputation,” he says. “I thought I’d give it a try – and it ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made.

“Of course, I wanted to get a good job at the end of it. But I also wanted to learn useful stuff. I felt I was lacking skills I would need in the real world, like modelling or working on investment cases. These were the types of skills I was looking to gain. And I didn’t just want a job to go to – I wanted to find a career that would really make me happy.”

Real-world skills and approaches

Jesús was looking for practical skills and real business insight. And he found both in the Masters in Financial Management.

He says: “One of the best examples of hands-on learning was modelling and the course on financial markets. You have to structure a research report on a company and understand the business from an investment perspective. And this is part of what I’m doing now in my current role. It’s beautiful how what you learn at Vlerick translates into tangible skills. This is the biggest value of the programme. It’s learning skills you’ll be using day to day in your career.”

As well as finding value in the course content, Jesús was delighted to find that the faculty he was learning from were seasoned finance professionals.

“A big difference with Vlerick is that the faculty are professionals who also teach,” he says. “There is a lot of value in the academic side of finance. But you need to get hands on to truly understand how it works. I really appreciated being taught by professionals who came to teach from their jobs – they are people you could end up working with in the future. This for me is one of the biggest ways Vlerick adds value.

“When you get into the finance world, you realise that the market isn’t always rational or mathematical. People make decisions based on judgement and intuition – and you can’t learn that from theory. The only way to learn it is from people who’ve been there – who will tell you what you can’t find in books.”

Making a tangible impact

Jesús says a highlight of his Masters experience was his consultancy project.

“I did it with two course colleagues – and they’re now very close friends,” he says. “It was an intensive two months together. We worked with an energy company who wanted to get into the EV market, and we had to find a way to finance the implementation of electric chargers in Brussels.

“What I loved about it was the freedom we had. We weren’t treated as interns, we were treated as consultants. We had lots of ideas, lots of contact with the CEO – and in the end they took our recommendations on board. Now, when I walk through the city and see the charging stations, I’m so happy that the three of us contributed to the process of getting them there.”

Taking the leap into a role he loves

When Jesús graduated, he started a job in investor relations, where he was the link between a company and the market. He enjoyed it – but was limited to working on one company. So in 2023, he applied to work in equity sales at ING. Now he works with more than 120 companies across a wide range of industries.

“I love my job,” he says. “I’ve been here for two years, and I have an amazing team.

“The skills I use most from the Masters are financial analysis and accounting. We look at numbers all the time, so we need to understand how the accounting works.

“In terms of softer skills, I really value the social skills I developed. There’s a click that happens when you realise you can talk to anybody. Even a CEO is still a person and you can have a great discussion with them. At Vlerick, you meet professionals from the industry and have discussions with them, and realise that we’re all just human. That was something Vlerick really helped with, exposure to so many different people and the confidence you build from that.”

A lifelong connection with Vlerick

Jesús works with two Vlerick alumni – and recently brought another alumnus into his team. He’s a fixture at Vlerick events – where he shares his experiences with other international students. And he regularly taps into Vlerick’s vast network.

“What I love is, it’s a group of people who’ve not only been through the same experience as you, but who are considerably smart, kind and open,” he says. “You’re connected to people who, because they’re from Vlerick, are eager to talk to you. For example, we just hired someone from Vlerick who got in touch with me, as a fellow alumnus, for a conversation. That is the magic of the Vlerick network.”

So what does the future hold for Jesús? Right now, he’s very happy in his role. But he has entrepreneurial ambitions too.

He says: “I’m very lucky, because I’m in a great job. It’s intense but I love it. It’s so dynamic – I’m working on different companies and industries every day. I can see myself doing this for a long time. However, in the long-term future, I have an itch to launch something on my own, a product or service I really believe in. One word that comes to mind when I think of what I learned at Vlerick is ambition. And that’s something that continues after you graduate.

“I would absolutely recommend the Masters – for the skills you learn, the knowledge you gain and the network you become a part of. If you have the time and the energy, Vlerick is absolutely a no brainer.”