31 year old without experience

CFA General
#21

I would agree with the “Naysayers” above. you can listen to Destroyer above who has that “pursue your dreams” “rah rah rah” mentality, but if we’re talking about realistic chances, they are very slim. You always have to look at your key competition for these types of jobs.

tons of young, eager, folks with no-tie downs, who (in the eyes of any employer) are far more likely and willing to grind and grunt it out for any start of a long career vs a guy in his mid-30’s who has done biology and retail, and will likely have family commitments.

#22

Still 31 is not old. It may well be for some of the ‘hard nut’ IB jobs in corporate finance. But AM is a different ball park to this. Your not expected to slog it out for a few years like you are in the former.

Still agree with some of the other posters though that it will not be easy

#23

Thank you all for your replies. I have mortgage debt as someone assumes I had no debt. Someone also asked about my investment strategies. I invest mostly in individual stocks (mainly retail, some pharmaceutical, oil, property and foreign shares), 10% in bonds, 5% speculation/experiments. I got interested in investing after reading ‘One up on Wall Street’ by Peter Lynch and since read all the books written by him and John Rothschild.

I use the bottom up approach, and since I work in retail I get a lot of information that have proved valuable to me ( more than models on excel ) before they hit the market or financial news. I am also interested in behavioural finance and how it affects the markets but of course my portfolio is not big enough to claim an experiment works or doesn’t. This is why I use ‘luck’ rather than ‘skill’. Buffet is skilful but his results have been achieved by individual investors be it at a small scale, either by chance, skill or luck. I always discuss my ‘strategies’ with anyone that is interested but of course it is not structured while some are just based on experience, information and common sense.

For those saying I should go on with Retail/ Sales/Biology, it is not intellectually stimulating for me , I am also an introvert ( not the type that hides from people , I just like my own time :P) but I would have to stay in retail if this doesn’t work out .We live in a modern world where we can apply for jobs online so I never have to quit to look for another. I prefer politics, psychology, economics, philosophy, poetry, statistic etc. ( and yes I know I should have studied one of those at University but I can’t change the past) I read writers like Taleb, Robert Shiller, Daniel Kahneman, Niall Ferguson and those types of authors and would happily go through annual reports of companies I am not willing to invest in.

Based on the replies, I have decided to take the exams starting this December and apply for jobs at small AM firms across the U.K as advised. I think the course will put a more disciplined approach on theoretical knowledge and make me more pratical . Even if I do not get a job out of it I can improve on how I invest and that is good enough for me. Knowledge is nothing if not applied and investing luckily is a world open to virtually anyone that is lucky enough to earn more than they spend.

I am still unsure how to write about my personal investment in a cover letter or CV but hopefully I would be able to demonstrate if I get an interview and if not, life goes on. We still have our ISAs :stuck_out_tongue:

Again, thank you all for your comments, it has been very helpful. Good luck to you all, whatever you do.

#24

Good luck. Im watching you.

#25

Your take on JCP and TESCO?

#26

The finance industry has been contracting for half a decade now. It will be decades before it reaches 20% of GDP again.

#27

I bet you know more finance grads trying to break in FO.

#28

^ Actually I don’t haha, I don’t personally know many finance people (my own fault, I should be networking more)

But the ones I do know, are all trying to break into FO like you said. But at least they are employed. The biology majors I know are really roughing it. I know people out in california making less than $20/hr, closer to $15/hr. The most successful, $$$$, biology major (that did not go to graduate school or med school) that I know was my manager at Home Depot when I worked there a summer during college.

#29

How can you survive on $15/hr in Cali? Am I missing something here?

#30

I think they have family support and/or live with roommates… I went to craigslist just now, saw 2 jobs, when i searched for “biology hr” and “biology hour”, one paid $17/hr, other $14-20/hr based on experience.

#31

If you are so curious then you should go for a change to the finance career . Your will power has to be stong enough to change career at this stage . The levels you should not start counting for now . Just keep doing…

#32

I know a couple of guys that broke into finance in their late 30’s, never mind their early 30’s. One of them didn’t even have some impressive pre-investments experience either. Frankly, it was something as plain as the OP is describing for the starting point. They are now in high-level asset management jobs as a senior analyst and PM, respectively.

Itera is right in terms of that the cards are stacked against you, but I mean, it sounds like the OP’s opportunity cost is not great to leave what you’re doing, either. I could see if there was a huge give-up to pursue some CFA pipe dream in your 30’s – but I mean, you’re giving up retail? Zero opportunity cost.

Think about worst-case scenario – the OP could become a highly-credentialed but lowly financial advisor (a position most of the analytical minds here on AF would not care to take if we could avoid it) and still end up doing financially better than the average person in a store-based retail position. I’d say in the long run and analyzing alternative histories, this may be a better outcome for the OP than many other available tracks.

#33

^ It’s possible, but you need to network your a$$ off or get very lucky, most likely both.

There will be opportunities in the next decade as baby boomers reach retirement. You have to be at the right place at the right time though.

#34

^there will be less money to manage too

#35

Good luck. I am curious to find out whether you indeed make it into AM

Now is a good time to register for the december 2014 exam, especially in your position. This gives you enough time to study on the side and also pursue your ambition to break into investment mangement.

#36

I have no idea on JCP. I owned TESCO and although I think it is a good long term hold. There are two problems I can see. 1. The price war with ASDA, Morrissons and Siansbury is eating into profits and hence divis. Although, I have no doubt that TSCO will win this battle, Aldi & Lidl are the true winners here. 2. It has lost 5 percent market share in under 2 years after focusing on the failed USA Fresh and Easy. There was no concentration on the UK market where it dominated. Overall, I think it is a good company but I sold out as there are many other appealing oppoutunities and two of my reasons as stated above became hopes.

#37

you never know who ur gonna meet. i know english majors working in finance

#38

^ It’s becoming a trend.

#39

To be Frank, I am plotting various ways to stalk Kim Kardashian.

#40

Haha, what ever happened to Frank Arabia?