From trading to table waiting

Carlos Araya used to order lobster, filet mignon and $200 bottles of red wine at the Palm Restaurant in midtown Manhattan. Now, he seats customers at its Tribeca branch. Mr. Araya, 38 years old, lost his job in 2007 as a crude oil trader on the New York Mercantile Exchange. After visiting dozens of headhunters with no luck, he applied in August 2008 to be a host at the Palm to support his wife, two young daughters and mortgage payments. His salary has plunged from $200,000 to $25,000. In Carlos Araya’s new job as a host at New York City’s Palm Restaurant, he sometimes seats colleagues from his former life on Wall Street. If the financial crisis was the flood, then the Arayas are one of the families standing in the stagnant waters left behind. Some former Wall Street employees, highly trained and accustomed to comfortable salaries, are having trouble translating their specialized skills to other fields that pay well, and instead find themselves forced to accept low-wage work. Now, Mr. Araya is on the brink of losing it all and is doubtful that he will ever return to Wall Street. And he isn’t alone. Nearly 25,000 jobs have been lost in New York City’s financial sector since August 2007, according to the New York State Department of Labor. The finance industry in New York is expected to lose 56,800 jobs from the end of 2007 to the beginning of 2012, according to projections from the Independent Budget Office, a publicly funded information agency. John Carbonaro was let go as a floor clerk by Bank of America in January 2009, and despite his job-hunting efforts, remains a “Mr. Mom.” Joe Morrone, a laid-off trading clerk from Prudential, has been unemployed for two years and struggles to support his daughters and grandson. He has had stints as a deli worker, a doorman and a bouncer. “I used to have three cars,” Mr. Morrone says. “Now I share one.” The result is an unlikely stream of erstwhile Wall Street pros need help. “I’ve got 'em all – Lehman, AIG, Citi,” says Bob Townley, head of Manhattan Youth in Tribeca, an organization that gave the Arayas financial assistance to pay for childcare while they are working. “I can hear it in a parent’s voice when there’s trouble. Others are too proud to ask for help.” Many of these parents once made donations to Mr. Townley’s program. Now they are asking for aid to pay for their kids. Mr. Araya’s daughters, ages 6 and 7, are in an after-school program at Mr. Townley’s center. Nowadays, during Mr. Araya’s late nights at the Palm, reminders of his old life crop up when former colleagues come in. Some are encouraging and offer hugs. Others sneer, he says. “The way they look at you, you know they’re thinking negatively,” he says. Some are laid-off like him, and ask if the restaurant is hiring. As a host, Mr. Araya wears a suit and tie. He’s on his feet most of the day, either escorting guests to tables or manning the podium at the front, answering phone calls, managing reservations on the computer and fielding orders from wait staff and managers. Although he’s thankful for the work at the Palm, paydays can be bittersweet. “At the end of the week, I get my paycheck,” he says, "and I think, ‘I used to make this much in a day.’ " Mr. Araya’s wife, Dennise, has gone back to work as an administrative assistant for a construction company and leaves home at 6 a.m. Mr. Araya often works until one or two in the morning and on weekends, leaving little time for the family to be together. He calls his daughters every night during his break at the restaurant on his cellphone to say good night. Mr. Araya now is the one who gets his children ready for school. He’s learned to tie pony tails, inadvertently shrunk sweaters in the wash and knows which grocery store has the best price on milk. The Arayas stopped dining out, pulled their daughters out of ballet and tumbling classes, and dropped cable television – even though the flat screen he bought when they first moved in still sits in the living room. Last month, for the first time, the Arayas didn’t make a mortgage payment. Their savings are almost depleted. The mortgage, taxes and fees for the family’s condo cost $6,200. Combined, he and Denise bring in $4,000 a month. Three months ago, he and his wife applied to restructure their mortgage. The bank told them it is still processing the request. They fear foreclosure and bankruptcy. Recently, their oldest daughter asked Mr. Araya if the family would have to move. He told her he didn’t know. She countered: “How much money do we need?” “The way she looked at me,” Mr. Araya says, “I could tell she was counting the money in her piggy bank.” He went into the bathroom and cried. After a few minutes, he dried his eyes and walked back into the living room. Mr. Araya, the son of a cab driver, grew up in a working-class neighborhood in nearby Queens. Like thousands of New Yorkers, he used a Wall Street job to vault into a comfortable lifestyle that included his apartment – bought for $960,000 four years ago – in Manhattan’s Battery Park City neighborhood and family vacations to Cabo San Lucas, Disneyland and Las Vegas. The Arayas purchased the condo in 2005 with a 20% down payment and a pre-construction price. The proximity of the two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment to the trading pit allowed Mr. Araya to spend more time with his family and less time commuting. Ms. Araya diligently managed the family budget with Excel charts to ensure that they had no credit card debt, good credit histories even an emergency fund saved over five years that is now depleted. Mr. Araya says he would be lucky to find a buyer and break even on the apartment now. Mr. Araya dropped out of college in 1992 to work in the pits, where he quickly advanced from runner to trader. He shifted between large firms like J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and smaller shops like Aren Brokerage Service, the firm that eventually laid him off. A wrestler in high school, Mr. Araya was known for elbowing his way through the loud commodities pits. Nights were late; mornings began at 4:30 am, fueled by coffee. “You’d clock in and just try to kill each other till the bell rang,” Mr. Araya says. He had a knack for the Merc job. He could gauge from the roar of traders’ voices how the market was faring. He gained loyal clients, and was confident enough to engage in profane shouting matches with them on the phone. Mr. Araya still has dreams about the hand signals traders use to indicate orders. His trading jacket hangs in his closet. Every day lately, he spends two hours online, trolling job Web sites like Monster.com and e-mailing former colleagues. The leads have dried up, since some of them are laid off themselves. He’s contacted headhunters, been on a dozen interviews in the last year and a half, but nothing has come of them. “It was a hard reality at first,” he says. “I used to see unemployed people and think they were lazy, that it was all on them. Now it’s happened to me.”

.

This is very sobering and it hits home. Recently unemployed and a young boy at home.

This is not fun.

Speaking of reasonable, only $570…

Not to be a total d!ck, but he was a 38 year old crude trader on the NYMEX (in 2007 of all years!), who was only making $200,000/year (if that’s your income why wouldn’t you buy a manhattan condo?). Somehow, he didn’t get the message earlier that the job wasn’t for him and he wasn’t exactly in a growing industry. Unfortuntely, there are uglier stories out there.

I respect that he is a family man and am rooting for him. But agree that he should not have bought a home for nearly five times his annual income.

"Mr. Araya dropped out of college in 1992 "

^ This is the problem…these guys should not have been worth $200k in the first place.

Not too long ago the stories read “from waiter to trader”. Recessions take their toll and this one in particular. I feel sorry for everybody who needs to go through adversities of this kind, but through all the whining you have to say that this guy made a mistake that most of us here don’t: We invest a lot in our education. This may not help much at the moment as the CFA behind your name doesn’t automatically protect you from being dismissed, but along the way it will help, I am sure. What is to like about the guy is that he made it quite far for someone with his educational background and that he is acting responsibly for his family. Not too many former traders would thus readily accept a job as lowly as waiter.

JohnThainsLimoDriver Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Carlos Araya used to order lobster, filet mignon > and $200 bottles of red > wine at the Palm Restaurant in midtown Manhattan. > > Now, he seats customers at its Tribeca branch. > > Mr. Araya, 38 years old, lost his job in 2007 as a > crude oil trader on the > New York Mercantile Exchange. After visiting > dozens of headhunters with no > luck, he applied in August 2008 to be a host at > the Palm to support his > wife, two young daughters and mortgage payments. > His salary has plunged > from $200,000 to $25,000. > > In Carlos Araya’s new job as a host at New York > City’s Palm Restaurant, he > sometimes seats colleagues from his former life on > Wall Street. > If the financial crisis was the flood, then the > Arayas are one of the > families standing in the stagnant waters left > behind. Some former Wall > Street employees, highly trained and accustomed to > comfortable salaries, > are having trouble translating their specialized > skills to other fields > that pay well, and instead find themselves forced > to accept low-wage work. > Now, Mr. Araya is on the brink of losing it all > and is doubtful that he > will ever return to Wall Street. > > And he isn’t alone. Nearly 25,000 jobs have been > lost in New York City’s > financial sector since August 2007, according to > the New York State > Department of Labor. The finance industry in New > York is expected to lose > 56,800 jobs from the end of 2007 to the beginning > of 2012, according to > projections from the Independent Budget Office, a > publicly funded > information agency. > > John Carbonaro was let go as a floor clerk by Bank > of America in January > 2009, and despite his job-hunting efforts, remains > a “Mr. Mom.” Joe > Morrone, a laid-off trading clerk from Prudential, > has been unemployed for > two years and struggles to support his daughters > and grandson. He has had > stints as a deli worker, a doorman and a bouncer. > “I used to have three > cars,” Mr. Morrone says. “Now I share one.” > > The result is an unlikely stream of erstwhile Wall > Street pros need help. > > “I’ve got 'em all – Lehman, AIG, Citi,” says Bob > Townley, head of > Manhattan Youth in Tribeca, an organization that > gave the Arayas financial > assistance to pay for childcare while they are > working. “I can hear it in a > parent’s voice when there’s trouble. Others are > too proud to ask for help.” > > Many of these parents once made donations to Mr. > Townley’s program. Now > they are asking for aid to pay for their kids. Mr. > Araya’s daughters, ages > 6 and 7, are in an after-school program at Mr. > Townley’s center. > > Nowadays, during Mr. Araya’s late nights at the > Palm, reminders of his old > life crop up when former colleagues come in. Some > are encouraging and offer > hugs. Others sneer, he says. “The way they look at > you, you know they’re > thinking negatively,” he says. Some are laid-off > like him, and ask if the > restaurant is hiring. > > As a host, Mr. Araya wears a suit and tie. He’s on > his feet most of the > day, either escorting guests to tables or manning > the podium at the front, > answering phone calls, managing reservations on > the computer and fielding > orders from wait staff and managers. > > Although he’s thankful for the work at the Palm, > paydays can be > bittersweet. “At the end of the week, I get my > paycheck,” he says, "and I > think, ‘I used to make this much in a day.’ " > > Mr. Araya’s wife, Dennise, has gone back to work > as an administrative > assistant for a construction company and leaves > home at 6 a.m. Mr. Araya > often works until one or two in the morning and on > weekends, leaving little > time for the family to be together. He calls his > daughters every night > during his break at the restaurant on his > cellphone to say good night. > > Mr. Araya now is the one who gets his children > ready for school. He’s > learned to tie pony tails, inadvertently shrunk > sweaters in the wash and > knows which grocery store has the best price on > milk. > > The Arayas stopped dining out, pulled their > daughters out of ballet and > tumbling classes, and dropped cable television – > even though the flat > screen he bought when they first moved in still > sits in the living room. > > Last month, for the first time, the Arayas didn’t > make a mortgage payment. > Their savings are almost depleted. The mortgage, > taxes and fees for the > family’s condo cost $6,200. Combined, he and > Denise bring in $4,000 a > month. Three months ago, he and his wife applied > to restructure their > mortgage. The bank told them it is still > processing the request. They fear > foreclosure and bankruptcy. > > Recently, their oldest daughter asked Mr. Araya if > the family would have to > move. He told her he didn’t know. She countered: > “How much money do we > need?” > > “The way she looked at me,” Mr. Araya says, “I > could tell she was counting > the money in her piggy bank.” He went into the > bathroom and cried. After a > few minutes, he dried his eyes and walked back > into the living room. > > Mr. Araya, the son of a cab driver, grew up in a > working-class neighborhood > in nearby Queens. Like thousands of New Yorkers, > he used a Wall Street job > to vault into a comfortable lifestyle that > included his apartment – bought > for $960,000 four years ago – in Manhattan’s > Battery Park City > neighborhood and family vacations to Cabo San > Lucas, Disneyland and Las > Vegas. > > The Arayas purchased the condo in 2005 with a 20% > down payment and a > pre-construction price. The proximity of the > two-bedroom, two-bathroom > apartment to the trading pit allowed Mr. Araya to > spend more time with his > family and less time commuting. Ms. Araya > diligently managed the family > budget with Excel charts to ensure that they had > no credit card debt, good > credit histories even an emergency fund saved over > five years that is now > depleted. Mr. Araya says he would be lucky to find > a buyer and break even > on the apartment now. > > Mr. Araya dropped out of college in 1992 to work > in the pits, where he > quickly advanced from runner to trader. He shifted > between large firms like > J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and smaller shops like > Aren Brokerage Service, the > firm that eventually laid him off. > > A wrestler in high school, Mr. Araya was known for > elbowing his way through > the loud commodities pits. Nights were late; > mornings began at 4:30 am, > fueled by coffee. > > “You’d clock in and just try to kill each other > till the bell rang,” Mr. > Araya says. > > He had a knack for the Merc job. He could gauge > from the roar of traders’ > voices how the market was faring. He gained loyal > clients, and was > confident enough to engage in profane shouting > matches with them on the > phone. Mr. Araya still has dreams about the hand > signals traders use to > indicate orders. His trading jacket hangs in his > closet. > > Every day lately, he spends two hours online, > trolling job Web sites like > Monster.com and e-mailing former colleagues. The > leads have dried up, since > some of them are laid off themselves. He’s > contacted headhunters, been on a > dozen interviews in the last year and a half, but > nothing has come of them. > > “It was a hard reality at first,” he says. “I used > to see unemployed people > and think they were lazy, that it was all on them. > Now it’s happened to > me.” I hope you now know where to go for lunch, McDonalds will never employ you if push comes to shove.

Guy is like where the f@#$ is my cheese!

I agree with Buddha. How in the world does someone get paid 200k to be a crude oil trader? what exactly do they do? are they market makers? speculators?

He used his high school wrestling skills to help earn his $200k per year. The other loser went back to being a bouncer after he lost his financial job. He owned 3 cars in NYC? Hello? Lastly, you got to be plumb stupid to buy a place in Battery Park. That is the most expensive and stupid part of manhattan (nice to walk around on a sunny day and catch a movie at an empty movie theater). Still… wish him luck but even I could’ve forseen this trainwreck.

FrankArabia Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I agree with Buddha. How in the world does someone > get paid 200k to be a crude oil trader? > > what exactly do they do? are they market makers? > speculators? So you agree, but have no clue what they do?

I dont see the big deal. He’s a host not a f’in waiter.

This guy could easily sell his home for over $960k. Considering he put down 20%, he could pocket a decent amount of coin and move out of the city. Good for him that he’s doing what he needs to do for his family but the first thing he should’ve done was to sell his home and move.

Now days a bachelors degree is the bare minimum for any type of job.

SimonNYC Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > This guy could easily sell his home for over > $960k. A condo in the financial district…

I’m sure just the maintenance fees and taxes on that condo are over $2000.