Less competitive financial jobs

Long before I started my job search, it became clear to me that coming from unknown school in such economy I would have hard times looking for entry level positions in equity research. Now the deeper I get into my search, the more hopeless it seems. I guess, there are many recent grads among AFers that can relate to this kind of situation. In view of this, I decided that it’s time that I shift my focus to some of the less competitive fields of finance. In order of preference, other fields I’m considering include: risk management/analysis, credit analysis, fixed incomes, corporate finance, middle/back office. So, what I will be very interested in learning from you, guys, is: which of the aforementioned fields of finance do you think I stand a chance of getting into, considering the profile I’ve outlined below? And if you have any suggestions as how to improve my profile or what other jobs I may find interesting, I’ll be glad if you share. My profile can be summed up as follows: * B.S. in Finance, 4.0/4.0 GPA from a decent albeit completely unknown university in Eastern Europe (graduated a month ago) * Passed CFA level I this June * Passion about researching companies and industries (from investor’s or lender’s standpoint) * Some interest towards quantitative methods * Advanced proficiency in Excel, Access, VBA and some familiarity with C#, MySQL, Bloomberg terminals and statistical software * Some irrelevant administrative work experience * I occasionally publish articles on my financial blog (e.g. http://seekingalpha.com/article/252531-strong-outlook-for-russian-telecoms-if-the-recovery-continues) * I’m currently in NYC, but I’m ready to move wherever I can find a job I’m looking for Thanks. And sorry if I was to wordy

I’ll give you (and anyone else that cares to read a) big help. Go to some offshore location - Luxembourg / Cayman etc etc etc and you will be in a much less competitive financial arena. The jobs tend to be dominated by locals. The locals often get a well paying job and don’t even have a college degree in many cases. We’re talking typically low six figures for the locals but also low tax (say 20%) plus 9-5 work hours. You will be a rockstar. You can get in direct oftentimes and also initially by contract. Seen it done a million times and no A type personalities. You are probably capped at about $300k if you become COO etc but locals that own their own firm (e.g. trusts) rake it in by the million. And they still know fk all about the markets… So let me repeat: high wages, low taxes, easy lifestyle, low competition.

Dude_CFA Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I’ll give you (and anyone else that cares to read > a) big help. > > Go to some offshore location - Luxembourg / Cayman > etc etc etc and you will be in a much less > competitive financial arena. The jobs tend to be > dominated by locals. The locals often get a well > paying job and don’t even have a college degree in > many cases. We’re talking typically low six > figures for the locals but also low tax (say 20%) > plus 9-5 work hours. You will be a rockstar. You > can get in direct oftentimes and also initially by > contract. Seen it done a million times and no A > type personalities. You are probably capped at > about $300k if you become COO etc but locals that > own their own firm (e.g. trusts) rake it in by the > million. And they still know fk all about the > markets… > > So let me repeat: high wages, low taxes, easy > lifestyle, low competition. Looking offshore sounds like a good idea, but I don’t think the grass is greener everywhere. From what I’ve heard, Luxembourg mainly offers legal / accounting / administrative positions.

yet another great advice from Dude_cfa i agree completely as it is my personal experience also.

cityboy Wrote: > > Looking offshore sounds like a good idea, but I > don’t think the grass is greener everywhere. From > what I’ve heard, Luxembourg mainly offers legal / > accounting / administrative positions. Sorry, I should have added also mind numbingly boring (with one or two exceptions).

How exactly do you go about getting a job in Luxembourg? Wouldn’t they expect you to speak French?

Dude_CFA, thanks for the advice. I would have guessed that job market there is just the opposite of what you’ve described. Unfortunately, it’s not an option for me right now, because I will lose my US immigration status if I find employment outside the country. Maybe you can think of some less competitive regions within the US?

Commercial banking?

dmiller385, I appreciate your input. I was thinking about commercial credit analysis, but I can’t seem to find any other entry-level job options in commercial banking that would allow me to put my skills to use. Maybe you could specify what specific positions you had on your mind?

Dude_CFA, could you please specify more about above mentioned offshore locations? If we’re talking about Luxembourg, I heard that there is quite large competinion, althought not that large as in US. And what other countries would qualify your “offshore” criterion? Malta? I hope you answer in more details because it could be very important for my future career planning.

B-sea loved your articles on seeking alpha. Good Job. Why not use those to small boutique firms here in NYC? Or I guess you already have done that? Anyway, I came from abroad as well, but studied in Switzerland. I’m not doing ER, my hours are crappy and my pay is meh. But it’s an interesting experience. Maybe you can try boston as well? There’s a rise in sustainability research there in small firms (usif.org). Good luck.

zinamarina, thanks, I’m glad you liked my article. As long as it involves equity/fixed income research, I don’t really care whether the job comes from BB or a tiny boutique. Unfortunately, boutiques don’t seem to have too many open entry-level positions right now either. I’m browsing jobs all across Eastern US. Boston is actually at the top of my list - really love that city. I’m afraid your link doesn’t work. I’ve googled “Sustainability research”, but most of those jobs seem to require Engineering or Environmental science degree and have little or nothing to do with finance. Perhaps, I’m looking at a wrong place though. Again, thanks for the input

Hm I actually looked at some research jobs. They would focus on corporate governance and socially responsible investing. Like MSCI (which I heard they’re hiring by the way). What about financial journalism? What about Cali? Or Chicago. I’ve heard good things although I’m not ready to leave NY. Keep looking though. I’m sure you will find something.

I’ve looked up MSCI openings, but they seem to focus exlusively on PhD candidates. I will look them up again in case they get some less demanding positions to fill, so thanks anyway. Journalism: didn’t really think about it. Aren’t you supposed to be a native-speaker to do that? Good point about California and Chicago. I am now sending out my resume all across the country. I think today I’ve even applied for a job in Idaho

optiix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dude_CFA, could you please specify more about > above mentioned offshore locations? If we’re > talking about Luxembourg, I heard that there is > quite large competinion, althought not that large > as in US. And what other countries would qualify > your “offshore” criterion? Malta? I hope you > answer in more details because it could be very > important for my future career planning. Offshore is typically a place where there are tax advantages relative to the main country. However the following places normally fall under the definition off the top of my head: Malta/Lux/Liechenstein/Monaco/The Channel Islands/Isle of Man/Cayman Islands/Most of the the Caribbean Islands e.g. Bahamas/Netherland Antilles/Irish Business District You will note that most funds are set up for distribution in these countries as they offer either great tax incentives for the funds (and often individuals) or are in places where the regulation is very simplified and it is easy to set up funds. Basically, 99% of any place listed in a funds prospectus as the domicile is a tax haven. If you are a Fund Director you can spend time flitting to one or another of the above mentioned places - nice work if you can get it. I have a feeling that Montevideo & Singapore may also have some advantages of this type. If you want to discuss more, set up another thread so we dont detract from the OP request and I will answer there. For the OP, you may want to try somewhere like Bloomberg/The SEC/Moodys/S&P/Fitch. These are reasonably well regarded service providers to the finance industry in general and can be a stepping stone to an Investment Bank and so on.

Dude_CFA, the same week you wrote this last post I was invited for an interview for a great entry-level job in financial services. I got the offer and started a week ago. I’ve got to say that things turned out much better than expected. Lessons learned: couple of weeks into seemingly futile job search is too early to feel discouraged.

Thats great - what are you doing?

Awesome! Congrats. What are you doing? Did you apply through a recruiter? Or company’s website? Or other medium? I’m also looking to move on from my position that’s why I ask.

Well done. Life has a habit of working out.

Way to go B_SEA!