gk11 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > mpreskett, Hey DUDE! dont be talking in junior hs > manner to me, u got that?! If you read my posts > carefully u would know i dont plan to sit on my > @@s and just study… as a matter of fact i ve been > working non stop since the age of 17 and during > college almost full time hours… its just recently > i got injured and i had few month off. The fact of > the matter is that if u r born poor, u stay poor. > Education is just one of the ingredients that is > necessary to make it, but more importantly LUCK, > support system (financial, among other things) > connections, extra curriculum activities, > internships and all other things that make u stand > out among the competition is non existent when u > come from poverty bc they r just too busy trying > to survive day by day. Now there r exceptions, but > its true for the majority of the time. So, they > dont make it not bc of lack of try but bc their > background prevented them to get the competetive > edge that is required to succeed. And a lot of > times the people with poverty background work much > harder and have stronger work ethic but employers > couldnt care less abt it… They just wanna c the > standard criteria, basically internships, clubs in > college, recomendations and nothing else matters > bc they just dont give a damn in order to be a > little more open minded and think little > differently abt hiring process. > > > As far as social skills go, thats definitely not a > problem with me(not trying to sound arrogant) but > i ve heard and experienced few times through all > the interviews, people who are in finance are more > liikely to lack any social skills whatsoever. > Also, you can see that when u go to CFA exams. > > Now, to give perfect example a friend of mine who > works in well respected financial company, he has > few coworkers and he sometimes scratches his head, > wondering how in a world they got their job bc > they are so incompetent… while his friends (i am > not talking abt myself here) r unemployed or > underemployed. So that shows connections or simply > being at a right time, at right place plays BIG > role! in other words LUCK. > > Looking forward to more comments (without trying > to be smarta$$, tough guy wanna be or arrogant, if > thats the case keep to yourself!) > > Thank you 
very well said. HR is especially good to being a very narrow-minded incompetent robot.
BuySideWannabe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Very well said. If you are serious about getting > into the field, you need to move where the > opportunities exist. > > I experienced this problem in the last city I was > living - too small, limited opportunities - and > now that I am living in the major city for > Finance…I can barely handle all the calls for > interviews (seriously though, it was too easy > finding a job…albeit an entry level position) out of college I had a job offer as a starting analyst at $100 M hedge fund in a small southern US city, population about 150,000 people. it was a plum job. hands-on learning, doing deals and cap structure arbitrage on day 1, not just the grunt work. then i realized, where the hell do I go from here after I’m done w/ this place in 2 years? I passed and moved to NYC with no job. and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
prophets Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > BuySideWannabe Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > > Very well said. If you are serious about > getting > > into the field, you need to move where the > > opportunities exist. > > > > I experienced this problem in the last city I > was > > living - too small, limited opportunities - and > > now that I am living in the major city for > > Finance…I can barely handle all the calls > for > > interviews (seriously though, it was too easy > > finding a job…albeit an entry level position) > > > out of college I had a job offer as a starting > analyst at $100 M hedge fund in a small southern > US city, population about 150,000 people. it was > a plum job. hands-on learning, doing deals and > cap structure arbitrage on day 1, not just the > grunt work. then i realized, where the hell do I > go from here after I’m done w/ this place in 2 > years? I passed and moved to NYC with no job. > and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever > made. finish the story atleast,what happened in nyc and where are you now? we can decide if it’s the best decision = ) I am sure it is though
whystudy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > finish the story atleast,what happened in nyc and > where are you now? > we can decide if it’s the best decision = ) I am > sure it is though got a job at a $1+ B hedge fund. currently at a different hedge fund, but also $1+ B in size.
Hi prophets, would u like to share ur job hunting strategy in NY. i am assuming u didnt have many contacts. did u get the job by contacting the recruiters and applingonline to job postings ?im also planning moving there in near future.
panda2012 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I passed Level 3 and have an MBA from a state > school. When I do get job offers it’s for half of > what someone from a good school would get with no > MBA, not having passed any of the CFA exams, and > almost no experience. It’s getting a little > frustrating and I’m thinking about going to med > school. I’ve started in on the MCAT already. At > least with a medical degree I would be able to get > paid decently for my efforts… dude how much more time/$ are you going to “waste” educating yourself (“waste” as in being out of the workforce NOT earning income)!!! Medical school is like an 10 year commitment before you start making any kind of real money. My old roommate was a plastic surgeon in his final year of residency and he would SLEEP at the hospital ROUTINELY all the degrees in the world mean nothing if you cant turn them into something tangible (read: $$$) with and MBA and all three CFA levels passes something is surely up with the candidate if you’re havnig trouble hard truth but sorry
builders Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > panda2012 Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I passed Level 3 and have an MBA from a state > > school. When I do get job offers it’s for half > of > > what someone from a good school would get with > no > > MBA, not having passed any of the CFA exams, > and > > almost no experience. It’s getting a little > > frustrating and I’m thinking about going to med > > school. I’ve started in on the MCAT already. At > > least with a medical degree I would be able to > get > > paid decently for my efforts… > > dude how much more time/$ are you going to “waste” > educating yourself (“waste” as in being out of the > workforce NOT earning income)!!! > > Medical school is like an 10 year commitment > before you start making any kind of real money. My > old roommate was a plastic surgeon in his final > year of residency and he would SLEEP at the > hospital ROUTINELY > > all the degrees in the world mean nothing if you > cant turn them into something tangible (read: > $$$) > > with and MBA and all three CFA levels passes > something is surely up with the candidate if > you’re havnig trouble > > hard truth but sorry If Van Wilder wants to stay in school and study away, let him. I know too many people who are in school in their 30s and never worked a day in their life, but are so proud cause they are so much more EDUCATED THAN EVERYONE else. or atleast they think. Many of them don’t realize education is just a tool for them to make money; that’s the real point of studying. If not then why pay all the tuition, just study on your own.
^ People who pursue certain PhD’s may be doing it solely for the research and publications. I’ve seen a few people go this way.
faraz70s Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi prophets, > would u like to share ur job hunting strategy in > NY. i am assuming u didnt have many contacts. did > u get the job by contacting the recruiters and > applingonline to job postings ?im also planning > moving there in near future. online ads, alumni from school, family friends. got the job through an online ad and no outside help from uni/friends/family. a lot of it was just luck because I had the exact skill set the firm was looking for. but i never would have had that lucky break if I wasn’t in NYC to show up for the interview in the first place.
I work in retail for a sell side firm, been trying to break into sell side research for years. Just failed Level III band 10. I was so stoked to finally got a phone interview a few weeks ago. The CFA was not a selling point whatsoever. It’s required once you get the job of course, but starting out, the only thing anyone cares about is experience!! You would not believe the resumes/background of people that are applying for/already working in entry level positions right now. If you think you are qualified, think again. You have nothing compared to the top 5 resumes out of 2000 for an entry level position. The statistics speak for themselves. I’m taking Level III again, then considering quitting finance all together. It’s only getting worse out there, and if you’ve been paying attention to the changes sweeping the industry, you’ll recognize that it’s going to get allot worse over the next 5-10 years before it gets better.
montanidate Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I work in retail for a sell side firm, been trying > to break into sell side research for years. Just > failed Level III band 10. I was so stoked to > finally got a phone interview a few weeks ago. > The CFA was not a selling point whatsoever. It’s > required once you get the job of course, but > starting out, the only thing anyone cares about is > experience!! You would not believe the > resumes/background of people that are applying > for/already working in entry level positions right > now. If you think you are qualified, think again. > You have nothing compared to the top 5 resumes > out of 2000 for an entry level position. The > statistics speak for themselves. I’m taking Level > III again, then considering quitting finance all > together. It’s only getting worse out there, and > if you’ve been paying attention to the changes > sweeping the industry, you’ll recognize that it’s > going to get allot worse over the next 5-10 years > before it gets better. so with your wisdom, what industry are you going into? it’s really not all that bad.
It seems like everyone in this industry is a bunch of babies who can’t find jobs? Of course finding a spectacular position is difficult…but the way I see it, even ‘entry level jobs’ at very reputable firms are much better than the average position in any other industry… Having passed level 2 was a huge selling factor for me in Toronto…all the interviewers loved it, and valued the designation as a whole. Being realistic, I was only aiming at entry level jobs with major firms so it helped alot. Breaking into equity research, PM, etc etc might be another story…but even the journey to those positions is a good one haha I’m in this because I’m passionate about this stuff…i find some are in it purely for the ‘hopes of being rich’ and they are usually the ones who don’t make it far…
"everyone in this industry is a bunch of babies who can’t find jobs? " Clearly you are out there to make friends, BuySideWannabe.
Well, I would like to be… but over the last while it seems there are so many depressing threads with people complaining about trying to find a job…or saying that CFA is useless…I would hope this forum could actually contribute and help others, not just complain and be be continuously negative about life.
There’s a reason why so many people are complaining about not being able to find a job!!! We don’t do it because we enjoy it. In my view there are 2 things being discussed here: - how useful/useless the CFA is - how easy/hard it is to find a job For those of us trying to break into the industry, doing the CFA was supposed to help our chances of getting in. I think it’s understandable to feel a little resentment towards it if after passing 2 or 3 levels you can’t even get a single interview. Expressing this opinion in a thread like this one is inevitable in the current economy. Maybe the payoff hasn’t happened yet and opinions will change a few years down the line. If this discussion had taken place before the summer of 2008 I bet it would have been completely different. It’s also arguable that complaining about how hard it is to someone in a forum is actually doing them a favour, and remember this thread did start by someone asking how tough it is as opposed to someone starting it just to have a rant.
BuySideWannabe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It seems like everyone in this industry is a bunch > of babies who can’t find jobs? > > Of course finding a spectacular position is > difficult…but the way I see it, even ‘entry > level jobs’ at very reputable firms are much > better than the average position in any other > industry… > > Having passed level 2 was a huge selling factor > for me in Toronto…all the interviewers loved it, > and valued the designation as a whole. Being > realistic, I was only aiming at entry level jobs > with major firms so it helped alot. > > Breaking into equity research, PM, etc etc might > be another story…but even the journey to those > positions is a good one haha > > I’m in this because I’m passionate about this > stuff…i find some are in it purely for the > ‘hopes of being rich’ and they are usually the > ones who don’t make it far… so what position and firm are you working in toronto?
It’s for a boutique investment management firm in the financial district…and my position is a funds admin…it’s very entry level but I have good exposure to everything which I like…my main tasks involves asset allocation changes to meet the portfolio mandates and analyzing the portfolio pricing…i’m probably over qualified for my role but if i perform really well then the opportunity exists in the firm to get into the analysts positions (or portfolio analytics) nothing incredible, but I really like it so far…
bluesman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For those of us trying to break into the industry, > doing the CFA was supposed to help our chances of > getting in. Wrong. If you look at the demographics of charterholders in the past you would notice the majority were already working in finance.
Bpdulog Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > bluesman Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > For those of us trying to break into the > industry, > > doing the CFA was supposed to help our chances > of > > getting in. > > Wrong. If you look at the demographics of > charterholders in the past you would notice the > majority were already working in finance. Did i ever tell you that I like my waffles with maple syrup and vanilla ice-cream?
BuySideWannabe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It’s for a boutique investment management firm in > the financial district…and my position is a > funds admin…it’s very entry level but I have > good exposure to everything which I like…my main > tasks involves asset allocation changes to meet > the portfolio mandates and analyzing the portfolio > pricing…i’m probably over qualified for my role > but if i perform really well then the opportunity > exists in the firm to get into the analysts > positions (or portfolio analytics) > > nothing incredible, but I really like it so > far… Wonder what bontique firm you are at. there are only so many. traditional asset class, canadian equity fund?