So this is it. I haven’t posted on this forum since I got my results for the June 09 exam. I failed (band 10) for the 2nd time in a row. After that I did some deep soul searching. As an undergrad I started out as a Pre-med major…one thing led to another and I decided to switch majors. I basically got lazy, and couldn’t see myself spending the better half of my life in school. I thought Finance would be a great major. I took an entry level FInace course taught by a former Soloman Bond Trader, and I was hooked from there. His stories used to leave me in awe. I thought to myself, “I can’t wait to get out of here and work on a trading floor”…turns out, that’s not as easy it seems. Especially since I don’t live in the notorious Finance cities. So I decided that the CFA (used as a noun, and I don’t care) would be the difference maker, and would surely stamp my ticket to a trading floor. Welp seeing as how I couldn’t pass the damn thing, I guess I’ll never know. But I think my breaking point is when I went to one of my freinds’ houses and saw his trading area all set up. The kid’s office looked like the trading floor at GS. Flat screens and computer monitors everywhere. He is making quite a good living doing that too. I thought to myself: why the hell am I torturing myself with an exam, when this nuckle head barely made it through undergrad, and he’s trading and profiting." I then realized that This finance stuff isn’t for me. This is such a cut throat industry, and that’s not really conducive to my personality. Never, in the last 2 years since I graduated school, have I felt like I’ve done something to better somone. All I’ve done is stuff to better myself. Long story short, I have decided to go after my original dream (sort of). I have registered to take the remaining pre-req classes that I need to go to Physician Assistant school. Not a doctor, but not far off. (for those of you that don’t know, PA’s do everything a doctor does for the most part, but work under the supervision of a Dr. More than a nurse, but not the Dr. None the less, it’s a great job) I just wanted to vent and I thought this is the best place. I commend alll of you that work in this industry, and have finished (or are finishing) the program. Let’s just say I know when to fold a losing hand! Good luck, and happy new year.
DustyBallz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So this is it. I haven’t posted on this forum > since I got my results for the June 09 exam. I > failed (band 10) for the 2nd time in a row. After > that I did some deep soul searching. > As an undergrad I started out as a Pre-med > major…one thing led to another and I decided to > switch majors. I basically got lazy, and couldn’t > see myself spending the better half of my life in > school. I thought Finance would be a great major. > I took an entry level FInace course taught by a > former Soloman Bond Trader, and I was hooked from > there. His stories used to leave me in awe. I > thought to myself, “I can’t wait to get out of > here and work on a trading floor”…turns out, > that’s not as easy it seems. Especially since I > don’t live in the notorious Finance cities. So I > decided that the CFA (used as a noun, and I don’t > care) would be the difference maker, and would > surely stamp my ticket to a trading floor. Welp > seeing as how I couldn’t pass the damn thing, I > guess I’ll never know. But I think my breaking > point is when I went to one of my freinds’ houses > and saw his trading area all set up. The kid’s > office looked like the trading floor at GS. Flat > screens and computer monitors everywhere. He is > making quite a good living doing that too. I > thought to myself: why the hell am I torturing > myself with an exam, when this nuckle head barely > made it through undergrad, and he’s trading and > profiting." I then realized that This finance > stuff isn’t for me. This is such a cut throat > industry, and that’s not really conducive to my > personality. Never, in the last 2 years since I > graduated school, have I felt like I’ve done > something to better somone. All I’ve done is stuff > to better myself. > > Long story short, I have decided to go after my > original dream (sort of). I have registered to > take the remaining pre-req classes that I need to > go to Physician Assistant school. Not a doctor, > but not far off. (for those of you that don’t > know, PA’s do everything a doctor does for the > most part, but work under the supervision of a Dr. > More than a nurse, but not the Dr. None the less, > it’s a great job) I just wanted to vent and I > thought this is the best place. I commend alll of > you that work in this industry, and have finished > (or are finishing) the program. Let’s just say I > know when to fold a losing hand! Good luck, and > happy new year. What exactly are you asking us to think about?
Good luck with your pursuits. In truth, we need a lot more health care workers out there than we need bean counters. I wish my passion intersected with caring for people, doing something actually useful. I won’t delude myself into thinking (as Lloyd Blankfein does) that finance is ‘gods work’… PS - I attempted to make a living trading short term for a few yrs, and couldn’t make anything come fruitful of it, and honestly I’ve never met anyone since who has on their own money. Beware of trading monkeys with 8 screens. I’m not convinced anything more than 2 (actually 1) screens makes a difference, unless he is actually making money on rebate trading (liquidity providing… getting paid on volume) and not so much scalping by itself.
DustyBallz Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I have registered to > take the remaining pre-req classes that I need to > go to Physician Assistant school. Not a doctor, > but not far off. (for those of you that don’t > know, PA’s do everything a doctor does for the > most part, but work under the supervision of a Dr. > More than a nurse, but not the Dr. None the less, > it’s a great job) Is this similar to being an executive assistant to an investment banker? You do everything the banker does under the supervision of a banker, but he gets all the pay and you get all the sh!t work? Sweet!
Good for you for having the courage and confidence to do what you truely enjoy instead of forcing yourself into a particular industry and being miserable. Best of Luck!
I like your username, DustyBallz.
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I like your username, DustyBallz. what you really mean is that you like dusty balls, which also happens to be the username of some dude on AF, no?
Mobius Striptease Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > sublimity Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I like your username, DustyBallz. > > > what you really mean is that you like dusty balls, > which also happens to be the username of some dude > on AF, no? damn, got me again! how does your cleverness overcome the cleverness of your username? BTW, happy new year’s mofo.
happy new year!
What do I really think? Hey, less competition for me.
Mr. Ballz, If there is one thing I’ve learned in 2009 it’s that life is too short to be miserable. You need to do what makes you happy. Good luck to you sir.
think nursing. probably a better fit.
Good luck focker.
Best of luck! I know a lot of us (myself included) are thinking of jumping ship in the pursuit of happiness. Also I find it odd that so many on here feel the need to insult you or your intelligence.
DustyBallz Wrote: > Long story short, I have decided to go after my > original dream (sort of). I have registered to > take the remaining pre-req classes that I need to > go to Physician Assistant school. Sounds like a great plan! Good luck!
You’ll be making more than 90% of the people in finance (and this message board for that matter).
maybe you can be a anesthesiology nurse and make bank!! joking aside I think thats great. My best friend from high school went to Northwestern and got her BA/MA in journalism (+ that debt) and after writing ‘help’ text for microsoft for a couple years decided that she hated it and went to a CC to take here missing pre-med prerecs. She is now awaiting results from here med school apps… she is also happier than ever. Her dream was similar to ours- she wanted the 1% of ‘ideal’ jobs in her field… ie fashion mag editor, but once she realized that it would most likely end in a monkey job she decided all her education was a sunk cost and went for a more pragmatic dream. Yeah- she’s got a lot of school ahead of her, but at least she’ll be waking up with a smile on her face.
sublimity Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I like your DustyBallz. ^Fixed^ now let the bromance begin
If you like finance, keep pushing and don’t ever give up. Don’t let the results of two exams sway your life. If have a passion for being a physician’s assistant, then jump into it wholeheartedly. However, don’t pursue a certain path because it seems like the easy one, unless you want to lead a life of mediocrity, which some people like to do and are very happy doing so.