I told myself I’d give this place a year and then I’m gone. I’m fast approaching the one year mark. Finding a securities analysis job is a dead end for at least another year, even BO/MO roles are more scarce. Unless I get lucky, I suspect I will find there are not too many options out there except to find a better corporate finance job. My best case scenario is land a securities analyst role at a small AM shop. Base case – transition into a corporate treasury analyst role. Worst case – remain stuck in corporate FP&A. Really, I just want to be doing something I’m actually interested in. Hopefully I’ll get accepted to one of the MBA programs I’m applying to, then I might just quit and get a job as bartender (or something) until fall when I can retreat to the safety of academia and ride out the downturn for two years. Geez, I’m pathetic – actually I’m just really over where I am in my career and am having a rough day. No, actually, I am pathetic.
Its scary how much I am in the same boat as you I think i decided to postpone bschool for a year and float resumes/shore up the personal balance sheet a little
farney Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I think i decided to postpone bschool for a year > and float resumes/shore up the personal balance > sheet a little I’m tempted to do the same. At this point I think the longer one waits to go back, the higher the likelihood the securities industry will be rebounded the pipeline of laid off folks will be cleared and ramping up fresh talent will have commenced. The problem is the painstaking process of waiting doing corporate shit work in the mean time.
yeah i am pretty miserable at my current employer (not finance) and have passed L3, so I am really feeling like every day I spend here is a huge waste of my time. That being said, finding a job while switching careers into this market is a massive uphill climb. Will not get my hopes up, but would likely be willing to take a slight downgrade in position/salary at this point. Gouman, are you currently working in finance
Yeah, I work corporate financial planning and analysis.
What location are you in - country/area what kind of jobs are you going to try to target
wait…why wait to go back to b school another year?
panny145 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > wait…why wait to go back to b school another > year? thats more of a personal decision, im 1 year short of avg work experience, will probably be promoted, can improve my app basically. Im not really trying to “time” the job market so much as do the best thing for me personally. I think it will be just as competitive next year. Also if I was able to land a job between now and then I might not go at all. Still havent been convinced its that useful for AM or HF. Work experience is probably better there.
“I think i decided to postpone bschool for a year and float resumes/shore up the personal balance sheet a little” Farney - I would postpone bschool. Wall Street will be dead for several years to come. Additionally, the cost of bschool will be much less in the future imo. I would stay in your current job.
cfa_gremlin Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > “I think i decided to postpone bschool for a year > and float resumes/shore up the personal balance > sheet a little” > > Farney - I would postpone bschool. Wall Street > will be dead for several years to come. > Additionally, the cost of bschool will be much > less in the future imo. I would stay in your > current job. That’s good cfa_gremlin. Why didn’t I think of that ? …less the competition… the better our applications will look. heee heeee heee
Definitely not staying in my current job for more than another year or two, less if i can help it. I’ll quit and work construction or something. Better than killing yourself. > Additionally, the cost of bschool will be much > less in the future imo. Any basis for this? I think higher education in general is ludicrously overpriced, but I don’t see top 10 BSchools going down in price much in the next 2-3 years.
farney Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What location are you in - country/area > > what kind of jobs are you going to try to target I’m in Los Angeles. Obviously I’m shooting for buyside securities analysis, preferably small cap equity, but I’d analyze anything to break in. In this market, realistically, I’m probably will hit my backup, which is corporate treasury analyst role. I could see myself managing cash, and helping a firm manage it’s capital structure. Maybe enroll in the CTP program if I can make the transition. Other than that, it’s FP&A or switch careers out of finance completely (which I predict with 90% percent assurance I won’t do.) farney Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Any basis for this? I think higher education in > general is ludicrously overpriced, but I don’t see > top 10 BSchools going down in price much in the > next 2-3 years. Yields on student loans will almost surely be lower once the economy is perceived to be back on track. Private loans are hitting for 900 – 975 bips right now. I got my undergrad loan for like 700 bips a couple years ago.
farney Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Any basis for this? I think higher education in > general is ludicrously overpriced, but I don’t see > top 10 BSchools going down in price much in the > next 2-3 years. Farney - First, the cost of funding for education is through the roof presently. Second, bschool is way overpriced and the cost is a function of economic conditions such as job growth, inflation, and capital growth. Both are going to decline substantially imo. Top 10 schools will surely go down in price. MBA applicants looking for entry into the “fast and easy cash” of Wall Street are going to be few and far between. I am very bearish on the global economy and have been so the information I’m feeding you is definitely from a glass half-empty angle. Please keep that in my mind because I may be wrong, but I have been right so far with my deflation thesis. I manage money on the buy-side and jobs in finance, especially FO, are going to be few and far between for the next several years. Getting into B School right now is a terrible and very costly mistake imo.
Why would the cost of an MBA go down in price? There will be a lot of people jobless, FO jobs will be few and far between, so there will be a large pool of applicants for the coming years. Higher demand -> higher price. I don’t know any of the actual statistics of tuition costs, but I’m assuming costs rise, even outpacing inflation most of the time. The high demand factor would compound the problem more wouldn’t it? But anyway, I am searching for jobs always. I still send out resumes. I have a phone interview next week for a FO role.
I’m in Equity Research at Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers). I’m waiting until 2H09 to pack my stuff up and head over to Asia. It’s bad there as well now.
Gouman, how is the job market in your field? Are you seeing the economy hitting your area?
I heard the applications for B school are up this year and so are the people taking the GMAT exam. Education is counter cyclical! There was an article on CNBC mentioning business schools changing the courses that they are teaching in reaction to the economy and telling students to broaden their job search. There aren’t going to be that many i-banking jobs available in the future with Lehman, Bear, and Merrill gone.
read sallie maes filings - no way cost of grad school declines in near term. secular uptrend all the way.