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There's the theory that graduating in a recession reduces one's lifetime earning potential because starting salaries are severely hampered by an economic downturn.. and all future raises are usually based on one's past earnings.
I, being unlucky to graduate at such a time, am considering these options. Here are my thoughts (which may or may NOT be entirely correct):
1) More graduate school (PhD?) I already have 2 Masters degrees.. in fact, I originally enrolled in a PhD program straight out of college but discovered the hard way that I disliked doing research very much.. not surprisingly, the dept saw thru my level of enthusiasm and failed my qualifying exams.. and I left with my 1st MS. Sure, going back for a PhD and doing research might sound like torture but it's a lesser evil compared to struggling with this fiasco of a job market.
2) Work minimum wage until the job market improves in my field (Finance). Forget finding an entry-level job right now because even if I land one despite the odds, I'll likely be shortchanged... and when the economy improves, the new graduates entering these entry-level positions will likely be offered higher starting salaries despite my few years of experience at that point.
3) Teach English overseas. I've always wanted to travel but I really don't have the money to at this point (or the means of getting a job to save up the money, as I discussed earlier.) This is more of a personal preference since I enjoy learning about new cultures and interacting with people from a vastly different background.
4) Or just continue struggling, networking, sending 100s of applications every month, hoping to land a job within a year..
What school for Finance? What do you want to do? PE? VC? IB? Ops? Finance is hiring now, if you know someone or went to a top school you could definitely get interviews.
Some of my friends in Finance have gotten more interviews in the past 2-3 weeks than they did from 2008-August 2009.
What school for Finance? What do you want to do? PE? VC? IB? Ops? Finance is hiring now, if you know someone or went to a top school you could definitely get interviews.
Some of my friends in Finance have gotten more interviews in the past 2-3 weeks than they did from 2008-August 2009.
No to both.. I guess that's the main problem here and I do not see any feasible way of solving it, at least not right away..
Btw, I've gotten interviews, almost all after Aug '09.. none have led to an offer..
My main area of interest in Finance is trading (front office or back office).. though I'm open to anything at this point..
There's the theory that graduating in a recession reduces one's lifetime earning potential because starting salaries are severely hampered by an economic downturn.. and all future raises are usually based on one's past earnings.
I, being unlucky to graduate at such a time, am considering these options. Here are my thoughts (which may or may NOT be entirely correct):
1) More graduate school (PhD?) I already have 2 Masters degrees.. in fact, I originally enrolled in a PhD program straight out of college but discovered the hard way that I disliked doing research very much.. not surprisingly, the dept saw thru my level of enthusiasm and failed my qualifying exams.. and I left with my 1st MS. Sure, going back for a PhD and doing research might sound like torture but it's a lesser evil compared to struggling with this fiasco of a job market.
2) Work minimum wage until the job market improves in my field (Finance). Forget finding an entry-level job right now because even if I land one despite the odds, I'll likely be shortchanged... and when the economy improves, the new graduates entering these entry-level positions will likely be offered higher starting salaries despite my few years of experience at that point.
3) Teach English overseas. I've always wanted to travel but I really don't have the money to at this point (or the means of getting a job to save up the money, as I discussed earlier.) This is more of a personal preference since I enjoy learning about new cultures and interacting with people from a vastly different background.
4) Or just continue struggling, networking, sending 100s of applications every month, hoping to land a job within a year..
Well just from a pure money prospective, the lost wages from forgoing work to get a better salary are going to be more than the loss of salary from lower entry level salary and lower gross raises.
For instance is you expect make 55000 and only get 50000, that will cost you $42,000(if you get a 4 percent raise every year and a 10 percent raise every 5 years(for promotions), I think that is very generous, it also assumes you will never be unemployed for the entirety of your career(I used 45 years), I think a more realistic number is somewhere around 30-35k). If you work minimum wage or do something else you will likely lose that much money in a year or year and a half.
No to both.. I guess that's the main problem here and I do not see any feasible way of solving it, at least not right away..
Btw, I've gotten interviews, almost all after Aug '09.. none have led to an offer..
My main area of interest in Finance is trading (front office or back office).. though I'm open to anything at this point..
Every 23 year old kid and their baby brother wants to do front office trading, these guys only recruit from the elite schools, or if you have some exceptional quant skills.
My suggestion is to get into the back office in a boutique, be the absolute best in your department, and then hope one of the MD's notices.
You don't need to be in big company to manage money.
Look here PAMM-account Rating. Forex with Alpari
Also, read the book
Quantitative Trading: How to Build Your Own Algorithmic Trading Business by Ernie Chan
This doesn't teach you how to trade, but gives you some ideas about the area.
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