What is finance like ?

[Aba_juggin]

It is it's very lucrative long term therefore many people want to get their foot in the door for limited spots. So you basically have to go about the unconventional way which is go above and beyond applying online for positions. Use your Linkedin or alumni network or just network in general. Even for those who attended Ivy League, the network is where it is at. You have to sell yourself be fake at times but that's the game. I don't like socializing either and I thought my education/grades would do all the talking but I was wrong as hell.

Isn't it that way for most careers

 

[Frangala]

Isn't it that way for most careers

No not really, one profession I can think of is the health/sciences field. One of my good friends from college just graduated med school. To become a physician is as meritocratic as it gets. The only thing that matters are your grades in undergrad, and eventually med school, board exams and some research. Nobody is hiring a physician just because he is connected to the head surgeon at the hospital. It's truly a true meritocracy that's why you see a lot of immigrants in the field.

 

[Frangala]

I miss strategizing and raising capital albeit mines were smaller raises though
you are gonna eat something vicious in the next couple of years

The goal is to work in the field for the next 10-12 years and cultivate those relationships with investors because they say fundraising is hard as hell especially when you are dealing with that specific region of the world, people tend to be very risk averse. But before I'm 40, I want to have my own fund and just try to learn as much as possible for the next 10-12 years.

 

[Cynic]

The goal is to work in the field for the next 10-12 years and cultivate those relationships with investors because they say fundraising is hard as hell especially when you are dealing with that specific region of the world, people tend to be very risk averse. But before I'm 40, I want to have my own fund and just try to learn as much as possible for the next 10-12 years.

To be honest all people care about is results ... if your track record reflects success then you won't have any issues raising capital.
Probably a good idea to network with the big cheeses in your target countries though. I wouldn't stay married to american investors
neither, it is a big world afterall.

All those trillions offshore and so few opportunities

 

[phcitywarrior]

The goal is to work in the field for the next 10-12 years and cultivate those relationships with investors because they say fundraising is hard as hell especially when you are dealing with that specific region of the world, people tend to be very risk averse. But before I'm 40, I want to have my own fund and just try to learn as much as possible for the next 10-12 years.

My man, how can one break into the industry post undergrad after say 2 year working as a Business Analyst within Hospitality (large US based Hospitality firm). I don't particularly care for Finance but I do understand/revere the exit opportunities of Wall Street Finance e.g. My younger sister is an undergrad at UPenn. She was dead set on Management Consulting but once Goldman Sachs gave her a summer intership offer for IB she was re-considering.

2 years as an analyst on the Street is golden. Especially since I plan to return to Nigeria by the time I'm 35 max (22 right now).

 

[Aba_juggin]

My man, how can one break into the industry post undergrad after say 2 year working as a Business Analyst within Hospitality (large US based Hospitality firm). I don't particularly care for Finance but I do understand/revere the exit opportunities of Wall Street Finance e.g. My younger sister is an undergrad at UPenn. She was dead set on Management Consulting but once Goldman Sachs gave her a summer intership offer for IB she was re-considering.

2 years as an analyst on the Street is golden. Especially since I plan to return to Nigeria by the time I'm 35 max (22 right now).

How much do these pay

 

[Frangala]

My man, how can one break into the industry post undergrad after say 2 year working as a Business Analyst within Hospitality (large US based Hospitality firm). I don't particularly care for Finance but I do understand/revere the exit opportunities of Wall Street Finance e.g. My younger sister is an undergrad at UPenn. She was dead set on Management Consulting but once Goldman Sachs gave her a summer intership offer for IB she was re-considering.

2 years as an analyst on the Street is golden. Especially since I plan to return to Nigeria by the time I'm 35 max (22 right now).

Since you are not in school it's a bit harder. It's a lot easier from my experience to get into the door while in school (undergraduate or graduate specifically MBA programme) to get into the big IBs. Other than that, just network (I know I used to hate that word when I was in a not so good position). Linkedin can be your friend just use it as much as you can, it's a process. Management Consulting for McK, BCG, & Bain or IB experience are the conventional pathway to get into private equity no matter what region especially for emerging markets. So your best bet since you are out of school would be to go into Management Consulting and use the value of being an analyst for a hospitality firm since management consulting is so general but deals with strategy implementation for private sector enterprises.

In my opinion without the internship in college from a well recognized IB, it's hard to break into that world as an analyst or associate post undergrad. However, management consulting tends to be flexible in terms of previous work experience especially the private sector.

So just crack up those case study books, and try to get an interview for management consulting and that should serve as a launching pad for Private Equity especially in emerging markets unless you want to do a MBA or go back to school so you can try to get your foot into wall street that way through student programmes.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Since you are not in school it's a bit harder. It's a lot easier from my experience to get into the door while in school (undergraduate or graduate specifically MBA programme) to get into the big IBs. Other than that, just network (I know I used to hate that word when I was in a not so good position). Linkedin can be your friend just use it as much as you can, it's a process. Management Consulting for McK, BCG, & Bain or IB experience are the conventional pathway to get into private equity no matter what region especially for emerging markets. So your best bet since you are out of school would be to go into Management Consulting and use the value of being an analyst for a hospitality firm since management consulting is so general but deals with strategy implementation for private sector enterprises.

In my opinion without the internship in college from a well recognized IB, it's hard to break into that world as an analyst or associate post undergrad. However, management consulting tends to be flexible in terms of previous work experience especially the private sector.

So just crack up those case study books, and try to get an interview for management consulting and that should serve as a launching pad for Private Equity especially in emerging markets unless you want to do a MBA or go back to school so you can try to get your foot into wall street that way through student programmes.

My man, I really appreciate this post.

My situation is interesting as I have a network within top Finance. I have a mentor that was at Carlyle and Credit Suisse, an uncle with a private Hedge Fund and the rest and a working relationship with the an MD at an outsourced CIO firm.

It seems like networking is my best bet then.

 

[Frangala]

My man, I really appreciate this post.

My situation is interesting as I have a network within top Finance. I have a mentor that was at Carlyle and Credit Suisse, an uncle with a private Hedge Fund and the rest and a working relationship with the an MD at an outsourced CIO firm.

It seems like networking is my best bet then.

Bro you just mentioned that casually like it's nothing lol. Yea bro use that network instead of having to stay on the line like everybody else.

 

[desjardins]

I'm a software developer for a Hedge Fund, outside of a little of graph theory work to calculate cumulative fees and an innovation lab I'm working with it's mainly CRUD stuff. Newer tech stack at least.
If I were a real hustler I'd be leveling up my skills and getting into a place like Jane Street

 

[Aba_juggin]

I'm a software developer for a Hedge Fund, outside of a little of graph theory work to calculate cumulative fees and an innovation lab I'm working with it's mainly CRUD stuff. Newer tech stack at least.
If I were a real hustler I'd be leveling up my skills and getting into a place like Jane Street

We're you a computer science major

 

[phcitywarrior]

Bro you just mentioned that casually like it's nothing lol. Yea bro use that network instead of having to stay on the line like everybody else.

Lol, I just started recently looking into Finance, I wouldn't want to reach out to that my uncle until I'm dead certain I want to be in Finance. He's a Wall Street cat so I can't be approaching all willy nilly with no plan.

 

[desjardins]

We're you a computer science major

No



Yo yall look into blockchain and the implications it may have on the industry. My company is going really hard doing innovation labs using blockchain technology. And I know Nasdaq has a blockchain project named Linq. Off the bat blockchain woujld get rid of a lot of back/middle office reconciliation type jobs. Just something to look at.

 

[KingBeez]

Y’all thanks for this information brehs! I’m currently a finance major, but I switched from Mechanical Engineering junior year ()

I feel like I’m a step behind everyone because I’ve been rushing to catch up so I can possibly graduate this year (I’ll be 21), but I’m starting to realize that I need to take as much time I can and start making connections

Two questions:

What are some good entry positions as a finance major?

And what are some good websites/books/etc. to master topics needed to become a great finance analyst/IB/etc? Any help is appreciated

 

[phcitywarrior]

Y’all thanks for this information brehs! I’m currently a finance major, but I switched from Mechanical Engineering junior year ()

I feel like I’m a step behind everyone because I’ve been rushing to catch up so I can possibly graduate this year (I’ll be 21), but I’m starting to realize that I need to take as much time I can and start making connections

Two questions:

What are some good entry positions as a finance major?

And what are some good websites/books/etc. to master topics needed to become a great finance analyst/IB/etc? Any help is appreciated

I'll say this, don't rush things. The thing about college is that you really have time to focus without a lot of the responsibilities of real life.

To your questions:

1. Arguably the best (or most prestigious) position for a finance major upon graduation is as an Investment Bank Analyst, ideally with a Bulge bracket firm e.g. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley etc within a major financial center e.g. NYC, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Zurich, Frankfurt, Abu Dhabi etc. Outside of that, any Business Analyst position with a strong focus on Finance will be pretty good. Equity and commodity analysts I've heard are also pretty good but I do think IB is the best way to go. Even if you can't get a Bulge bracket firm, I think it'd be good to go to a smaller market or niche firm to get exposure to the industry.

2. Not 100 percent sure on books. Honestly whatever upper level undergraduate/junior level graduate school textbook on Finance you can find is probably solid. A lot of Finance is simple math equations that build upon themselves. Once you have the basics down it's all good from there. You may need to find something on Investment theory however.
One thing I've been told is good is to read either the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times (the Business and Finance sections at least) and make a stride to understand the macro-economic climates from the books. Also, for every business term you don't understand do some research on Investopedia (great resource for Financial concepts as well).

All the power to you breh. Take your time in college, crush your classes (the workload shouldn't be bad considering you were a Mechie) and try to get at least 1 internship within Finance under your belt.