What do you do?

Hi @Mattjuniper, I did quite a lot of work with companies like yours on offshore structures, lol.

M&A was a great experience, but a hectic and tiring one. The hours are long, but the work can be interesting if your work turns into a deal. But it wasn’t sustainable for me (as I do like my sleep), hence switching to the corporate sector (as in-house M&A/corporate strategy team) was the best decision I’ve made! You feel more like a team than a mercenary too, as you only have 1 client now and I’ve learnt much more being in the industry rather than just sell-side advisory….

Are you thinking about B-school? I did that too few years back, and debated about it too. I feel the same, only the top school is worthwhile to go (cost aside), but the cost at the moment is not justified. I always felt that experience is more valuable, or even taking time out to try starting a business perhaps – it’s like learning MBA on the go in real life.

Bawstun!

Wow that’s amazing @Sophie! Do admire your guts…

@Sophie we can be your first customers :p

Hi All. I work for GE as a systems analyst coding and maintaining their Oracle database… I am also freshly done with my undergrad and all excited about the world :). I do not really hate my job per say, I think I really like what I am doing currently, but finance has always been something quite attractive to me. And hence the CFA to see if I can fit in or not… After CFA Level 3, if I think I still love it then would try to get into equity analysis (for now thats the plan at least), if not then it would be a fun ride!

@swift interesting – that’s more or less exactly what I did. 😀

Hey all, Level 1 Candidate, currently a portfolio analyst for a giant Investment/Asset Management firm +$2T AUM. I graduated with my MBA in 2012, and am looking forward to being through level 1 (HOPEFULLY!!!)

Hi @Bobbarkerplaysplinko – that sounds great, shouldn’t be too difficult a switch, just have to try hard and interview like a ninja!

@Sophie prejudices just makes me want to work harder.
My mother and I decided to start our own business.

Oh wow, that’s awesome and very enterprising @Sarah! Any work experience is always better than nothing.

Welcome @apoolla13! You’re one of the “young ones” now! 😛

Thanks Snippy… That means I’ve got tons to learn from you guys :-*

I’m in sales, which doesn’t actually involve a lot of client meetings (at least at my level). clients are institutional investors so a lot of the work is analytical and pitches, kind of similar to investment banking in a way 🙂

@Sophie thanks for bringing me into this topic.

I find asset management pretty interesting would hope to get into.

Though I know there’s demand in the software side of finance, e.g. java developer etc.

what about you (you mentioned you’re gonna try something new)?

How is the job search coming along then @vincentt? Is it difficult to switch into AM for someone of your background?

Hello @apoolla13! welcome to the team 🙂 Well, you’re still young and there’s no better time to explore your interest as a career! @vincentt here is in similar situation to you too, so you’re not alone! I’ll let him elaborate his background 🙂

What kind of software do you create @Vincentt?

@Sophie yeah i couldn’t decide what was the next step for me so became a contractor and have worked for Financial services firms, charities and construction firms its nice and varied but also means a lot to take in at the start of each contract.

Private Equity is a strange beast which involves lots of dealing with fund managers, solicitors and company secretaries each have their own “Quirks” Flicking through the private equity reading has brought a lot of it screaming back. It does have its perks and its interesting to see how the money raised is used to grow the company. Unfortunately it is a very risky area and you see a lot of companies fail. But on the other side when companies succeed they make a very nice profit.

@TonyPetrunin in Private equity is a varied beast across the globe but generally you’ll find the companies are really small, unless your in a global mega fund. The analysis is totally different as well you look into everything in the company so processes, structures and potential to make significant returns. While it can be interesting it can also be very daunting you need to essentially become an expert in a sector or be able to build relationships with sector experts and get them to explain every detail to you (Not always the easiest thing).
The Firm i worked at was very small and had the senior advisers who were the ones who were responsible for a lot of the picking of investments along with our corporate advisers. Then the more junior advisers would have to identify the suitability of the investments for their clients. This is slightly different from some of the other private equity firms out there. Most of the senior guys came from a corporate finance or accounting background as a lot of the work is accounts based.

Probably the biggest myth is that its a licence to make money it is a tough investment type and takes a long time to build to make the serious deals. I work as an adviser during the worst part of the financial downturn in the UK so confidence in any investment was low and as i previously mentioned there were a lot of unsavory firms who were claiming to be selling PE and IPO shares but they were essentially boiler rooms and junk shares. I think i put in 60 hour weeks trying to build relationships and find suitable clients this lead my managers to offer me a back office role as they could see the potential but knew that I was a few weeks away from burning out.

My reasons for CFA is really to be able to offer full investment advice for my clients rather than one small part of their portfolio

Probably the biggest myth is that its a licence to make money it is a tough investment type and takes a long time to build to make the serious deals.

That’s spot on @Gary. I notice that people tend to think PE is easy life. While compared to M&A in an investment bank – yes perhaps, but it largely depends on the sector and investment style of the PE itself. But it’s an interesting sector to be in when you enjoy sector analysis, longer term investment, but it’s not a walk in the park either.

@sophie I actually went after my Masters of Science. I landed a great scholarship and decided to run with the opportunity and ditched my financial services job to go after the MS. Never looked back and have been very happy with my decision.

Ah sorry my bad @Tonypetrunin. I misunderstood 🙂 Nice one, I know that feeling, you just gotta drop everything and do it!

Sleep mostly. 🙂 When I am awake I work as project manager with a bank in financial compliance.

oh wow sounds interesting @clwcain! It’s good to explore options always, I’m always with the view that your career path is always a zigzag and never the same 🙂

I work in Credit Risk Management at an AM, but my goal is to go into Credit/Equity Research 🙂

I work in commercial lending now. I’d like to get into mid-market debt placement or i-banking, particularly on an international level.

@Sophie it is fun. I was never an avid jewelry fan but I get to use a bunch of techniques I’ve picked up while studying for my undergraduate and that makes me happy!

I’m especially proud of the back-end systems and profit tracking systems I created. =D

Hello @apoolla13! welcome to the team 🙂 Well, you’re still young and there’s no better time to explore your interest as a career! @vincentt here is in similar situation to you too, so you’re not alone! I’ll let him elaborate his background 🙂

Thanks Sophie. I’m sorry couldn’t respond earlier. I’ve just realized how bad I am in time management! I will definitely be more active in the forum once Dec 7th passes.

Not at all @Tacheman, not at all. It’s good to try something else before you can’t!

@TonyPetrunin PEs tend to be relatively small firms – networking is going to be more important that ever. Given your experience and MBA you should be able to network your way into a firm… many MBA candidates are from PEs, or go on into PEs.

What has been your approach so far?

I work in a tech firm. It’s a weird career choice for a CFA charterholder 😀 Before that I did management consulting, so if anyone needs any advice in that area just let me know!

@hairyfairy brilliant!

@hairyfairy I see. The southern accent is quite stylish. It has kind of a swag about it /:)

I remember one scene from it clearly – “How do you like them apples?!”

Hi @vincentt, just bringing our discussion to the right thread… wow, you’re definitely one of our first software developers here! What part of finance are you interested in getting in to? Would have thought software sector is raging hot now…

Yes full time now @vincentt – I just feel it cannot always be a side project ( I guess we only live once?). Hence kind of a self inflicted stress by taking the leap of faith I suppose! Some savings helps but the dwindling balance should instil drive and discipline!

@sophie i do admire your courage! :-bd

@vincentt no, my background is engineering. A management consultant focusing on strategy (like I did) basically acts as spare brains and hands for company leadership – doing extra analytical work that they would have done had they had the spare time.

Some of the projects I did for financial institutions included looking at HNWI distribution across geographies to advise a hedge fund on where to focus their sales and marketing, due dilligences, reviewing risk practices, independent evaluation of their portfolio performances and so on.

@zee @maroon5 did u get into finance right after u graduated?

As far as I know it’s harder to switch when you have a few years of non-related working experience as they prefer fresh grads? Any clues on that?

Oh no, quite different actually @Ajfinance! After 5 years of finance industry, I actually craved working in a firm that makes physical products you can see and touch … Strange isn’t it?

I was quite interested in food/cooking, got an idea for making a chef’s level appliance for home cooks, so in the midst of bringing that idea to life now… fingers crossed #:-S

Thats great @Sophie. I agree, I don’t like to be in one place for long time as well. (Don’t know how I’ll maintain a finance career, probably with changing roles 😛 ) Its good that you’re going for what you want instead of what you need 🙂 .

You need courage to start something new. You’ve got that! I’m sure you’ll succeed at it. Its all about getting that idea, now that you have it, just nail it! Goodluck :-bd

LOL @jimmyg @AjFinance – most of the last few years were spent on CFA, as you’ve already seen on the few posts I’ve written on them. Will definitely keep you guys posted once the product is being launched!

Great, I love the fact that this community has quite a varied background and so willing to share your work experiences with fresh grads like me. So thank you all! I’m still waddling through the interviews with CFA at the same time, hoping to get a job soon…

Compliance in a mid-sized firm- looking to move into PM or consulting – this is an alternative to the MBA I cannot afford. Looking for some credibility 🙂

Hey @MattUnderwood, welcome to the gang! You’re already pretty much where quite a lot of us want to be after CFA 🙂

Hey everyone!@AjFinance, @SidMenon, @Reena, As part of my progression to a full PM role, I wish to round out my skill set, and drive deeper into my analytical capabilities. I also take pride in associating myself with an organization that holds a high ethical standard to its members and candidates. Not to mention almost the entire team I work on already holds the CFA charter (MOTIVATION!) 🙂 Great to meet you all.

@MattUnderwood Way to go man! :-bd

@Sophie, I agree. My career has zig-zagged all over the place. I’m definitely not where I thought I would be when I was in my mid-20s either in my career or in my personal life.

But it’s all good. I’ve learned to roll with the punches, keep my guard up, and dance when I need to keep some distance. 😀

Right now I just finished my BBA and looking forward to start with CFA level 1.

Wow – what business are you starting then @Sarah? Well done!

Yea, I know what you mean @Sarah. All these hands-on experiences of building/creating a business is useful no matter how small!

I’m a PM at a systematic macro hedge fund.
Incidentally, I was never planning on taking the CFA since it has such a heavy emphasis on corp fin/FSA which I almost never use when investing at the sovereign level, but I’ve been told by top brass that I need either a CFA or MBA to join their ranks (and they weren’t going to foot the $175k eMBA bill), so here I am.

Hello @apoolla13 welcome to this friendly community! I work for a media company as a software developer coding/writing software, but just like you i have great interest in finance too! I passed level 1 in Dec 12 and currently cracking my head for level 2. Are you sitting for level 1 this coming June?

Hi Vincent… I am sitting for the Dec 7th exam @-) and hopefully will see it through… How did your level 1 go? Did you give it in June?

@vincentt, congratulations and thank you :). Can’t wait for the day when I will be done with all three exams myself

I’m in consulting – banks, AM & PE firms are 95% of my clients.

Oil & Gas ibanking in a boutique firm. Thinking about changing careers now actually…

one year out of B-school. Finance background with 3 years of experience in a variety of roles. For the past 1.5 years I have been working in operational acquisitions. Currently on a consulting rotation. Looking to break into the PE/VC Space in the near future. Any suggestions on how to get in front of these guys?

Nice one @TonyPetrunin, there’s quite a few of us intrigued with the B school option. It would be interesting to hear about your experience!

Does your MBA not open doors for you in terms of PE/VC?

I work in corporate banking. Currently work in the fiduciary sector, focussing on offshore structures across a wide variety of private and corporate relationships. Previously worked in corporate real estate in London specialising in regional and national house builders, institutional funds, private investors and also the niche self storage sector.

@sophie how did you find M&A? I’ve always thought that would be really interesting! Unfortunately when I last looked to move roles the job situation in the city was dire.

I’ve also thought about B-school, although my personal feeling is that for it to be really beneficial I would want to go to one of the top schools (I.e. Harvard, LBS etc.). These are tough to get into ad also the financial commitment is huge. Just my view though.

You taking the GMAT @mattjuniper?

@hairyfairy Is that the kind of accent Hilary Swank uses in Million Dollar Baby. I guess thats the southern accent?

@zee have looked into it but not taken it yet. Wanted to get the CFA over with first 😀 have you done it?

Nope @mattjuniper. I decided against the MBA…

@ajfinance Hilary Swank does have a southern accent there, but the Boston accent is different – it’s the one Matt Damon and Ben Affleck use in Good Will Hunting.

Good Will Hunting, now there’s a good film @hairyfairy!

a little confused here are u ( @reena ) @sophie ?

@sophie i haven’t actually started hunting for any AM role as I know I would stand no chance at all with irrelevant background, I thought CFA might help so maybe after i’ve passed level 2 then i’ll start hunting.

What would you recommend? Honestly, I haven’t got much clue on what to do yet.

CFA would defo help if you’re looking for AM roles. I had the option to transition to AM when I was a management consultant (did a lot of work for wealth managers). Might be a good way to work your way in.

@zee what does management consultant do? Any specific role that I should be looking at to get my foot in?

Are you from a finance background?

@sophie are you venturing into a finance business?

That’s pretty awesome @sophie – when are you going to share your life story on the blog?

+1

Hello @apoolla13 welcome to this friendly community! I work for a media company as a software developer coding/writing software, but just like you i have great interest in finance too! I passed level 1 in Dec 12 and currently cracking my head for level 2. Are you sitting for level 1 this coming June?

@jimmyg used to be web related applications, but recently moved towards digital asset management applications (not financial assets though 🙂 ). What about yourself?

Im a bit of a mixed role. Initially i worked in Private equity as an advisor working my way up to senior management. Unfortunately private equity in the UK had some unsavory firms miss-selling so the whole sector got tarred with the same brush. Since then i have been working as a business change analyst for any company that needs my services

Ooh wow, that’s quite a change @Gary. How do you like private equity? I think @Tonypetrunin was looking for people in the industry to speak to as well to find out more.

@swift I did a similar role for a hedge fund! Strategy development, I mean.

@reena take your time – working does bad things to your complexion. 😀

@Reena. We work on anti-money laundering related projects. I primarily work with business and technology teams to co-ordinate the projects which will identify money laundering transactions and report to analysts and investigators.

What kind of consulting @dannimac?

Welcome @MattUnderwood! Why did you decide to do CFA when you’re already doing something similar and with pretty awesome credentials?

Wow!! I am simply amazed by the varied profiles…though did not get a chance to read the entire thread (Hail CFAI!!)
I have an overall experience of about 2 years now after grad school…1.5 years in IB as Fixed income derivatives Middle office Operation…about 6 months as business analyst doing pre-sales work for Portfolio risk and performance analytical tools…Looking to get into research and modelling..inclined to derivatives and alternative assets..
That pretty much sums it up!!!

Since I’m not a very good violinist, I work as a contract analyst. A majority of my time has been spent working for attorneys (yay! ethics!). However, my last contract was with a small software development studio as it’s lead microeconomist (constructing price models & conducting general market research). This was a new area for me and I quickly found out that developers equate an econ or biz degree with financial expertise. So, I think I’d better get me some.

The best part about contract work (in addition to variety) is the ability to set your own rate and retain all rights to your research & findings –which is important to me. So far the worst part of contract work has been when I was expected, by the marketing manager (surprise!), to fudge numbers in order to appease investors–not cool.

That sounds awesome @microeconomist! It’s quite a nice feeling to have autonomy to pick and choose work 🙂 Thanks for sharing with us the pros and cons of contracting

I did contract work before but found it just wasn’t something I wanted. I think what hurt most from my perspective was that I started doing contract work right out of university and at that point people don’t believe you that you have enough skill and experience even if you are good at what you do!

@Sophie my mum is investing her full time. I am mostly doing back-end stuff and making high level strategic decisions. I still am interviewing and networking because running a jewelry shop meaning nothing to CFAI.

In the past month I have learned far too much about jewelry…

Hello @apoolla13 welcome to this friendly community! I work for a media company as a software developer coding/writing software, but just like you i have great interest in finance too! I passed level 1 in Dec 12 and currently cracking my head for level 2. Are you sitting for level 1 this coming June?

Hi Vincent… I am sitting for the Dec 7th exam @-) and hopefully will see it through… How did your level 1 go? Did you give it in June?

All the best to your dec exam! I passed my L2 exam this June so writing L3 next June.

I was in M&A / corporate finance for 5 years, now taking a little diversion to try something new!

I’m just a fresh grad, but looking to work in equity research full time. Job search is tough!

Asset management, so CFA is kind of a nice thing to have. 🙂

Hello @Zee! Good to see so many people around the world with such varied background!

Yea, I decided to try something new end of last year – in the midst of starting up a business now. It’s scary yet the most interesting work I’ve done so far!

@vincentt there’s a previous thread on Portfolio Management here.

Thats great @Sophie. I agree, I don’t like to be in one place for long time as well. (Don’t know how I’ll maintain a finance career, probably with changing roles 😛 ) Its good that you’re going for what you want instead of what you need 🙂 .

You need courage to start something new. You’ve got that! I’m sure you’ll succeed at it. Its all about getting that idea, now that you have it, just nail it! Goodluck :-bd

It took 2 years to muster the courage to leap, @Ajfinance – it took a while to get used to the notion of changing roles, and I can tell you now it’s not a bad thing, as long as you are changing towards something you want to do, not to escape.

But thanks man, need lots of luck definitely!

Maybe you can help us create 300 Hours apps! @vincentt 🙂

@zee when i get some spare time, why not? 🙂

What programming language does this forum use?

@Sophie Not a clue yet have some options on the table. Possibly Fund management or wealth management hoping that studying CFA will highlight a topic I can’t get enough of then will look to follow that path.

Welcome @apoolla13! You’re one of the “young ones” now! 😛

@sophie Per your comment on the B school option. I do not regret it one bit. It gave me the breadth I needed to land a great role in a large MNC. It is amazing how much I have learned in a finely tuned corporation. I definitely could not have landed the role without my masters. That being said, I do want to pivot to PE/VC. So why not go right in right now? 1) I am in a great management consulting role and 2) I don’t have an I-banking background (something that is HUGE for PE). I plan on compensating for this by showcasing my operational and consulting experience. This paired with my CFA will definitely get me there. As for the VC space, it is pretty much nonexistent in the Dallas- Ft. Worth area.

@gary can you shed more light on your role in PE? The structure may be different in the UK but I imagine that after joining a PE at an advisor role it would be thought as a step down to go to an analyst level. Am I wrong here?

@tonypetrunin – oh, you did an MBA? You should probably start a new thread to share your experience with others, from the perspective of MBA and doing CFA. @Marc did the same through his blogposts, it’s a fun read 🙂

@gary Great stuff. One more reason I love this blog; the global perspective. Hats off to you and your accomplishments. Thank you for the insight!

I work in strategy development for an asset manager. Basically do the research around new products, distribution channels and market entry strategies.

I’m quite new to it up, until around a year ago I was a management accountant.

@hairyfairy totally agreed.

Thanks @hairyfairy. I’ll try to stay upbeat 🙂 So @vijay, if I may ask (new to the world of work!), what are your primary responsibilities in financial compliance? does CFA stuff come handy (besides Ethics)?

Thanks @Vijay, it’s just one of those things you don’t hear people talk about, but so important in a financial institution. Gosh, there’s quite a lot of interesting career paths of people in this forum. How on earth does one decide what to pursue? 😕

Hi @Mattunderwood, welcome! That’s quite awesome credentials, I don’t know how you do it. Already in AM, so is this a requirement for your role?

I think you’ll get lots of questions for your role @Mattunderwood!

Urgh @Sarah, that’s a terrible prejudice to be subjected to. :S

Hi @Arbitrageur! Great – I think the 300HC would love to hear more about your role since many of us wanted to explore OM roles. Would you be willing to share this with us through an interview?

@vincentt’s on his way to ace it in 18 months 😉

@maroon5 Don’t know. I might actually move out of finance altogether. Thinking about perhaps going off the beaten path before I ‘settle down’ career wise. Weird? 🙂

Yeah I think B-school would be a good experience and beneficial to my career if used in the right way. Not sure the GF would agree though, or want to move to Boston 🙂

@Sophie are you doing that full time now or slowly moving towards full?

I got right in as I did an internship with them as a student and got offered a grad position.

As far as I know it’s not that they prefer fresh grads, but non-related experienced hires are less willing to start at grad positions…

That’s pretty awesome @sophie – when are you going to share your life story on the blog?

@jimmyg used to be web related applications, but recently moved towards digital asset management applications (not financial assets though 🙂 ). What about yourself?

Maybe you can help us create 300 Hours apps! @vincentt 🙂

Seems like you are enjoying the varied role now @Gary! So are there future plans, given the CFA?

@vincentt – oooh this sounds fun. First the T-shirt, now an app! I think I should start a new thread on what app should 300hours make? 🙂

And there was me thinking what I did was quite niche…

I saw your post on the last page and coincidently I’m actually working on something at the moment that will incorporate looking at high net wealth distribution.

Currently working in healthcare IT as a technical analyst and programmer. Before that I spent nearly a decade doing corporate FP&A primarily in mortgages (origination, servicing, & securitizations) but also got some exposure to other industries through working temporary contract positions.

Several years ago I started my own business that failed pretty quickly. An excellent learning experience but hard on my family.

At present I have some options that I’m exploring.