Post: #26

(03-06-2016 03:47 PM)Baldrich Wrote:  By the way...I tried going back to the US a few years ago and DESPITE the fact that I have a degree in Math from one of the best American universities...let's say "Ivy League"...I was unable to find a job in investment/financial/banking. I am over 30 so maybe that plus the fact that they saw I was living abroad for so long probably destroyed any chance I had of getting into the corporate world in banking...at least in the NYC area. I applied to hundreds of jobs and didn't get a single interview...so then I decided to just quit it and do things on my own. I'm not making as much money as you are (probably not) but I basically work 20 hours or fewer a week and the returns for that are pretty high here.

Big corporations are looking for compliant office drones. An ideal candidate is burdened by student loans, a mortgage, kids to feed or all of the above. A person who traveled the world and got a taste of real freedom probably scares them and comes across as too independent.

Other than not fitting the profile, there is no logical reason why a math graduate from a good school couldn't get a Finance job, maybe not with an Investment Bank, but at least with a Commercial Bank.

Post: #27

Be a cop or fireman. Not as many women in those professions and after 20 years you can retire and live off the taxpayer's tit for life.

So if you start at 18, that's retirement before 40 with full pension. Teacher's get the same kind of deal also.

If I could do it all over again, I would've been a fireman. Also fireman usually work 3 days in a row so they are able to also have trade jobs like carpenter, mason, etc. and make even more money.

Post: #28

(03-06-2016 03:58 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:47 PM)Baldrich Wrote:  By the way...I tried going back to the US a few years ago and DESPITE the fact that I have a degree in Math from one of the best American universities...let's say "Ivy League"...I was unable to find a job in investment/financial/banking. I am over 30 so maybe that plus the fact that they saw I was living abroad for so long probably destroyed any chance I had of getting into the corporate world in banking...at least in the NYC area. I applied to hundreds of jobs and didn't get a single interview...so then I decided to just quit it and do things on my own. I'm not making as much money as you are (probably not) but I basically work 20 hours or fewer a week and the returns for that are pretty high here.

Big corporations are looking for compliant office drones. An ideal candidate is burdened by student loans, a mortgage, kids to feed or all of the above. A person who traveled the world and got a taste of real freedom probably scares them and comes across as too independent.

Other than not fitting the profile, there is no logical reason why a math graduate from a good school couldn't get a Finance job, maybe not with an Investment Bank, but at least with a Commercial Bank.

Yeah I think it had to do 90% of it with my specific profile. I have no student loan debts, no mortgage...and no kids to feed so they figured that out...plus whenever I did get an interview (mainly in smaller accounting offices or some corporations) their reaction was almost always something like this:

"oh wow, you've lived in so many places...interesting"...or "why did you leave?" or "why did you come back"? , etc. That and the fact that (this has always been the case with me) I come off as too independent...and they can see that. I've always done most of what I wanted to do without caring about doing things the "typical" or standard way. Most people stay in their city or in their own country...have a very balanced or typical life so the fact that I've been all over the place in so many different kinds of jobs scares them. I still think that it's NOT easy to get a job in the US despite what people tell me...it's not easy anywhere but I found the US market really tough in some areas.

Post: #29

How's your personality? You're forgetting that in interview the most important thing is to get people to like you. Dude just by reading your posts, I can tell you have quite the negative attitude and tend to dismiss everything.

You can know all the math in the world but if you come off as someone with dry or no personality then that will hurt you. What have you done since you graduated?

When you say "lets say Ivy League" are you referring to an actual Ivy or a "wanna be Ivy"?

How you used your alumni network?

Teaching is not going to get you interviews in "Wall Street" (IB/M&A/PE/HF/ER). How is your teaching experience relevant to wall street? They will doubt you can even put in the hours.

Maybe you should look at the NSA, they hire a shit ton of math majors.

You bash on office jobs and HR too much, not all gigs are like that. I know plenty of places where people bullshit and banter around. Small but fast growing companies are good at that, they are too small to bring in an HR department but fast enough to get you promoted quickly and collect cash.

Hit up Wall Street Oasis, Management Consulted, Mergers and Inquisitions, and WallStreetPlayboys. WSO is a must, those niggas are light years ahead.

Edit: Learn how to sell, IB is basically selling. Interviewing is selling. Getting laid is basically selling yourself. Read the interview guides. Tell people what they want to hear, even if it's BS.

Post: #30

Cattle Rustler Wrote:How's your personality? You're forgetting that in interview the most important thing is to get people to like you. Dude just by reading your posts, I can tell you have quite the negative attitude and tend to dismiss everything.

I am quite dismissive of things I know don't work or cannot work...but that's not the attitude I give off at all (not in person at least). In fact most people just see me as "interesting", whatever that means.

Cattle Rustler Wrote:What have you done since you graduated?

Good question. This is the crux of the matter. When I graduated I went off traveling and finally after a years worth of traveling decided to stay in Euroland. Since then I've never held down an office job for too long and most of my work has been teaching Math and/or English to private clients. I briefly worked in some law offices but that didn't last long and I quit. I got bored too quickly and the pay was actually lower than teaching private clients.

Ivy League: No, I am referring to an actual Ivy League.

I haven't really used my alumni network although I tried the careers site to no avail. There's just something about my resume or me that doesn't "click" well in US offices. I've had much better luck in Spain...only because my profile is VERY HARD to find here and people find it interesting enough to pay me.

You're right, my teaching experience is not relevant to Wall Street...but the kids they hire in their low 20s don't even have experience!

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely look into those. The thing is, for a time I actually was very ambitious, competitive, have a good transcript...but something happened at the end of my college career that I became too complacent, got used to doing things the easy way in exchange for much lower pay and basically just let myself become stagnant...but I'm definitely getting to a point where I want a REAL job...because even though what I do now pays my bills, its still not something I want to do for the rest of my life. That's one of the reasons I haven't gone back to the US...but would not turn down a job offer that was more related to the financial world.

Post: #31

Baldrich, if you are still looking for a finance job, there is a thread somewhere on RVF about covering up employment gaps for location independent guys. Search for it. Keep in mind, though, that big banks do pretty thorough background checks.

Post: #32

(03-06-2016 04:44 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  Baldrich, if you are still looking for a finance job, there is a thread somewhere on RVF about covering up employment gaps for location independent guys. Search for it. Keep in mind, though, that big banks do pretty thorough background checks.

That's true. Although in my case it's not so much employment gaps that are the problem as is the fact that I've had too many "independent" style jobs. Even now all of my students are private clients. But yes, I am looking into finance style jobs even at this point of my life.

Post: #33

(03-06-2016 03:51 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:39 PM)WeekendCasanova Wrote:  I work in investment banking, and what you said is a stereotype that's not true at all. It depends what sort of banking job - CSR, pencil-pushers, sure, you'll work 40-hours like a drone.

I killed myself for a couple of years in IB, but now (and I'm 24), can take a month or two off work no problem. If you have no degree in finance, econ, sure it might be a bit hard to gain freedom from working in a bank - but don't make comments that aren't true.

If you're a hard worker, freedom can come at a young age in the banking sector. Lot's of my graduating class who went to work in Wealth Management, Finance, are very comfortable money-wise, and work from home, travel a lot, set their own hours.

Corporate Banks treat their people very well as you move up the ranks. The fact that you have to prove yourself by working a couple of years in the trenches shouldn't be a deterrent.

How can you take a couple of months off? Most office workers can't do that.

I'm on the equities team, and a lot of the work I do I can do from home i.e research. If you're a first-year junior trader, there's no way you're getting any time off. 100-hour work weeks come standard.

Post: #34

(03-06-2016 03:58 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:47 PM)Baldrich Wrote:  By the way...I tried going back to the US a few years ago and DESPITE the fact that I have a degree in Math from one of the best American universities...let's say "Ivy League"...I was unable to find a job in investment/financial/banking. I am over 30 so maybe that plus the fact that they saw I was living abroad for so long probably destroyed any chance I had of getting into the corporate world in banking...at least in the NYC area. I applied to hundreds of jobs and didn't get a single interview...so then I decided to just quit it and do things on my own. I'm not making as much money as you are (probably not) but I basically work 20 hours or fewer a week and the returns for that are pretty high here.

Big corporations are looking for compliant office drones. An ideal candidate is burdened by student loans, a mortgage, kids to feed or all of the above. A person who traveled the world and got a taste of real freedom probably scares them and comes across as too independent.

Other than not fitting the profile, there is no logical reason why a math graduate from a good school couldn't get a Finance job, maybe not with an Investment Bank, but at least with a Commercial Bank.

A lot of the derivative guys on our team are pure math guys. If you have a high-level of math from an ivy school, there's no reason that you won't be a sought after target at IB's.

Only reason I can see them being hesitant is because of your age - they probably think that you won't pull the long work-weeks that are required. Who knows.

Post: #35

(03-06-2016 04:57 PM)WeekendCasanova Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:58 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:47 PM)Baldrich Wrote:  By the way...I tried going back to the US a few years ago and DESPITE the fact that I have a degree in Math from one of the best American universities...let's say "Ivy League"...I was unable to find a job in investment/financial/banking. I am over 30 so maybe that plus the fact that they saw I was living abroad for so long probably destroyed any chance I had of getting into the corporate world in banking...at least in the NYC area. I applied to hundreds of jobs and didn't get a single interview...so then I decided to just quit it and do things on my own. I'm not making as much money as you are (probably not) but I basically work 20 hours or fewer a week and the returns for that are pretty high here.

Big corporations are looking for compliant office drones. An ideal candidate is burdened by student loans, a mortgage, kids to feed or all of the above. A person who traveled the world and got a taste of real freedom probably scares them and comes across as too independent.

Other than not fitting the profile, there is no logical reason why a math graduate from a good school couldn't get a Finance job, maybe not with an Investment Bank, but at least with a Commercial Bank.

A lot of the derivative guys on our team are pure math guys. If you have a high-level of math from an ivy school, there's no reason that you won't be a sought after target at IB's.

Only reason I can see them being hesitant is because of your age - they probably think that you won't pull the long work-weeks that are required. Who knows.

And that's the real irony of it all because I have NO problem working VERY LONG hours if I ENJOY what I am doing. But I really think age is a handicap for me and the fact that I have almost ZERO (except for an internship and 2 years worth of work) US work experience. That, admittedly, has hurt me badly out there.

Post: #36

(03-06-2016 05:02 PM)Baldrich Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 04:57 PM)WeekendCasanova Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:58 PM)Brodiaga Wrote:  

(03-06-2016 03:47 PM)Baldrich Wrote:  By the way...I tried going back to the US a few years ago and DESPITE the fact that I have a degree in Math from one of the best American universities...let's say "Ivy League"...I was unable to find a job in investment/financial/banking. I am over 30 so maybe that plus the fact that they saw I was living abroad for so long probably destroyed any chance I had of getting into the corporate world in banking...at least in the NYC area. I applied to hundreds of jobs and didn't get a single interview...so then I decided to just quit it and do things on my own. I'm not making as much money as you are (probably not) but I basically work 20 hours or fewer a week and the returns for that are pretty high here.

Big corporations are looking for compliant office drones. An ideal candidate is burdened by student loans, a mortgage, kids to feed or all of the above. A person who traveled the world and got a taste of real freedom probably scares them and comes across as too independent.

Other than not fitting the profile, there is no logical reason why a math graduate from a good school couldn't get a Finance job, maybe not with an Investment Bank, but at least with a Commercial Bank.

A lot of the derivative guys on our team are pure math guys. If you have a high-level of math from an ivy school, there's no reason that you won't be a sought after target at IB's.

Only reason I can see them being hesitant is because of your age - they probably think that you won't pull the long work-weeks that are required. Who knows.

And that's the real irony of it all because I have NO problem working VERY LONG hours if I ENJOY what I am doing. But I really think age is a handicap for me and the fact that I have almost ZERO (except for an internship and 2 years worth of work) US work experience. That, admittedly, has hurt me badly out there.

I'd honestly look into wealth management (if you like that field). Your work is entirely based on what you put into it. If you're comfortable in sales, you can make a solid income.

Put two years of hard work in, grow your team, and eventually your team will do the work managing your book, and you'll be given a consistent stream of income. Another route is to buy a book from someone else. Older managers who are retiring sell their books sometimes - they charge a % usually, but it's a different way to break into the industry (although they often like a track record so they aren't giving their books to a random nobody haha).

Post: #37

White collar:
Sales
Entrepreneur
Programmer/developer
Lawyer
Doctor
Engineering
Investment Banking
Consulting

Blue collar:
Railroad
Merchant marine
Electric Utilities
Precision machining
Telecom
Pipefitting/plumbing
Firefighting
Police

If you're stuck sitting in a cubicle and hate your life, get out while you still can. No time like the present.

Post: #38

(02-28-2016 06:51 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Anyone know a good private detective agency in Manila? I was thinking about hiring someone to investigate a couple of the girls I'm dating to make sure they are not cheating during the week, and keep an eye on things when I'm traveling.

I'm guessing it wouldn't be too pricey. Also, might set up a keyboard logger on my p.c. as well.

(03-06-2016 02:49 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  

Quote:The worst environment ever for a man right now is a 9 to 5/6 type office corporate job. I don't care how high your salary is, is it really worth so much sacrifice?

Hyperbole. I guarantee I could name a salary at which you'd work a 9 to 5 office job.

(02-28-2016 06:51 PM)esalen1 Wrote:  Anyone know a good private detective agency in Manila? I was thinking about hiring someone to investigate a couple of the girls I'm dating to make sure they are not cheating during the week, and keep an eye on things when I'm traveling.

I'm guessing it wouldn't be too pricey. Also, might set up a keyboard logger on my p.c. as well.

(03-06-2016 02:49 PM)Peregrine Wrote:  

Quote:The worst environment ever for a man right now is a 9 to 5/6 type office corporate job. I don't care how high your salary is, is it really worth so much sacrifice?

Hyperbole. I guarantee I could name a salary at which you'd work a 9 to 5 office job.

I'd be the first to call BS on this, if we are talking about an everyday 9-5 I cant see myself personally working in an office for the man.