Quote:
Originally Posted by willx
It's probably about time I get less vague about what I do since everyone else is self-disclosing.. I work in what is currently one of the most hated professions in the world.. I am an Investment Banker.
What's your Profession/your planned course to take up in college?
- I'm a junior/mid-level investment banker in Canada. I work on "Bay Street"
- I'm a business school Finance major with no minor, although I did take a significant amount of PoliSci, History and Classical Studies courses. (Asian Studies, Chinese/Japanese History, Greek Lit.)
Your Current Status.
- Currently I work advising large corporate clients in "Special Situations" such as financial distress or situations where refinancings, recapitalizations and restructurings are necessary.
- I previously worked in Equity Capital Markets and as a Generalist covering a variety of industries on the West Coast (Vancouver, Canada).
- So keep in mind that I had and have nothing to do with the financial crisis. I never made any bets in the market and I operate in Canada where we have the safest banks in the world .. apparently.
What made you choose it?
- Honestly? For the money. For lack of a kinder way of saying it .. I grew up impoverished. I also became very disgruntled and ungrateful for what my immigrant parents managed to accomplish .. but after I got out of highschool and faced the "real world" the rebelliousness stopped and the ice in my veins solidified. I got my act together, cut my hair and dyed it back black and "applied myself"
Are you happy with it?
- I have mixed feelings. I usually work stupidly long hours. 70-110 hours a week. So life really sucks at times. I also make a stupidly large amount of money. Also, the markets have been terrible lately and which surprisingly has not been good for business so now it's super slow.
- I work with some of the smartest most driven people I have ever had the privilege to meet which is great. The flip side is it's like swimming with sharks everyday.
How do you see yourself in the future?
- We'll see.. I've built up a decent nest egg of savings and I know I can't keep up this pace of work forever. I don't hate my job per say.. so I could see myself continuing to do something similar in the future.. Maybe Private Equity, Private Debt, Venture Capital .. Although it'd be interesting to work with a more global focus, like International Trade Finance in Singapore or maybe get a duo-JD/MBA and specialize in Financial + Legal Restructurings.
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If your nest-egg is a six-figure sum with a digit of 2 or more at the front, have you ever thought of doing something that is FUN for you? Something you would do everyday regardless of the cost?
Chuck half of it in diversified investments to earn a self-sustainable income, and set up a business doing something that you like. There are SpecOps operators who liked their line as much as personal freedom that they become security advisors for EP details, sailors who saw the messy world for years and desired peace that they built buddhist shrines for themselves in another part of the world, property agents who got tired of running around that they are planning to open a dessert stand at a hawker centre........the list goes on.
And I met all these people while working in the various places, even though as part time, these old men's grandfather stories
are actually worth listening to. Being a freelancer, despite the cons of having a lousy volatile income, isn't that bad after all.