Non-Target Dude Needs Help
I can probably list all the things a non-target person should do in order to break-into the god-tier echelons of the finance industry, but because I am selfish I want all of you to hear my story of despair.
I am currently a first year sophomore at a mid-sized Florida college, and there is only one alumna from my school, to my knowledge, who has successfully broken into the upper-echelons (I believe she is currently working at Oppenheimer). Unfortunately for me my school is well known for its archaeology program. It's not looking pretty, is it?
I was always a decent-enough student in high school, although I was nothing special. I was never able to grasp math concepts as easily as my peers who consisted of math team members and orchestra kids (I played violin for 13 years). I was a nerd without the normal nerd skills (except violin, perhaps). It wasn't until I was a senior when I decided I had to load up on all of the advanced placement classes I could find, as well as juggle both my school and city youth orchestras, and on top of that I began to suffer from depression! It didn't end well, yet I did manage to get rid of the depression during my summer vacation to Taiwan!
I became interested in finance during my junior year in high school after learning that many of my chess role models (I was a serious chess player during high school) like Dlugy, Robert Hess, Boaz Weinstein, etc. found success in the finance field, and some articles that I read suggested that chess players made good traders/investors (which isn't all that true in my opinion). I began to study up on the market, played around with some simulators, looked at charts, etc. But it wasn't until I was a freshman in college when I began to get serious.
The first book I read was The Intelligent Investor by the famous value investor, Benjamin Graham, who was also Buffett's mentor. So, anyways, I won't continue to bore you all, and here's the rest of the story cut short: I read some more, got my hands on some real money to invest, teaching myself financial modeling, considering entering the Ira Sohn competition if I get better at analysis, etc.
So what's the next step? What are my options considering my average academic performance and the lack of networking opportunities at my school?
Just for kicks, here are my real money holdings as of now. Tell me what you all think, and make sure to criticize constructively: AA, ACN, AWRE, DIS. Yeah, I know, Disney is not what I would call a traditional value stock. I bought it when there was a significant sell-off regarding delays in their Star Wars VII movie.
Network outside of your school alumni base. People network with school alumni (as they should) because its often the easiest way to do it. Doesn't mean you can't try to network with everybody who wasn't from your school.
Also, reach out to the alumnus from your school- if it's really that small an interest/pursuit at your school, maybe she will be thrilled to help you.
She graduated in the 1990's, and I did manage to find her on Linkedin, but she hasn't responded to my request. I'm thinking about talking to my professors.
Can't hurt.
posted my resume in a new thread please help when you can :)
Link?
If you go to school in Florida you should be able to find a handful of alums at Raymond James.
Cut down your "story" too.
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