Mike from the blog "PersonalFinanceNinja" asked if I can write a bit about myself and background into my field of work. So here's my response. Hope I don't bore you.
I graduated from a State University with a major in Finance and a minor in Accounting. Yes, you can call me a number geek. Anyhow, business has always been in my blood since childhood. I recall having an entrepreneur spirit during fund raising week at school. No matter what the weather was rain or shine, I would go door to door around my neighborhood in pursuit of selling the most candies/books/gifts/etc. Growing up, my parents were into stocks and talked alot about their rental properties. That intrigued me as I began to realize that we can do so much with our earnings by the way of investing and tinkering with it creatively. And so my goal was to learn as much as I can about this field through school, magazines, internet, and television. That was when I decided to Major in Finance. But while attending college, I was lucky to work part time in an Accounting position. That was when I decided to also graduate with not only a Finance degree but a minor in Accounting.
Upon graduation, I immediately landed a job with a medium sized investment management firm. This is where I got introduced into the basics of equities and fixed income securities. Had worked there for a few years and ventured into the world of hedge fund working to settle trades alongside floor traders and portfolio managers. Found that hedge funds operate differently than investment management firms. The salaries were higher with bonus options and security structures were traded differently. Lastly, after leaving the hedge fund due to the company’s bad financial standing, I am now settled into this current company for over 5 years as a financial reporting analyst. So you can say I have pretty much worn the hats of a few if not some positions in my short investment career span since college. I intend to stay in this securities investment field for many years to come due to the nature of the work where I find challenging and ever changing due to the economic climate and the attitude/demand/philosophy of the client investors.
My job is not investment banking such as Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan where the hours are so demanding but their salaries sure are high with great bonuses. My job is quite at ease and not as stressful as these high flying firms. I enjoy this balance in my life currently. Thus, if you’re a people person who enjoy looking at numbers all day and working in a so-so fast pace dynamic environment dealing with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, derivatives and all these crazy “jargonic” investment terms, then this field maybe right for you.
7 comments:
Wow! Based on your background, I expect to hear some pretty exciting stuff from you! ;)
So far you're off to a great start!
Awesome! I love the picture. Have you always lived out West? I'm really looking forward to all you have to write about too.
I did some consulting at a large investment bank for about 6 months and the hours that we had to work to keep up with those guys were ridiculous. The culture is that of a bunch of alphas but some of those guys were really the best at what they did.
ps. you forgot to mention that Lady Gaga wrote a song for you.
Mike, yes I have always lived out West. Find that East and West coast have the most finance jobs.
It's true, big egos often run in big financial firms. But some are really down to earth. So not everyone is as alpha as the ones you worked with. My DH works closely with these alpha males but he is really down to earth. But he agrees that some are really stuck up and unfriendly because they know they're good at what they do and make the big big bucks believe me.
MoneyReasons - Thanks, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Very interesting background! I echo money reasons in saying I hope to read some exciting posts from you.
Wow, this is inspiring to hear a woman with such a diverse background in Finance. YOU GO GIRL! I don't have the jargon down, but I am interested in a career in finance. I'm planning on pursuing an MBA part time so that I can gain more knowledge and leverage that knowledge into a position like yours.
Newbie - I'm surprised to see not many ladies have a diverse background in Finance as well. I have scoured many FP forums but see very few out there.
This is another reason why I blog about my career and personal life just to let my readers get a glimpse into this field.
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