As in years past, Christmas has found a way to sneak up on me. And, unless you're way younger than WSO's target demographic, you probably feel the same way I do.

The older you get, the more it seems that Christmas appears out of nowhere. I once found myself counting down the days until I could unwrap presents from under the tree, hoping I got some of the things I asked for. Now, I find myself wanting less and less, to the point where I only really care about the holidays because it's a time to see family and reminisce on years' gone by and plan for days to come. What gifts I do get tend to be incredibly utilitarian, and I'd have it no other way.

As I was thinking about this over the last day or so, I started remembering how drastically my desires have changed over the last five years or so. And in talking to friends, I know I'm not alone. Let's take a look at how one's desires shift over time. And since it's the holiday season and this is WSO, let's look at it in the form of a Christmas Wish List from various points in the career of a finance professional.

In light of Eddie's recent post on Apple dipping below $500 a share, I thought I'd share an uber-bearish piece on Apple from Bloomberg Businessweek.

In short, a sell-side Analyst from Toronto-based ACI Research believes that Apple is headed to $270 a share in the next twelve months.

Is this complete hyperbole or is his rationale grounded in reality? Let's have a quick look.

According to a recent Business Insider article, back in 2005 a freshman filled out a profile for an on-campus recruiting program and was asked to list her business role model. Who did she list?

Jay-Z

Harvard's Office of Career Services asked her to name someone else:

Now, the freshman, Chanequa Campbell, had a particularly unique reason to look up to Hova, she grew up in the same neighborhood as him - Brookyln's notorious Marcy Projects. If he could make it big, so could she. She stood her ground and the OCS let her keep him as her business role-model, albeit under his real name (Shawn Carter).

This article struck a chord with me for two reasons:

• I grew up on Jay Z's music. Reasonable Doubt is one of my all time favorite albums.
• Jay Z is my business role model, too.

mod note: this was originally posted on 9/4/12

I thought I'd switch things up a bit today. Rather than delve into a note-worthy news item or another Facebook discussion, I'd like to welcome everyone back from Labor Day Weekend with an awesome interview.

WSO tends to be heavy on content for banking, PE, and value-oriented hedge funds. I know there are a ton of aspiring traders reading the site, so I reached out to a good friend of mine who's spent the last 5+ years as a fixed income trader at a major bank.

If you're interested in a career in trading or just want to learn more about an interesting career path and the people in it, then read on for an in-depth and informative look into the life of a fixed income trader.

DrPeterVenkman presents: An interesting interview with TheKing. Questions came from myself and other WSO contributing authors. Thank you to TheKing for his quick and information-filled responses. See part 2 here

TheKing is one of the top WSO users and contributing authors: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/karma/top
He has worked in MM Banking and MM Private Equity. I will let you find out more from the man himself below in Part One:

As Fiscal Cliff negotiations continue, much of the focus has been on tax hikes associated with the lapse of the Bush tax cuts.

While some on the left frame the tax hikes on the top two brackets as tax hikes on "millionaires and billionaires," we know better. Making $250,000 a year does not make you a millionaire or billionaire. If you've got that level of income, which is feasible for someone in their late twenties or thirties if they're working in banking, PE, or a related field, you're a HENRY (High-Earner-Not-Rich-Yet.) So, understandably, an Analyst with hopes of breaking into PE or a college student with Managing Director dreams doesn't want to see tax rates go up.

Now, if you read my post on Tuesday, then you know that I'm in favor of either going over the cliff or implementing the Bowles-Simpson plan. Both would entail higher taxes, but they'd hit everyone, not just the country's "millionaires and billionaires."

There would also be plenty of guaranteed across-the-board spending cuts. Mandatory cuts to defense spending have proven controversial, but are they? Will a $500 billion cut to defense spending over the next decade really hollow out our military, or is that kind of talk unwarranted?

The Fiscal Cliff. A host of harsh, sudden, and all-encompassing tax hikes and spending cuts set to go into effect on January 1st, 2013.

We are only three weeks away from diving head-first off the Cliff with little hope of a viable long-term solution to avert it and tackle our debt and deficit problems.

And as we meander towards the edge, we find ourselves watching helplessly as the President and House Speaker John Boehner work to find common ground that can simultaneously pass muster with the House GOP majority without turning away Senate Democrats.

The media focuses in on procedural matters and kabuki theater. The Chris Matthews and Sean Hannity's of the world work themselves into a frenzy over the need to raise or maintain tax rates on the top 2%. The left argues that we have a revenue problem while the right says its a spending problem.

One thing that players on both sides seem to agree on is that the Bowles-Simpson plan provides a strong, bi-partisan outline for smart solutions to fix our deficit and debt.

I'm sure you've seen them somewhere before. Maybe you saw an ad at your local bodega. Or maybe you walked past them as they were sold at a mall kiosk.

Electronic Cigarettes.

Electronic Cigarettes, or E-Cigs, are a niche product in a growing market. The first time I saw an e-cig I couldn't help but laugh to myself. They just seemed so dumb, for lack of a better word. Imagine my complete and total surprise when reading a recent Bloomberg article that pegged the market for e-cigs at $300 million in 2012, with it predicted to grow to $1 billion in the next three years.

Now before I proceed, I want to be clear, this isn't a post about the wonders of the e-cigarette market. Rather, it has two focal points:

1.) Many people are too quick to be myopic and skeptical about the work and ideas of others

2.) It doesn't matter how silly a business idea may sound to you. What matters is that there exists a market for the product / service and a means to provide the product / service profitably

Following up my my post from last Thursday , I'm here today with part two of my interview with Nefarious.

For those of you that need a refresher, Nefarious is a Strategy Associate at a global Fortune 500 aerospace & defense company. Check out part one of my interview with him for some great in-depth information on how he broke into his role, what he does from day to day, and the pros and cons of working in Strategy along with some great follow-up Q&A in the comments.

In today's post, we cover tips on breaking into Strategy roles, potential exit opps for Strategy professionals, and his views on both the defense space and the fiscal cliff.

Afternoon, monkeys. I've got the first of a two part interview for you today with certified user Nefarious. Nefarious works in Strategy at a major Fortune 500 Aerospace & Defense company. While I know many of your are focused on banking and private equity, I think everyone can benefit from hearing his story.

Strategy jobs are some of the most intellectually satisfying roles out there, and they've got a great work-life balance. Plus, if you're in an interesting industry, like A&D, you'll put yourself in a position to have a tremendous, well-paying career in a space you really care about. From what Nefarious told me about his role, I'd bet that he's got one of the best jobs of anyone on the site.

And for any non-target readers who want to hear about non-traditional ways to break into a tough industry, his story is one of the best I've ever heard.

Today, we cover his background, how he broke into the industry, and extensive details on his Strategy job. Without further ado, here is Part One of the Q&A: