have you looked into headhunters? I know a girl that graduated two years ago who started in some tiny research shop then used a head hunter and is now at macquire as a trader assistant on a desk. I don't know the headhunter, but I could try to find out

 

Jeez, its ridiculous how monotone most applicants are in terms of path to trading: Junior as an SA then FT offer and thats it. What happened to those that work on startups, go to grad school, military service, work in an unrelated field. I find after graduation you really figure out what you want to do and not when you barely turned 20. It would make the "analyst class" slightly more interesting, or is it people are easier to indoctrinate right out of college?

 

I worked as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve in DC before deciding that economics was not my calling. My original plan kind of fell through and I'm definitely in a "oh shit what do I do now?" period. I think I would be good at trading, because my job at the Fed was to predict GDP releases of ASEAN countries and after two years I became pretty damn good at it. With enough information and appropriate model building I think it wouldn't be too hard to beat the average investor. And thanks for the vote of confidence kiwi!

Resume: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B6lf…

 

[quote=monkeysama]It means that I am taking the test in June. It's a computer adaptive test (CAT) I believe - what this means is that it tells you whether you pass or fail immediately after taking the exam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Financial_Analyst https://www.cfainstitute.org/pages/index.aspx[/quote]

Not to join the discreditability party, but you do NOT find out if you passed the CFA tests right away...

"I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people."
 

[quote=monkeysama]It means that I am taking the test in June. It's a computer adaptive test (CAT) I believe - what this means is that it tells you whether you pass or fail immediately after taking the exam.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartered_Financial_Analyst https://www.cfainstitute.org/pages/index.aspx[/quote]

Level 1 is 240 multiple choice questions covering 2000 pages worth of text to be given the Saturday after Memorial Day weekend answered on a scan-tron.

 
Best Response
monkeysama:
People keep telling me to go to grad school. Or that I'm too old. I'm 24 for god's sake. I want to be a trader. I want to make money and I know I'd be damn good at it too.

That is all. Just needed to bitch

Wait... monkeysma... I have been reading all your posts about trading and you have never traded before? You have never worked at any of the firms you comment on? You talk about the interview process at firms where you have never received offers?
That's the problem with this site... you talk like an expert, but in reality after graduating from a state school, you went on to earn $50k/year working a quasi-government job and have been unemployed since the spring. You have as much experience working on a trading desk as I do!! ZERO.

 

SLO89 - I never claimed having worked on a desk before. I usually append my posts with "this is the way I think it works" when the question is not directly applicable to my experience. I take no accountability for your presuppositions.

Buyside Noob - Huh I thought it was supposed to be computer adaptive. I'll have to look into that, thanks.

 

Monkeysama,

The CAT is for the GMAT, level 1 is scantron and you get your results later (4-6 weeks I believe).

After completing the test, you should be able to tell if you passed or not. If you feel good, congrats! If not, start praying because the outlook is another six months of prep.

Few suggestions:

  1. Come a little bit early and factor in time for parking
  2. Leave your cell phone in the car; they won’t let you bring it in.

Good luck!

 

Sit et dolore sunt modi. Provident enim autem sunt odit voluptatem corrupti quia. Aperiam hic sit voluptatibus quis. Consequatur sed minima adipisci quod odit aut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”