43 still finding my way
Thank you for your time, thought and, really, any consideration at all. I'm 43 and feeling the pain of a life deeply misdirected. I'd not call it a midlife crisis, rather, a midlife realization that it's all passing me by and I feel, at my later age, this may be a last window of opportunity to alter my path for the positive with some help.
Brief: I graduated from a very unremarkable university with the usual finance degree in 1995 (Texas Tech). After graduation I took two years in the Rockies working/snowboarding. In 1998 I returned home (DFW) and began working for my family's business, an interior design business, that has done very well for 35+ years.
I've worked for my family's business from the day I returned home to present. I did so initially out of their genuine need for my help and some mild degree of enjoyment in the creativity and sales-end of it. Years passed, the business did relatively well, but I never pursued my actual interest in financial services and markets.
All I have is a 20 year old degree in finance and many years of sales experience. I understand it would be miraculous at 43, with my one-job-wonder background (in an utterly, comically irrelevant field) to enter into finance at a significant level if at all. At what capacity I would work within financial services or how I'm paid is not my concern at all; my house is paid and I'm OK for food. My concern is taking my last breath 30 or 40+ years from now knowing I did nothing to try and redirect my path at mid-life in effort to pursue something I've always intended to do but haven't (yet).
My question is simply this: understanding the unlikely nature of my attempt, I'm going to try anyway, and want to ask you all what type of bottom feeding, entry level position I should pursue or will my age and background absolutely guarantee rejection. Thank you for any thought.
This post would have been substantially more believable if you had left out this part of it:
"not to mention other issues I struggle with, e.g., uncontrollable back-hair, small genitalia"
Although, to be fair, the small genitalia issue might be the only true problem that the OP is actually dealing with.
I have re-posted my original post without the nonsense. My apology for that mention and attempt at levity. I sincerely am in great need of some thought and advice. Again, my apology. And thank you.
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Step 1) Dick Surgery Step 2) Shave your back Step 3) Shave your dick Step 4) Mortgage your home, buy a 3 series BMW. (Trust me all the Douchebags from Dallas will think you are one of them) Step 5) Start your own advisory/valuation shop. It will be hard to get initial business, and you will definitely have to lie about your skills and background, but a list of business names can be found here. http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/what-would-you-name-your-firm-if-… Step 6) Hire non-paid interns from WSO. This way you have no employee costs, and when you run into a finance question you are unsure of, you can have them post the question here. This will save you the embarrassment of another post like this.
Good post OP. Troll-bait is one of my favorite things about WSO.
My apology if that was the impression I gave; please do excuse me. I sincerely am here for advice and any help I can receive. The above is my actual life circumstances and I'm lost as to where to begin. I've re-posted without that mention. Again, my apology and please excuse my mistake.
Would my own advisory be the most likely approach?
Even better.
New Advice. Jump off a bridge.
All that testosterone...
what kind of "financial service" are you interested in?
Thank you, LeverageMill. In the most general sense, I'm interested in, and willing to do, anything to transition out of my current occupation of too many years and into the finance industry; no matter what that transition would entail and any position opportunity may permit (commercial banking, insurance, financial planing, money management, real estate, anything that would allow me to make the move away from my past life). Working for free for a time is possible.
If I had any choice in the matter (which my background and age will greatly limit), and specifically to your question, I'm interested in research and analysis of all publicly traded companies which doesn't make me unique but that's where my interest is per your question.
More succinctly, I love research (digging) above all. Whether equities or commodities, I enjoy raking through minutia to know that moment of discovering something, some bit of information that gives me an edge of insight as to know where to place my money. So, "research" would be my answer. Thank you for your reply above.
Dang, it seems like your family business messed you up. I have no idea how you would get a entry level job but maybe you dont really need one if you just want to do research/ trade stocks.
40 year old here who's been in finance full time since I was 22. The only thing I think you could do is wealth management and that's only if you have a big network of hnw's that you think you could convert to clients. thebrofessor could give you better advice on the reality of that. I have no real clue in that space. But you aren't getting into banking, trading or institutional investing. Sorry, that's just reality.
Honestly your best bet is to build up your current business and maybe branch out into real estate investment/development because I'd have to assume you know some players in that space. Take small pieces of deals you can put together and put small dollars in until you have more to put in.
The sexiness of a career in Wall Street finance is not what it seems and no 40 year old would ever willingly submit themselves to the entry levels of it.
Thank you very much, Ding. That is essentially the realist perspective from someone roughly my age who's been in finance from the beginning that I was looking for -- though I was, and still am, somewhat hopeful a career in some of the areas you list may be possible (even if only by fluke chance, circumstantial luck or blind determination) but I don't know, as you suggest, that would be a time-risk wisely invested for me at 43.
I've read your message over a few times now and agree. I really appreciate your comprehension of the aim of my post and response. Thank you.
And, yes, I would actually submit myself to the entry levels of Wall Street finance but I don't believe for a moment that's a street that would have me at this point, no matter my drive. And if it would, the awkwardness of age would be as painful as the hours and work itself. Thanks again for the help!
Take out a line of credit on your house then re-leverage that. Make one or two concentrated investments. You will either become an investing wizard or bankrupt. Either way, it should add some excitement.
Obviously.. not a straight path for you but the good news is that you can "do finance" though wall street might be a stretch at this exact point in time... I think you can get into investing/asset management. Start by investing a couple of grands in a simple brokerage account (e.g. robinhood: no fees but also no short selling, no trading futures, etc.). That should be enough to get you started. But have strict rules to prevent you from turning the brokerage account into a sink hole for your savings..
If you can do this for a few years and do it well MAYBE you can officially join as an experienced hire in some investment firm.. Also, if you do not wish to invest a couple of years into this exercise your fascination with wall street is probably a passing fancy - nothing wrong with that either but it is always good to know for sure (of course your current bread & butter business will need to go on to pay the bills)
That said, I get it that you want to achieve more in your life - and that is great. I just think you are thinking way too highly of wall street. I came across the following video (not endorsing it; its one of a multi part series) that you should watch just to get a counter perspective:
Thanks very much, MBA. I'm familiar with those videos, have watched each one. Thank you for your reply.
I do understand the common "sexy" misconception due to headlines of outrageous earnings without mention of the few that actualy earn at those levels and film distortions (Gecko-DiCaprio-Wolf syndrome). I've been trading very small through datek>ameritrade for 15 years. It's not the sexy I'm after so much as research/trading is the one thing over the years that has truly held my interest consistently. 18 years working for an Interior Design firm dealing with hyper-particular women while running back and forth to the back room to check my positions on a 10 year old Toshiba laptop is a life you do not want. Believe it; you younger guys have got to appreciate every day that your circumstances allowed for the freedom of choice you had/have to pursue your first choice of career. Thank you, MBA, and all so much for the help.
This post reminds of the Intern (movie). DFW has a strong Texas Tech alumni network, reach out to them via LinkedIn. Realistically it would be nearly impossible, you should just use the extra cash from the business and partner with someone on small business deals or focus on RE investments.
Thanks also to kingkang who has very kindly offered to give me some quick/basic help with financial modeling as he said, he feels everyone deserves a chance. Thanks again, kingkang and all.
Also check out the stuff Wall Street Prep has. They can be a little pricey but are really good trainings and it's easy to pick up the concepts.
I second what Dingdong08 said. A ton of financial advisors are over 30 or 40 anyways. Maybe you could pass the 63 + 65 on your own and it might show you have some interest to your future employer. It's going to cost around 400-600 bucks so not too bad. I would also say the CFA but since you have been out the industry it probably isn't a viable option yet.
Wealth Management. Pure and simple. Your family company is in interior decorating. The only people i know who use companies like yours are old rich people. You should have no problem with a network. The hardest part will be getting over the image that you used to pounce around their homes telling them how fabulous that rug looks with the drapes.
It's not impossible for someone your age to get a desirable FO job in finance. I did, at age 41, as a hedge fund analyst. My only directly relevant experience was two years at the WSJ as a TV producer. I got hired through the old boy network of my Army National Guard unit. The fund's research director, for whom I worked, had been my driver on an overseas deployment. The fund's CEO was also an ex-soldier with whom I'd served.
It takes more than networking to get a job this way and at your age. You need to activate a close relationship with someone who knows you well both personally and professionally, and can hire you. With your background as longtime executive for a family business, you could prepare for private fund roles as COO, office manager, or in client relations. From there you could maybe transition into an investment role if you showed you had a knack for the work (and groomed or found a successor to you in your admin job).
Private equity is also a possibility, but it's more difficult for a mature individual to break in without putting some money (say $3-5MM) on the table along with your skills. Maybe you have access to family investment capital, if so, many employers would give you a look if only hoping to get the capital or to hire somebody who's motivated to stick with the firm and work like hell for its prosperity because a part-owner.
Anyway, your dream is perfectly achievable, but people would want to know why you are leaving a successful family business at age 43.
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