Left GS this Friday after 5 years; My story.
I wanted to share my story today with the WSO community as I think it is quite unique and might offer some hope to the state school monkeys who do not have much in internship and networking going for them.
My most recent position was with the GSAM derivatives middle office team, a position that I resigned yesterday after almost five years with GS. I resigned because I will be attending INSEAD business school in August and wanted a few months to myself before I start.
Now to the part about how I got to where I am today. I grew up in Colorado where my dad worked as a Taxi Cab driver and my mom stayed at home to take care of my sister and I. I got into the University of Colorado, but unfortunately after a semester my dad told me that he was no longer able to pay for the tuition/expenses, so in order to stay in school I decided to join the Colorado Air Force National Guard for a six year contract in return for which they would help me pay for school. With all of the activations and full time service that the guard asked of me, it took me five and a half years to graduate, but to my luck Goldman came to recruit for their Salt Lake City office for the first time at Colorado. I went to the interviews thinking that this will be a long shot, but after 2 campus interviews followed by a superday in Salt Lake, I was one of two people from CU to join as full time employees in the operations division in Salt Lake.
I was placed on a team that worked at night supporting the PWM business in Asia and Europe. I would come in around 10pm and go home around 10 in the morning. This lasted for about a year and a half before the nightshift was disbanded and our ten member team was asked to find spots during the traditional work day. I joined the trade confirmation team for GSAM and remained with them for the remaining time that I was in Salt Lake.
During my time with the GSAM confirms team I passed my CFA level 1 as well as the series 7, did well on the GMAT, was promoted to associate, got a pilot’s license, and coached high school hockey. At work I took initiative to work on some global projects that had a high impact and used all this to leverage a move to the derivatives middle office team in NY/NJ. During my year in New York I applied to INSEAD and received my acceptance letter shortly before Christmas and decided that I will leave the firm after the first quarter to do some traveling and concentrate on CFA lvl 2 for this June.
Unlike Greg Smith, I actually enjoyed my time at GS, I really did feel that everything we did that I was a part of was always done with the client as the primary focus and that the teamwork and hard work ethic was always a strong part of the firm culture.
I think the moral of the story here is that although my route was very unconventional, I still earned the opportunity to attend a top business school and will have great recruiting opportunities just like anyone who took a more traditional path to get to bschool. I chose to go to INSEAD because I want to work in Europe (primarily Russia) after graduation in the energy and commodities field.






nice. you mention you want to
nice.
you mention you want to work in the energy and commodities field. anything specific? S&T/ER/M&A or management consulting? Or more along the lines of a managerial/operational position?
thanks for sharing trailmix8
thanks for sharing trailmix8 - good to know your background. can you make the conference in NYC on July 28th?
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What equipment do you fly?
What equipment do you fly?
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
He also is a pretty good dude
He also is a pretty good dude in general. Congrats brother, you earned it.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
thx for sharing! just curious
thx for sharing!
just curious to know how you gona handle us government after your income tax
and how did you resign it? just tell your boss last friday that you are done? i will prob resign in 2 months...
Good luck!
Good luck!
You're awsome, congrats!
You're awsome, congrats!
nice story
nice story
Power and Money do not change men; they only unmask them
Inspirin', brethren
Inspirin', brethren
I had the pleasure of meeting
I had the pleasure of meeting TrailMix a few years back and he is a great guy. Could not be happier for him and wish you all the best. Let me know how I can help in anyway.
I also resigned last friday
WSO Conf - June 29, 2013
oldmansacks wrote: nice. you
nice.
you mention you want to work in the energy and commodities field. anything specific? S&T/ER/M&A or management consulting? Or more along the lines of a managerial/operational position?
Looking into S&T, not sure as far as specifics, will decide that as I learn more during the next year and a half.
thanks for sharing trailmix8 - good to know your background. can you make the conference in NYC on July 28th?
yes I will be in the city on this date and would be happy to attend
What equipment do you fly?
Cessna 182
He also is a pretty good dude in general. Congrats brother, you earned it.
thanks for the kind words HPM
thx for sharing!
just curious to know how you gona handle us government after your income tax
and how did you resign it? just tell your boss last friday that you are done? i will prob resign in 2 months...
will have to figure out tax situation depending on where I will work. Want Russia, but if another offer arises elsewhere in Europe I won't hesitate to take it.
I actually told my group head that I got into school sometime in January. Ops is a bit different than IBD where you basically get fired right away when they know you do not have plans to stay. My group head appreciated the early notice so that they can have a smooth transition.
boss I literally lold when I
boss
I literally lold when I saw the picture of trail mix as your pic. You really like trail mix don't ya?
If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough.
"There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
Congrats! I always love
Congrats! I always love reading about people who made it through unconventional ways. Thanks for sharing your story with us! :) Good luck!
Unlike greg smith's story
Unlike greg smith's story this one is about a BO guy.
In conclusion: tl;dr
Awesome story, congrats man.
Awesome story, congrats man.
"It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous. "
probinganalyst wrote: Unlike
Power and Money do not change men; they only unmask them
omg... congrats. great
trail, awesome - will be
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FlakieBear
congrats man....this is
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." ~George Moore
Good to hear. It was a
Trail, a buddy of mine just
Congrats, love these stories
A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.
So how much money did you
Gate_Crasher wrote: So how
trailmix8
probinganalyst
Power and Money do not change men; they only unmask them
Congratulations--met you at
Head of Metal Website: www.headofmetal.com
https://twitter.com/headofmetal2012
Russia is not in Europe..
^^^One of these guys huh?
If your dreams don't scare you, then they are not big enough.
"There are two types of people in this world: People who say they pee in the shower, and dirty fucking liars."-Louis C.K.
lionwater wrote: Russia is
"Social cohesion and puritanical morality place roughly on my list of concerns between whether I'll pick up jock itch at the gym this week (not likely, since I don't go the gym) and whether it'll rain in Christchurch, New Zealand next Tuesday."
-Eddie
Sounds like you did pretty
"WSO is like the 300 for anti spamage. None shall pass." -happypantsmcgee
"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer
trailmix8 wrote: Now to the
Moving tonnes of product. Making fat stacks.
That's good stuff bro! Kick
"Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a Champion" - Muhammad Ali
what do you know:
My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious. I want your heart, I want to eat your children, praise be to Allah!
caneman9 wrote: what do you
^^^ Like the above, I just
.
"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
Wow. This is a dreadfully
"Sounds to me like you guys a couple of bookies."
trailmix8 wrote: caneman9
congrats man, great story one
kingsallowed wrote: congrats
Very inspiring. As a entry
When luck shuts the door you gotta come in through the window - Doyle Brunson
Very inspiring. As a entry
When luck shuts the door you gotta come in through the window - Doyle Brunson
Congrats and good luck.
BillyRay05 wrote: Wow. This
YOU JUST GOT TROLLED
http://www.troll.me/images/red-foreman322/dont-you...
Wow, you managed to get
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2
You guys should definitely
Reading the comments section
The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee
WSO is not your personal search function.