what would you do? 23, no bachelor

hi guys, i'm almost 23 and i'm from france.

i made some cash playing poker (a decent amount), and i drop out of university after the 1st year because the money was too good. i had a solid money managment and things were going well, then i had the crazy idea to boost my bankroll: i was aiming to 1mil, got my black swan with a -13% when was exposed for 1mil, then digged deeper my hole and here i am now, to start everything again, but profit is much more difficult, profitability is lowering and growth is decreasing, so last year my expected was 70k, today i had to be lucky if i make 35k, it simply isn't worth anymor playing poker. i got 30k left in my accounts, i can't lose anymore, so i couldn't go crazy on size or get the money back quick easily.

i'm thinking on grinding back my way to the universty, but what are my chances after i'm 3 years older than my peers?
what would be the most profitable path from here? get back to study or continue working poker/trading?

try the 3years in france (the university is bad, not prestigious) + go for a business school abroad? then what? GMAT+master etc? what do i need?

i'd like to make a huge salary, maybe investment banking (but i haven't studied the situation, otherwise i wouldn't ask advice here), maybe there are more profitable career out there which i'm not aware of...

sorry for the bad english, thanks for the attention.

 

You need to be honest with yourself, statements like "I'd like to make a huge salary" don't mean anything because you and everyone else want to make a "huge salary." What you need to figure out is 1. How you're going to finish school? 2. What do you want to do after you graduate? Chasing the money is good but doesn't work for everyone. As to your age it matters if you want it to, in other words people much older than you have gone back to college to get their degree.

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.
 
Best Response
bfin:

You need to be honest with yourself, statements like "I'd like to make a huge salary" don't mean anything because you and everyone else want to make a "huge salary." What you need to figure out is 1. How you're going to finish school? 2. What do you want to do after you graduate? Chasing the money is good but doesn't work for everyone. As to your age it matters if you want it to, in other words people much older than you have gone back to college to get their degree.

i'm honest with myself, i feel like shit because i was too good in what i did, i thought i wouldn't fail and here i am, i sin of pride and i'm almost broke.

now i'm overseeing my future, back then the right thing to do was surly playing poker, the expected was too high to not give it a try, but now, the futre isn't bright for poker...

i really like the competition, i like to pump my ego after the victory, but i don't let emotion dictate my decision before i make a choice. i love manage money, (i loved so much to lost 90% of what i had -.-""). nobody knows that, nor my parents (i used to manage even a bit of their money), nor my friend (i was so good that they envy my success/didn't understood my choice and know they push my out of their group, i know, i'm a selfish bastard and i deserve it, i don't regret it, i just have to figure out what i have to do now).

i know that older people have gone back to college, but, i'd like to know, what are the odds of me getting the dream job given my history, if i push my best and play my hardest game? how hard is to get in investment banking/or what pays the most today? what is the best way to get in?

 

You're asking which careers pay the most before you even decide whether to go to uni. If you decide to go down the banking path, you will have to work your ass off for the next 3 to even be considered by a bank as well as attain some good connections via networking.

And if by some miracle you make it into the banking industry, you will get swallowed whole if you're in simply because you'd "like to make a huge salary".

 
Australian:

You're asking which careers pay the most before you even decide whether to go to uni. If you decide to go down the banking path, you will have to work your ass off for the next 3 to even be considered by a bank as well as attain some good connections via networking.

And if by some miracle you make it into the banking industry, you will get swallowed whole if you're in simply because you'd "like to make a huge salary".

well, i'm deciding if going to uni is worth the time and effort or there are bettere alternatives, if so i'd defenitly have a mandatory call going to uni.

basically for what i can understand, i have no chance to get the dream job...

for the why i'd choose the banking, i've explained a bit earlier, i'm a megalomaniac and i think the only way to satisfy my ego is going that way or in a similar way... it's more of a pyschological problem..

 

I studied abroad a few times in Europe, and it seemed there were always older people. Shit, I remember I had a 60-year-old guy in one of my freshman classes even in the States. Who cares? I think you're going to find more older people in Europe, as I think it's more common to take a hiatus for awhile. Go back to school and don't worry. Get good grades, take part in extracurriculars, and find some good internships. Easier said than done for some of those, but worth a shot!

 

You are definitely not to old to start college. However as an alternative you could try and work on a deep sea fishing ship in Alaska. Usually the trips are 3,4,5 months in length and depending on how the ship does you could make between 35-100. Obviously you will make more as you rise in ranks. If you do that for a couple months you have alot of money to put towards your poker if you still believe you can do it.

 

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