I broke into a hedge fund without a degree

First off shout out to Byrne Hobart… His article helped me take the leap and believe in myself https://byrnehobart.medium.com/how-i-got-hired-at…

Lastly after speaking with Jack Raines, I decided to share a bit. https://www.youngmoney.co/p/six-types-wealth

No, I did not sweep the floors, but even a monkey can push buttons right?

Countless calls, cold messages leading no where and then a break!

No degree, you must be full of bs?! It was just execution with a full Bloomberg setup. ~500m global macro fund. Small and tight knit team.

I was a retail trader as a young boy and stared at this sh*t all day every day allowing the markets to consume my life.

It was enough to grasp the concepts of futures, equities and macro events. to be updated…

Ask some questions?

14 Comments
 

Great question. I believe growth would be slower vs peers, although experience and connections built should trump all. I measure based on where I came from.

Comp quickly grew from avg Joe - six figures. Probably not what target school grads want.

Upward trajectory should depend on the individual’s experience and ability to connect with people. No free lunch in life “expecting” a promotion… regardless of background

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

I washed out eventually and have yet to get back on track which proves that it's possible to get in the industry but very very difficult to sustain and grow if you luck out and end up not having that solid foundation... 

Contrary to that, many with a degree simply don't know how to use it and got through classes but never picked up enough to apply it in the real world. Combine the book smarts and street smarts and you have a killer combo which is really what you see in most high performing outliers. 

Regardless the position in life, everyone is human and will have similar doubts, insecurities and fears.

 

I can think of someone else who broke into a HF without a degree... started off as a teacher too.

 

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