Making a career change into finance-hedge funds

I am attempting to make a mid-career change from the restaurant business into finance, preferably hedge funds, and I am looking for any advice I can get. Currently, I am the general manager (with about 10 years of management experience) in a restaurant working 60+ hours per week while pursuing a bachelor's degree online in Business Administration with a finance cognate. I will be graduating in December of 2014 and am trying to make a switch into a finance job or internship now, to gain some related finance experience. My school's internship programs and alumni associations are lousy so I am not getting much assistance there. Any suggestions on how to break into finance, what type of jobs would help me in the long run to land an analyst position in a hedge fund, or which path might prove the most successful? Is it best to seek out a small investment firm, or one of the Big 5? Reading these forums it looks like investment banking is the standard approach to landing a position in hedge funds, is that the consensus? Are there other paths? Also, looking at would investment banking or equity research be the best route?

Any information, tips, contacts, suggestions, is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for any advice and information!

7 Comments
 

Damn dude, tough break on your school's failure to deliver better internship programs and alumni associations. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you're like 40 years old and getting a 'degree' on the internet?

 

Well, I'm not a hedge fund expert... but I do have the uniquely applicable perspective of someone who has worked for a restaurant/food company that has major HFs & high profile people investing in it. No real movement of talent between the restaurant biz employees & the HF.

There are a number of HFs & PE firms that have bought into food companies, but mostly companies that have explosive growth or innovative(-ish) products (Hain Celestial acquiring BluePrint juice). But even as an owner/founder you won't have a shot at becoming an analyst at the firm.

So... No. It doesn't seem like a strong possibility.

 

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