New here, love the work, want to stay in the industry, wanted to say hello

Hey folks! I was told to introduce myself to you all/tell everyone a little about me, so here goes...

I've worked in finance for 4 years now, but in a fairly limited way. I have an extensive academic background in analytic philosophy and behavioral psychology, and ended up working for a friend as an analyst/research grunt/data-entry peon. Our firm performs market/investment research across a wide number of industries, and hedge funds make up the lion's share of our clientele (our research has also been featured in WSJ, FT, etc.). I am currently 3 weeks into an MFIN program at a fairly prestigious/very selective university, and am eager to cultivate a deeper, more profound understanding of investing and to build a career in a field I am comfortable saturating my life.

I didn't really expect to find finance fascinating, but here I am: I love the work. The research is cutting-edge, demands innovative, unique, and intellectually stimulating approaches/techniques, and (in my experience) engages all manner of industries (I never feel bored, every industry has its own accounting, structural, historical, political, etc. facets). It is the first thing aside from the bass guitar and analytic philosophy that fills me with curiosity to such a degree that I enjoy, take pride in, and desire to perfect my work. I am eager to fill my life with this craft.

However, for all my interest and passion, having an unrelated bachelor's degree has set up some roadblocks. And while I enjoy what my firm does, my MFin program has illustrated that I have many gaps in my knowledge; I am now coming across different terminology, valuation techniques, and a much stronger focus on the quantitative aspects of finance than I was exposed to at my small research firm. I've never been a quant, I don't know that I'll ever be able to compete in that way with some of these wiz-kid Chinese mathematicians who are in my program. What I've been exposed to is a lot of excel, a lot of "thinking outside the box," and a much more "human" approach to finance.

So, that's where I am. I'm eager to hear any recommendations or direction, any advice or brutal realities, any tidbits that might help me construct a more comprehensive understanding of this line of work. Please PM me, comment here, reach out! I look forward to hearing from others in this community and a lifetime of financial research.

Cheers!

M

9 Comments
 

I'd suggest you don't speak/write like this: "am eager to cultivate a deeper, more profound understanding of investing and to build a career within which I am comfortable saturating my life." It sounds pretentious (WTF does "saturating my life" mean), which makes you look immature.

 

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