Career purgatory

Hi All,

Really unhappy where I am in life and was hoping to get a feel for how my current situation is perceived from the community. It would also be helpful to hear what action you might take in my situation. I would never talk negative in an interview about my experiences but for this post I’ll be straightforward.

I’ve been working at a small PWM practice in a non-financial hub on the east coast for about 15 months. My day-to-day responsibilities include basic data entry, personal tax preparation for the founding partner, writing complaint emails to Fortune 500 CEOs, and marketing of the two rental properties he owns. While I was aware I’d have to “help out” with his personal arrangements, it was not communicated to me that it would be my main responsibility. I need to get out but here's my (main) issue is - this is my second job out of college in as many years.

My first experience out of college was an analyst position in management consulting. I landed it through networking with a college teammates Dad. After speaking with him, he basically got me a job at his firm's sister company in another state (he is CEO and founder). It was an unbelievable opportunity that I couldn’t pass up given all my prior experience was in PWM.

I was able to get some great exposure to institutional investors, public company executives and even a little bit of peripheral transaction experience. I ultimately burned out and left after 1 year. The decision to leave could honestly be its own post and is more nuanced than just pure burnout. Regardless, I only regret it because it may turn out to have sealed my fate.

On a more positive note, both the MD and associate I worked under said they’d give me a recommendation (the MD’s offer came off much more callous and resentful, so I probably wouldn't ever actually ask him). My associate even told me I should claim 2 years’ experience given the hours and responsibility I was given. Associate was and still is a outstanding human.

Right before I left my first job, I had sent a happy birthday text (saw on linkedIn) to current coworker. He informed me their longtime associate had just left, and they were looking to fill the position. I read @thebrofessor" posts on PWM really started to like the idea. I had interned with the practice during my sophomore summer, so I was somewhat familiar with the process, but not nearly as familiar as I thought. Unfortunately, 15 months in and I can’t buy into their investment “process”, the culture is just not a good fit, and I’ve lost all confidence I can learn anything remotely useful in another office setting. This brings me back to wanting to leave ASAP.

I’ve already sent my resume out for a couple positions but haven’t even gotten a phone interview. I’ve taken steps to try to be a more competitive candidate such as online modeling courses, CAIA Fundamentals certification, tons of audio books on topics across the finance universe. I plan on taking the CFA L1 in June, CAIA L1 in March and possibly even the IBP in June if the community thinks I can benefit from that. I’ve even debated quitting to acquire a plethora of Coursera certifications instead of doing an MBA (can’t afford it). I'm feeling the pressure for sure.

In the end, I realize this all comes down to me taking responsibility for my actions and no number of flimsy certifications may be able to help.

Thanks for taking the time to read this novel. Any constructive feedback is very much appreciated no matter how critical.