Finance-related careers you don't have to get into straight out of college
I didn't really become all that interested in finance until a few years after I finished college. And when I looked for tips and advice online (including on this forum and other places) I came away feeling like it wasn't an option for me and if you wanted to go down that road you basically had to do that when you started college (if not before, in terms of deciding which school to attend).
A few more years have gone by and after working various jobs that have absolutely nothing to do with finance and getting very little career satisfaction or growth out of it, I still find myself asking "what if."
Are there any jobs out there for people who didn't major in finance (I was an economics and history major), didn't do any finance/banking internships in college and don't have any relevant work experience? I don't want to do something like be a financial advisor, which based on what I've observed is basically being a glorified salesman.
Nobody's going to hire a 35 year old to be an analyst at an investment bank. But is there anything else out there that someone like me can do?
Day trading 0 days till exp options
It would really be helpful to know what your background is and what your interests and goals are. Moreover, your motivation would also be helpful. The term “finance” is so broad and refers to an industry plus different job functions.
But my philosophy is that you can make a switch whenever if you are willing to a) swallow your pride, b) acknowledge a move could take a couple steps, and c) be relentless.
BA and MA in economics. I work in medical practice management, worked for a healthcare IT firm before that, and just generic office admin type stuff before that.
I'm generally interested in financial markets and how they work. I'd like a job with some research/analysis aspect and with some pathway to higher earnings.
I haven't gotten more specific than that because I'm handicapped by my credentials (non-target school), my age (too old for entry-level work), and my work experience (unrelated). I'd rather start by identifying feasible options and winnowing those down than go after something only for it to turn out to be a complete nonstarter.
Sounds like healthcare equity research. I have no idea how you would go about it or if it is possible but thats the job I thought of based on your background and interests.
Healthcare ER would probably fit what you are look for as mentioned. There are essentially three categories of paths.
MSF or MBA
This is the most expensive option and still requires some hustling but would provide you with a brand reset assuming you get into a target or semi-target school. I looked into an MSF a long time ago and concluded it could help me break into certain careers. What I’ve seen some people do is get admitted and then get an internship prior to their program starting as there isn’t a summer gap. You may not have to do this but it helps.
Navigating the MBA path is a bit more straightforward but you might have difficulty gaining admission to a full time, top 20 MBA program. I don’t know enough about admissions though to make a definitive statement, so I’d research this option a bit more. The other MBA option is attending a part-time program. These have lower requirements but you need to perform diligence on recruitment statistics as at a lot of schools, the part-time students don’t get access to the same recruiting resources as the full-timers.
Internship
This the most audacious path but could work as long as you have a tight story and network relentlessly. Essentially you gain relevant experience through an internship and use it to get a full time role.
I’d reach out online and attend relevant conferences and events as well. The art of networking could be a post in itself and luckily there a ton of them on WSO. Most of them are oriented towards students and young professionals but there a lot of good ideas that you could use. Anyway, another thing that would be good is having produced some research and models in advance plus have a plus on the markets. This means you need to put in effort and do self guided education.
You likely will not get an internship at a name brand company but there are a lot of boutiques out there with largely unstructured recruiting practices and you’d have to convince someone to give you a shot. Some opportunities could be unpaid as well, so be ready to entertain those if you are serious and can afford not to be compensated.
Related Experience
This path is likely the longest and least certain. You’d essentially search internally and externally for any finance related job and use it to eventually network and obtain an equity research position. Given you have no finance experience, this could be a pretty big challenge unless you think you could get support for an internal transfer to a strategy or finance role at your company.
Bonus Path: Create Your Own Experience
There are a number of websites where people publish their own research and you could post your own content as well. If you do this well, you could demonstrate relevant experience and at minimum have something to point to when networking. It would also show your passion for ER and bolster your story. Best case scenario is a professional notices your research and decides to have a conversation with you.
/not edited, ignore typos and syntax errors
Your best bet is intern/temp to hire. You'll have to prove yourself. It is unlikely you'll get an FT offer so intern/temp is where to start and at least get a good recommendation if not a FT position.
I understand that. It's just hard to see why anyone would want an intern my age or how I would even get an internship when I'm not a student.
I elaborated on the how in my post but don’t let your age discourage you. Showing humility, intelligence, grit, maturity, and passion can take you far. You would be an unconventional candidate for an internship, but for the sake of encouragement, I’ll mention that I knew of two investment banking analysts that were 30+ years of age. I didn’t work with them directly, so I don’t know their stories but there is no way their paths were linear. One was 35 or 36 and the other was a little bit younger than that. Both were at companies you’d recognize. They had to find their footing, and so can you if you find a way to reconcile your age gap.
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