How often do these kinds of jobs come up?

Hi all,

Quick breakdown of my situation: I currently work in corporate communications in NYC. My goal is to break into equity research, Asset Management, or a hedge fund, so I'm trying to teach myself about investing and modeling, etc. However, once I learn enough of that stuff, I know that networking is really what it comes down to. However, my current role is very demanding and unpredictable time-wise, making it tough to network and to teach myself. We're not allowed to leave for lunch or really step out of the office without declaring a personal day in advance (and even that is frowned upon in many cases). It is very much a 24/7 availability job and it is assumed that I have my laptop and blackberry on me wherever I go; sometimes it is difficult taking the subway after work because someone may email me about work and if I don't respond within a few minutes, things aren't pretty.

I'm very lucky because I've managed to save a ton of money in the 16 or so months I've been working. By the time I get my bonus in a few months, I'll likely have about $50,000.

Given that, I'm interested in taking a lower-responsibility job that will give me some time to take classes (I'm from a total liberal arts background) and network. For example, I'm interested in roles like this Equity Research Assistant position with Piper Jaffray (see: goo.gl/R7Yt6n)

I would apply for that job right now, but I imagine it pays like $35k or so, and I'd rather move into a role like that after I get my bonus from my current job in a few months. Or, maybe these jobs are rare enough that I should make moves and try to get this position asap.

Does anyone have a sense of how often jobs like that come about?

Thanks for the insight.