Should I Stay or Should I Go?
I'm 24 years old and have worked at a branch of a small brokerage firm near Baltimore for about 8 months now. Like many I struggled to find a career path that fit me in college and ended up with an environmental degree with a bio minor. I do believe that my true calling in life is business; environmental and bio jobs just don't excite me. I am highly motivated and don't mind working long hours, reading at home to educate myself etc. My problem is that I landed a job as an investment adviser at a small firm that specializes in biotech, and my career has hit a wall. When I started I could not have been more excited. I was 100mph every day getting to work early and staying late, doing whatever it took. I studied hard and passed my Series 7 and 63 first time with flying colors. There are 12 people in my office and they are separated into two groups: 5 who have their own offices and books of business, and 7 in a big room who are my age and don’t have clients. My firm offers NO training, I mean literally nothing. One of the firm partners is supposed to be training us rookies but he has family issues and substance abuse problems so he rarely shows up, sometimes not for weeks. The rest of the senior brokers have no interest in wasting any time on training. We get a phone, corporate directories, and $8.00/hr and basically that’s it. Nobody is making any progress. Of the 7 rookies we all have financial problems basically student loans and living expenses are higher than our pay. The dilemma: due to the lack of structure I think there is immense opportunity; there is hardly any internal competition. I could have an office and be a top producer of the firm in no time if I could just get going. But after 8 months of almost no progress coupled with seeing the other rookies, some who have been here for over 2 years, in the same boat I’m not sure this is a good fit for me. Where does one draw the line between sticking it out when the going is tough and cutting my losses to move to a firm where adequate training is provided?
It's good that you're taking a positive view of things, and you are hopeful that it will turn out well, but what guarantee do you have of this? From your story, it seems like there are other people there who have been there longer, and yet they have not have any opportunities to grow/develop. You mention the lack of internal competition, but if there isn't anything to compete for, then there's no need for competition.
Also, if the more senior people aren't willing to train you, why do you think they would be willing to take their time on promoting and increasing their risk on another senior member like you? Not saying you shouldn't stay, but you should realistically consider the situation of where you are at. If things aren't great there, you have to expect that things will remain the same unless something happens to shake things up.
I would recommend you have a lunch with one of the more senior people and just see what their plans/expectations are. Are they looking to make another partner? Are they looking to grow and promote from within, or bring in someone from the outside. If you don't like what you hear, I would start looking elsewhere immediately.
Thank for the response! I think I need to clarify a bit on what I mean by competition and advancement. Compensation at the firm is 100% commission based so there is no such thing as a promotion per se’ save for getting an office or making partner neither of which are huge concerns for me. What I am concerned with is how much I make. The firm wants to expand this branch office and we currently have desk space for 10 more people. Our lease agreement states that we can terminate at any time as long as we take a new space that is double the square footage so expansion is in the cards. Basically if I was making some money I could/ would be encouraged to hire 10 cold callers to work for me and build my business. I would have to pay for their salary out of my own pocket until they got licensed and acquired a few clients. (this is currently my position). My agreement with the guy who hired me is $8/hr and he gets half commission on my first 20 accounts, after that I’m on my own. He is the rookie who has been here the longest and pretty much affords my salary though family money he manages but he doesn’t have any other clients. So like I said there is open desk space for my team and an unlimited ceiling but I just can’t seem to make any progress in order to achieve these goals. One would think that since the company is already paying for more square footage than we use and the entire pit is making virtually no sales upper management would get involved; but they don’t. They seem to not care a bit.
No idea what the local job market looks like but I would definitely start sending out resumes. 100% commission, no training, no mentorship, etc. is about as bad of a way you to start a finance career as I can think of. YouR primary goals early in your career should be to build a valuable skillset and network. Sounds like a dead end job to me.
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