I finished undergrad with a horrendous GPA as a science major, unrealistic aspirations?
I finished with a 2.1 GPA a couple years ago as a biology major, it took me 6 years to graduate college and my low GPA is due to D's in classes like Organic Chemistry 1, Genetics, Physiology, Microbiology, and Biochemistry. Had to retake those classes all over again and only had a C in them the second time around. As for what led to the mess, I never wanted to actually major in science but I had immigrant parents that pushed me into the field and said that was the only way to avoid being broke in the future.
Back then I was naive and just believed whatever my parents told me and by the time I realized that my biology major would not get me anywhere if I don't go to med school or grad school (which my GPA is too low for btw), I was entering my final year of college.
Decided to say screw it, trucked through, and got my degree.
My favorite classes in college were accounting and economics, both of which I made an A in and I wanted to get into finance back then but my parents threatened me into backing off from it. So after years of fighting with overbearing immigrant parents who think that you either become a doctor or you end up being a bum in life, I have finally broken free and they have conceded that they were wrong about their idea of life in the USA.
Right now I work as a lab tech and I am 25 years old. I would like to eventually break into finance and hopefully one day work on Wall Street but if it is in any way realistic, I know it will take years to get there.
I realize that most of Wall Street is loaded with intelligent kids that made great grades at top universities so right now with my resume the way it is, I have no shot and I realize that.
My question is, what can I be doing right now or to put myself in somewhat of a favorable circumstance and eventually get a job on Wall Street?
Let me guess, your parents are some sort of West African? lol
Nah they're Asian.
So I take that the silence means I might be being a bit unrealistic with aspirations of working on Wall Street in my lifetime.
Not at all - turn what you do know into a huge advantage and focus like crazy on teaching yourself the financial statement analysis based on your med and biotech exposure. Your best bet is to maybe even take a CFA 1 and build a few models/coverage materials on a few stocks in the sector you like to follow. Then network with all equity research shops until someone listens; something will stick (can't hurt to hit up some pple in ib too). That or if you have good salesman/walk the talk skills, private banking is an option.
What kind of a path am I looking at right now though? Do I have to go to grad school?
Never ever give up idc what anybody says keep on grinding. Start studying for the CFA exam, maybe even study for the GMAT kill it and apply for a master program in finance. Build your story, study technicals, you need to breath and bleed finance. Network with anybody and everybody. Bottom line is never stop grinding.
Thank you for all of the advice guys but how can I get started on my path right now? What can I do?
You need to start showing interest / building a profile to match your aspirations. CFA, mFin, networking, and doing other things to strengthen your app could be beneficial, but at that age, you probably want to have more focus on a specific career. "Working on Wall Street" is stupidly vague. Read up on IB/ER/AM/corporate finance/consulting/etc and find what interests you the most. It's a lot easier to attain your goal of you know what to aim for and make a path towards that.
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