Interning @ 38.
For better or worse, I've always appreciated what appears to be honesty in these forums. So, here goes.
I'm a 38 y/o military vet, graduated with a bachelor's in finance three years ago. Life's situations required me to remain at a job where schedule flexibility suited not only finishing my education but other private family matters, both considerations of which are no longer a factor. Now, here I am, practicing LBO's in excel at a fundamentally basic level while reading to garner an understanding of the creativity behind debt instruments to meet funding needs. Admittedly, and laugh at this all you must as what I'm about to describe is a very basic concept, but when I started manipulating inputs of an LBO and being patient to understand the drivers in the model, it just gave me an appreciation as to why the right debt in the right context is extremely valuable. This made me want to know more.
All of this to say, the learning is great and all, but I want to apply it. I have ordered a case study book and look forward to plugging away. However, with all this interest and curiosity, in the back of my mind I am thinking it's possibly too late. I don't necessarily need to have a position in PE to make my life complete but it would be great to do something in which I'm genuinely interested. Even the lending space would be great. Is interning out of the question at this stage in the game?
All input welcome. Happy Holidays all.
My suggestion would be an MBA if you can.
Have you been reaching out to firms to network? Start there. Please don't let age get in the way. You have plenty going for you right now since you have a degree in finance, are a vet, and have brushed up on one of the main skills needed for said industry. Best of luck, Brodie.
Thank you for the well wishes. Honestly, I haven’t been sure about who to contact or the proper channel to use to initiate some kind of relationship with firms. Showing up to a networking event without any contacts doesn’t sound prudent, although, I’m not beyond trying.
Try the BB military programs.
Several of my sales cvg guys at the BBs left the military, then went through this training program designed to take vets and place them throughout the bank. It's a great program. They started out as interns, moved through a few groups and now work in sales cvg. None of these guys have MBAs. Age isn't that big of a deal, maybe initially it's a little awkward, but in a year or two after starting once you have a seat no one cares.
An MBA is also a great route too that many do.
Best of luck and thank you for your service.
Thank you. I’ve been pleased to see lots of firms with veteran oriented initiatives. Going forward, I’ll focus my efforts here and find my way.
Feel free to DM me anytime if I can help in any way. .
One of my sales cvg guys is ex-Army, the another is ex-Navy. I remember when my ex-Army guy finally got his seat after his intro rotation program ended. Now a few years later he's covering some major accounts and no one cares how old he is or when he started. This can totally be you!
Best of luck!
Will Smith did it in Pursuit of Happyness
This is great, good luck!
PM me, a buddy of mine in VC is ex-military and I’m happy to do an introduction.
Thank you. Sent.
Thank you so much for your service
MBA would be a great path for you, and you seem like you'd knock interviews out of the park. What is your current job / job history? Of course you should diligence getting into finance without an MBA, but it takes so long to apply I'd start the MBA process and see if you can land something in the meantime.
Regardless of what route you choose, military vets are always welcomed in the finance world and will go to bat for fellow veterans. If you can find people on LinkedIn who also served, they would be the exact type of person to hit up about a position. Best of luck man.
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I spent 9 years in human health services, in both senior staff and a management role. The positions provided the schedule flexibility that I needed at the time for both school and other obligations.
Honestly, I didn’t know many in the industry upon graduation and didn’t know exactly what I wanted. Without experience, I suppose it's a bold claim to know now, but I can say that securitized leverage and the creativity it provides really interests me. I traded options for myself alongside a few friends, mainly in oil back in 2016 selling puts spreads about 1.5 std OTM. I liked it, did okay, but knew I didn’t want that as a career. Though I do appreciate the macro view and insights I gained in researching oil.
The feedback and guidance I’ve received from users here has been overwhelmingly generous and sincere. Looking forward to whatever happens next.
I suggest DM’ing sitreps to steercos on IG also. MBA is the best way to pivot ( I know Mckinsey loves Post MBA vets) but that Sales position that a poster conveyed to you might be a great move too.
Will do. Thank you!
do an mba.
banks and consulting firms will love you.
You seem like you'd be a great candidate to hit up this place called Amerivet securities in NYC. It's not a private equity firm but you're exactly the type of person they would at minimum give a shot at an internship and good mentorship. They do have a nice boutique IB department!https://amerivetsecurities.com/
Puppydoge, thank you for the information! I'll add them to the list.
Im surprised you would even want to at that age
I understand the sentiment, but we all lead different lives.
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