Advice for Early Career Transition to Finance? - Current Political Staffer in US Congress

CapHillGuy12:

Hi all,

I'm looking to make a potential career change to finance and wanted to get some advice.

First, I should probably provide some more information about myself. I currently work as a congressional staffer at the US Congress. I have worked in my current position for nearly a year. Before I got this job, I graduated in the top 5% of my class from a mid ranked Ivy (not Harvard, but also not Cornell), where I majored in political science and completed about half of a major in applied statistics. At college, I didn't do any corporate recruiting because I assumed that I wanted to work as political staffer in DC. As a result, I did not apply for or complete any summer analyst or full-time analyst positions in any division at a bank. Nevertheless, I did complete a number of internships while I was in college, including ones at a PR firm, a small emerging markets-focused VC fund, and a couple of political organizations. Additionally, I also completed a short business bootcamp (eg. UNC Kenan-Flagler Business Essentials, Dartmouth Tuck Bridge, Middlebury MiddCore, ect.) prior to starting my current role in Washington.

There are multiple reasons why I would like to make a career switch. First is the work I do. Initially, I thought that I would really enjoy working as a political staffer. However, I now realize that I prefer to analyze macro-political (and macroeconomic) events rather than be a small figure in the middle of them. Second is the atmosphere. Most folks working in Congress didn't go to good colleges or grad schools, and believe it or not, in some political circles around DC, having a degree from a good school can be a knock against you in the same way that going to a non-target school can be a knock against you during banking and finance recruiting. That's definitely not true in every case, but it's certainly true in some instances. It definitely surprised me at first, which is why I now always go to massive lengths to de-emphasize my educational background whenever I'm around other political staffers. Third is the pay. To put it bluntly, public sector pay is really bad. I make less than $30,000 a year. It's really hard to live on that amount, especially in an expensive city like DC.

Making a career switch to finance and banking specifically is one option I've considered. Within finance there are some areas that I believe I may enjoy more than others. One area that looks very appealing is sales and trading (S&T). I especially enjoy following macroeconomic and macro-political events, and I have been following the markets on a daily basis as a hobby for the past few months. Within S&T, I think I would be more interested in fixed income than equities and especially fixed income products whose prices fluctuate to a significant degree in response to macro level events. Nevertheless, I would also be open to other asset classes, such as commodities and FX. Along with that, I believe that my statistics training from college may potentially come in handy if I went the trading route. Similarly, my networking and schmoozing skills that I've gained while working in the US Congress may potentially come in handy if I went the sales route. Nevertheless, I realize that S&T is a bit on the downhill slope. Gone are the days before the 2008 crash when prop trading played a large role and massively increased the compensation of S&T folks. Additionally, thanks to technology, I also realize that trading in many products, such as FX, is becoming automated, which is undermining S&T opportunities and compensation. Nevertheless, I still find this option appealing and would be excited about S&T opportunities, even if they are limited to market making in less liquid/less automatable products.

Another area that looks appealing is research. Working in a research department at a bank would afford me similar opportunities as S&T to analyze the impact of macro level events on the price of different assets. Just like S&T, I believe that I would be more interested in fixed income research compared to equity research. Additionally, I would also be interested in working for an economics or a commodities research group. Nevertheless, I realize that, like S&T, research is also on the downhill slope as banks engage in cost-cutting and try to reduce staff. Plus, research is middle office and not always as prestigious as front office roles. Despite these issues, research still interests me.

Along with S&T and research, I am also interested to a lesser degree in a number of other areas. These include asset management, transaction banking, commodities finance, and private banking. Additionally, while it's not related to banking or finance, I am also open to careers in management consulting.

Given this information and my profile, what would you recommend? What steps would you recommend I next take? Should I stick it out in DC for a few more years, get an MBA thereafter, and then make a career change? Or should I apply to a 1 year business/finance grad program now, get a grad degree, and make a career change? Or should I start networking now, try to make a career change as soon as possible, and lateral into a more traditional business role?

I understand that making this career shift won't be easy and that no opportunity will be handed to me on a silver platter. I also realize that at this point, it may be difficult to get a position at a top tier bank (or company).

Thank you for your help! Also, if you have any questions about what it's like to work in Congress, feel free to ask me, and I'll be happy to answer them.

Yeah, I think an MBA route would be good. It will definitely open doors.

Alternatively, you could go for a PhD in Economics and try to be the macro guy at a fund.