Likelihood of getting into Hedge Fund with no experience in finance or college degree?
Hey everyone.
Long story short, I met a hedge fund manager (joe) when I was 18 at a restaurant in NYC through a mutual friend. Regular dinner as anyone else would have. There was no agenda, just hanging out/having dinner/talking shit.
This friend of mine (joe2) owned a massive media company. At the time i was in college, with no direction of what i wanted to do. joe2 Thought college was a waste of time and asked me to drop out of school and come work as an executive assistant for him until i figured out what i wanted to do. Joe agreed that i should take the job opposed to going to school to learn. 2 days later I was on Joe's private jet going to LA to start my new life. Joe2 and me would go over to Joe's house every 1-2 months, for dinner, catching up and celebrating Holidays. They become my family in LA. After 5 years of working for Joe2 I decided I wanted to move back to NYC and remain in the business world, but this time, in finance. I'm 24 now with no degree or finance background, but i learned a lot about analyzing businesses, what makes companies tick and why they ultimately fail. I asked Joe for a job at the fund a week ago, and he's going to introduce me to the COO of the company soon to see where I would/could fit in.
A Little about me,
Before that point in my life, I was as poor as you can be without being homeless, i never knew billionaires were real, never knew about wall street and always thought making $35k a year would be a great life. My parents collectively never made more than 22k a year after taxes. My outlook on money has changed, along with my idea of the world around me. I am much more aware of what the world has to offer. I have a direct contact with Joe (his phone #). Been to all his homes across the U.S. Stayed in his beach house an entire summer while working in LA.
Joe is the CEO and founder of the HF. The HF has $4 BILLION AUM. Employs about 14,000 people through the businesses that the fund owns.
I'd love a job as an analyst. What are the chances of me getting a job by speaking/interviewing with the COO?
Do these things ever happen?
Thanks in advance guys. Any input on what i should be doing would be greatly appreciated.
If you were just an EA then I can't really see any real skills you'd have. Your friend might hire you but it would make him look like a terrible boss/nepotism fanboi.
The only people I've met in finance without degrees were other entrepreneurs who typically have enough cash to tell people to fuck off if they ask about a degree. They are the check writers so it's a little different. I've seen a few ex operators working for VCs and get offers like that too but you usually require a pretty deep ops background.
I know one trader that did well on his own and went on to work with a prop shop after teaching himself how to code really well (as in his GitHub account gets recruiters hard) but ....outliers.
HF specifically is really tough without serious technical skills. Not saying it's not possible but it's certainly rough.
You could ask your friend what he'd want to see from you in terms of skill set before he'd be willing to give you a shot. Maybe that's a better way to go about it.
Hey!
shit, sorry for the late response. thanks for your insight!
I totally agree with you that EA's don't have much skills. I've met a lot through the years and they are usually dummies. Not saying that I am an exception but I always looked at that job as a way for me to meet, connect with people and learn about businesses as much as I can. When i quit the job to move back to NYC, I started my own direct to consumer brand. It's been about 10 months since I launched it and I've done a little over $22k in sales, but it's not enough for me to build it out to the brand that i would like for it to be.
I guess, what i'm trying to do is get into the hedge fund, learn about raising capital, learn about valuations and learn about how the economy really works.
I've been diggin around wso and much of the analyst that share their experiences say that most of their job is just about endurance and researching.
I think a lot of the guys that are in wall street want to keep their job/workplace mysterious in order to keep their "elitism" and "prestige". That's why a lot of the lower level guys always say it's "nearly impossible" to get in if you don't have target school degree with a 3.9 gpa along with a cfa and mba degrees.
I asked "joe" what role college played in his success, he looked at me raised his hand and made a 0 sign.
Joe doesn't have a cfa or an mba. He has a bachelors in economics
I'll update you within the next 2 weeks.
thank you again for your insight.
There's obviously a chance to land a role and work your way up. Outside of thsi connection however, it's going to be very hard to get a HF job without basic credentials such as a bachelor's degree.
Good luck and keep us posted
You have not mentioned or listed the specific skills that you have learned in the past 6 years. Start by giving us that...
Joe is right, it probably adds zero value to him right now, but the truth is, he would have had near zero chance of getting where he is without that qualification.
You seem to think college is about what you learn. It isn't, its 95% signaling. That doesn't make it less valuable.
Rerum quo quas voluptatem provident rerum. Qui sequi quasi totam ea reprehenderit maiores. Qui eveniet hic non non saepe et quia.
Dolore corporis asperiores odio quisquam. Et quibusdam ducimus est quia doloremque occaecati voluptatem. Vel vel quia dolorum ducimus placeat sint id. Autem aut non laborum et odio temporibus dicta.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...