Out of the industry, confused, broke; but in love

Hello,

I am a graduate of International Relations and American History from a liberal research university in Europe. Came to the US as a Green Card holder. Have been living in Boston for 2 years now. I am 26. I am pursuing to get Mathematical Finance degree.

First, I didn't know what I wanted. Waited tables & bartended for a year. Started buying & selling stocks and reading some. Realized that this was what I liked and also realized that 5 years of college -- down the drain. When I look back, it's not surprising: I was a math olympian, graduated with 3.7 / 4.0 (people graduated from a European university knows how hard that shit was), GRE scores 331/340 with 170 from Quant, etc. I always loved reading Financial History, and wanted to learn about it.

But being a wiser human being now, I realized I couldn't get this going just by "liking" it. So I talked to the admissions director at Boston University's Financial Mathematics department. She told me that although my test scores and all were adequate, I could not get in without proper coursework in Math. So I started taking courses in Community College. Because of my extensive math background, advanced math is not the problem here. Here's what's at stake:

I don't have any money. I've been working at a media company, getting paid literally less than the $12 minimum wage in Mass (because I work 60+ hours a week, getting paid $2200 a month net) So, I'm getting paid shit, and I'm not learning anything, because I'm working crazy time.

What should I do? I can't explain this situation to anyone. I am not in the industry. I've never been in the industry. However, I am good at math. I am good at financial modeling. That is intrinsic to me. I was born with mathematical thinking. How can I survive until August 2020 when I hopefully start my degree? I know for sure, that the moment I am in school, I will be okay.

Thoughts? Criticisms?

 

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