Senior monkeys, what would you do in this junior moneys shoes?
The first year of my career is over and I am at a reflection point. I would greatly appreciate any senior monkeys advice on what you would do in my shoes. Please excuse the length, but my decision moving forward will effect the rest of my life, so I didn't want to leave out any details. I see 7 paths I can take from here. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
I am 22. BS in finance with a 3.7 from a no name top 100 (Certificate in Quant. Finance a.k.a. "proficient in excel"). Former intern for a WM team at MS
Other past exp... president of Inter-Fraternity Council....analyst at tiny angel investment fund.... ran textbook trading company... college athlete... blah, blah, blah... (ask me if you care)
Today, I work at the biggest company in lumber trading, 3b (few people know this industry and therefore the company title is somewhat irrelevant). State board member for a nationally recognized non-profit and lucky to be on executive committee(position given by my boss/mentor today from MS)
It is the end of my first year, I've put my head down and worked my ass off. I am coming here for guidance before I pick my next direction, put my head down again and continue to work my ass off. I am asking you, what should I do with my extra hours outside of work? My end goal is to put my adoptive parents into early retirement.
My options moving forward are...
1) Trader Track:
Drink the cool-aid, double down on what I am told to do and become the best trader I can... Outside of work I would read sales books, put 20-30 extra hours a week in and dominate my responsibilities (1 year ROI: 75k-150k/y. Career ROI 300k average, highest traders make 1m+(25/380) , president 2m (12 spots/380 traders. Every president is a former trader but not necessarily the highest earning trader)
2) President Track:
Work my way out of a job & teach a computer to do my job for me. I've done something similar with my textbook business & the president of the office hired me because he shared my vision here. The cash market for commodities hasn't changed since the 80's and I am very confident a RPA platform could automate 80% of my responsibilities at work. Outside of work I would learn how to code using Python and then leverage an RPA platform like UIpath to automate my job. (If done successfully, I would be put on the fast track to becoming a president)
3) VC track:
I have decent connections into VC's who vetted my textbook business and my current vision for the future of cash commodities. I see massive opportunity for AI to transform the future of b2b commerce. I could spend my extra hours looking for a company already doing what I am thinking about, sell them to a VC, try to get involved in the deal and get the "Pre-MBA VC Analyst" role. I have experience slamming telephones already.
4) MBA track:
From my time as a college entrepreneur, I have decent connections into Tuck, Stanford and HBS. My gut tells me Tuck is my best bet because I've been invited there before. In my extra hours I would study for the GMAT & apply to MBA programs
5) MS Track:
My former boss at MS is almost at the point where he has "more food than a fat man can eat" and would welcome me back with open arms. He is a 1m+ earner & I love the location of the office much better than the location of my current office. I am less passionate about b2c. I would likely spend my extra hours here reading sales and wm books.
6) Oil trading track:
In the same city as MS is an publicly traded Oil trading company and I have close ties to the CEO. He helped me to decide to take the job I have now and he works closely with the non-profit I work with.
7) Board member track:
Double down on the non-profit board I am on. As with most non-profit boards, they can use all the extra help they can get. If I do well here, I could try to jump to a national board or a corporate board.
What would you do in my shoes?
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