Monkey to Millions | Victor (Session 7) - Fidelity Starts...but another Wrinkle Emerges - Oct 13, 2021
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In this session, Victor shares how his life has changed since starting training at Fidelity in their asset management division. We learn about his upcoming SIE, Series 7 and Series 66 exams, but one major piece of news looms large and may change everything.
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WSO Podcast (Episode 7) Transcript:
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:00:04] It. Hello and welcome. I'm Patrick Curtis, chief monkey of Wall Street Oasis, and this is monkey to millions. A show where you get a front row seat as I mentor young students and professionals to try and help them break into their dream jobs in the first cohort. You'll meet four students, all preparing for intense job interviews while trying to also balance a personal life and schoolwork. The goal of this show is to shine a light on the struggles of trying to break into competitive positions with a non-traditional background and to give you a roadmap for your own success. My hope is that as you get to know these four impressive students, you're inspired to dream big. Remember, these are real people, and this is their true story. Let's get to it. In this session, Victor shares how his life has changed since starting training at Fidelity in their asset management division. We learn about his upcoming C, Series seven and Series sixty six exams, but one major piece of news looms large may change everything. Enjoy. All right, Victor. Since the last time we talked, I assume you have started fidelity the job. So tell me, give me an update, what's going on? And then we'll go from there.
Victor: [00:01:37] Absolutely. The first, it's really again, nice to see you after like few months, it's been a crazy kind of schedule. We just hit the ground running. Fidelity is kind of established in a brokerage firm. They have all the training in place. We have to kind of just trust the process. It is a lot of work, but it's very interesting. They kind of walk people through. They assume that not everybody knows anything about finance. They kind of hold your hand and they kind of walk you through the basic understanding, basic concepts so that you can be comfortable. They put you on the phone because everybody works from home now. Mostly, yeah. So it's been a very interesting process, getting the benefits, talking about, you know, the stuff that is going on fidelity, whatever role and expectations are. The issue with Fidelity is that as a brokerage firm, it requires you to have certain licenses.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:31] So where are you on studying for those and all that?
Victor: [00:02:34] I am starting with my C because I kind of have to go with whatever they have to take kind of put the process the place, and I have to go and follow that process.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:02:43] I'm so for people who are listening to Rs kind of the core base examination. You have to pass first before you can do the top off exam and stuff that's new as of two or three years ago, I think. And OK, so tell me, so are you? Have you taken it? Do you have it scheduled? What's going on?
Victor: [00:03:00] And so we are actually starting. So they started this intro to the licenses and we are in the middle of that. So we'll actually start the whole process towards the end of October and November. And they give us about eight weeks, November 1st, all the way the end of December and possibly the first week of January. So we get the take see the top of exams, as you said, seven and six to six. Though I was told that compare that seventy six to six, seven, mostly seven to look MCAT, you need to have understanding of like psychology and molecular biology options and everything.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:03:39] Seven. Seven Tarter Yeah, yes.
Victor: [00:03:41] But aside, Tom was kind of like it kind of dipping your feet in the water. This is a secular industries, and this is the understandable basic financial concept. So if they get that out of the way, then they kind of stretch it out for six weeks or six to eight weeks for six weeks, six weeks, excuse me, for seven and then about two to three weeks.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:01] So whenever you started with. When did you start with them? Exactly.
Victor: [00:04:04] I started with at the end of August,
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:07] August, September, all of September, better about five weeks or six
Victor: [00:04:09] Months, five weeks. Yeah.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:11] And so what's going on like, what are you been doing, just like compliance? All that stuff?
Victor: [00:04:15] Yes, exactly. Basic compliance, training, introduction to fidelity orientation. This is how you talk to customers. This is what we believe. And they're kind of bunch of Zoom meetings since everybody working from home, you know, the benefits, introduction and all that stuff, career progression, what your expectations are and everything. And here in there, we're kind of shadow people what their role would look like
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:37] If you're collecting a pay check now.
Victor: [00:04:39] Oh, I do. I do. I say that. And thanks to you, I appreciate that I don't have to work anymore. Three jobs, it kind of felt weird. I really was a little bit down on myself that I graduated nice college, but here I am again. You know, you know, you got it right.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:04:57] Yeah, you got to get you got to talk to the right people, get in the right channels and now you're in that right channel and getting some pay.
Victor: [00:05:03] So you have no idea how much you've helped me through that LinkedIn, whatever you taught me, I'm using that because within that company, I kind of reach out before anyone tell me anything I set up like ten 15 minutes, Hey, I'm interested in this slow looking down. About a year down the line, I'm kind of put into what is a good sailor. Yeah, exactly. And the cart before the horse here or but I try to kind of say, like, Hey, kind of get my voice out there. This is what I'm trying to understand. I always kind of say, Hey, I learned this one by Jake and whose pay check I do. You know that so is my mentor I used always use that kind of little thing. Ok, good. You know, some people know, some they don't. But yeah, it's been quite a journey, but it's kind of get into that level. Special next eight weeks is going to be like, incredible. Incredible. And they told us, please plan to kind of set aside minimum 50 to 55 hours a week. So you've got to get through this licenses because without this licenses, you don't get to kind of function.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:05:59] That's for the system and the Series seven in the six to six and the sixty six. So what's the orders, obviously? See first, then what do you do
Victor: [00:06:06] Seven, seven to six
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:06:08] And then 60? I think this happens the hardest, but I say we shouldn't be too bad if you study hard.
Victor: [00:06:12] Yeah, I will. I will do my very because another news that I kind of mentioned earlier, I want to share with the listeners that I'm in the reserve and being mobilized to this to Georgia for about a year. And the great thing about the company that they are more than happy to kind of work with me, they're freezing and everything, and I get to come back and start. But they urged me, recommended me to get through the licenses so that I can get there, you know, knowing full well that I get back here, I don't have to worry about anything. Maybe just say maybe a refresher course or two in that department or whatever the, you know, the area that I'm going to work in.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:06:50] So when you go to the reserves or you go to Georgia, are you your full time job is going to suddenly be with the reserves and then so you won't be doing any fidelity, they'll freeze the hold your spot for you.
Victor: [00:07:00] That is true. I don't even know what my job is going to look like, but yeah, I don't even know. But most like, it's going to be like a kind of regular military job, but I'm not getting as far as I know again now, 100 percent certain. As far as I know, it's going to be like a regular office job. So I hope we get to do this like it's going to be much better because I don't have any exams to like, you know?
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:23] So are you going to be able to take the Series seven to sixty six before you start?
Victor: [00:07:26] Yes, that's huge.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:28] Just get that done. That's nice. And you'll have that. And then Fidelity is going to freeze it. Or probably like end of November.
Victor: [00:07:35] Yes, December, January, early January, the minute they freeze it and they come back as if I have never left. But the exception that I've had the licenses now, the licenses, OK, that's awesome.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:46] Ok, so then you have a year out there.
Victor: [00:07:49] It's almost like a ten month a year.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:51] Yes, and you're gonna be doing some office job, which is going to be like pushing paper
Victor: [00:07:55] Pretty much, pretty much, you know?
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:07:57] So that's interesting. I mean, the good part about that is if you can work on a lot of skills,
Victor: [00:08:02] Yes, which is what I'm planning to do like through myself and all of them. So no excuses because I have the job paying good places and I get to work. Does it pay you like
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:08:13] Crap or does it pay you 50000 a year or something like that? Thirty thousand
Victor: [00:08:17] A year? Yeah, exactly around thirty thousand. But the good thing about that, I don't have to worry about that. I know it's not a big I don't think the food and board exactly board and everything. So I don't have some kind of college. But you know what I'm saying you do like, I have no party. Yeah, exactly. But my pardon would be the so I got to get all this like within a year, put in that two hundred hours to get everything that you kind of give me access to. So to get all the luck and financial
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:08:43] Model, yeah, I think what will be good is what we can set a plan. We can talk once you're down there, maybe the next time we talk, we'll be after. Hopefully you've passed your licenses. Yes, and maybe we can talk once you're in Georgia. Yes. And then I'd love to set up a plan for the ten months that you're there to talk about specifically, not just the financial modelling training, but maybe some of the networking you can do with people that are in the reserves or whatnot. Had you started that, had you reached out to any? I know you did a little bit of it, and that's how you kind of fell into this valley thing. But did you do anything with like people who were in the military?
Victor: [00:09:17] Not really.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:09:18] Once I found a channel man, I
Victor: [00:09:21] Know I'm going to go for it. But the minute I found this job and it's been like such a, you know, you know, some of my personal like, yeah, it's a blessing. Yeah, well, this is kind of rough twice for yes. Yes, yes, very nicely put. So it's been like crazy, and I've been kind of focusing all my energy on getting it done. But once I'm there, that's definitely two pieces that hopefully the next time we'll talk will be right around New Year. If you have time, if I'm here. So that's we'll probably go from here, then here I just want to make sure I get the licenses done. And then once we've got a touch base there, I'll be in Georgia sometime early March after trainings and stuff. So I'll check in with you either early March or early April. And from there we can kind of set it up all the way to December. So, OK, what the goals are this and know? Reach out
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:10] To this. I think that'd be great because I think my guess is I'm not going to be working you 50 hours a week, 60 hours a week. No, I think it's going to be 30 ish.
Victor: [00:10:18] Yeah, probably around 40. And if I do work,
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:21] Real
Victor: [00:10:21] Work. No, no, no, not really. I like to do
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:25] Stuff while you're in the office.
Victor: [00:10:26] That's absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:10:28] So that I think that's going to give you a big opportunity just to build a massive network, talk with people like do your work quickly and like four hours and then the second half of the day have time.
Victor:00:10:40] Yeah. So I don't maybe not a lot to kind of do inside the building because of security and all that stuff, but. I can't have like a peanut stuck with me and take it with me. Study overdose like a material and maybe make a phone calls on the LinkedIn or just kind of it because it's going to be like a three days on, three days off that kind of schedule. So I'll have like a weekends and weekdays that I'll have nothing to do. But, you know, full of focus on this.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:07] Oh, wow, this is kind of an interesting little case study. If you had a year to just network entirely, what's the damage you could do and focus on the skill building, which is crazy, that's going to be like, what? You're going to come out of there like a machine, hopefully.
Victor: [00:11:20] This is like it as like I think it is a
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:23] Financial modelling training boot camp for a whole 10 months. Yes.
Victor: [00:11:27] Which is what? Which is what I like. I had a pay check. I was really kind of angry a little bit when they hit me with this. I'm like, Dude, I just got this job. You guys are killing me. Why don't you take me? Like last year, which I didn't have much of a job? Now I have a job. You guys want me. But then I thought about it. I'm like, OK, this is what I've been wanting, like free time to kind of fully focus on it with no worries that everything is kind of behind me now with the personal stuff. And it's in a place that it's just going to be me. No kids, nobody want
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:11:56] A distraction, no
Victor: [00:11:57] Distraction. So I can do a serious damage with your help, hopefully. But I'm going to climb that. I'm going to keep those targets.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:12:03] And the beauty is, here's the beauty. You have your life. You have your licenses. There's no reason why you can't. You know, three months before you leave, four months before your leaves start applying for other jobs, yes,
Victor: [00:12:16] Which is what I intend to do.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:12:17] Like, you may be able to land an analyst role at a bank or yeah, who knows something else. If you talk the talk and you know the lingo and you prep for the interviews, we can even have you sit in some live boot camps and happy to let you sit in on those for free, the financial modelling and valuation boot camps to help kind of re solidify what your self study is doing. Ok, sit in on those that's over a weekend perfect to adapt to eight hour days. It's intense. That's fine. It's like, you know, it's expensive and we're giving it to you for free, so you better do it.
Victor: [00:12:51] Thank you. Oh, no, no, definitely. I am so, so happy that you're working with me. I really appreciate that. Yeah.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:12:57] So if you do, if you're willing to do that and you could sit in, you could sit on the boot camp a couple of times, force yourself to sit through it. You'll be like, Oh my gosh, I've already done this. But then building the model alongside the instructor, you'll be surprised. Like just the repetition of it will start making a second nature. And then all of a sudden, when you do land that interview from your networking, you're going to be so confident because you're just like, blah. I've done this, and this to make myself better and the like. Ok, we're desperate for bodies.
Victor: [00:13:25] Well, may I say, may I say something there? Like you said, repetition like there is Aristotle quote, I don't want to sound old, like because again, it Georgetown has to show, but it is very nice quote. He says that, you know, we are a basically we are what we repeatedly do. And, you know, perfection or mastery is not an act, but a habit. So it is a repetition of, say, if I can actually sit through them four or five times. I did the same studies weekend that fidelity aside, only maybe four or five days, four times. But right now I am far more comfortable without even asking for help dystonia because I got the language down, I got you. Don't you know what I'm saying? Like, it is kind of becomes like a second nature. So I know when they open their mouth what it is that I should go, you know, which is great. You know, I just wanted to kind of show what you just said.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:14] I mean, it's kind of an exciting it's kind of it's frustrating because you're about to start full time.
Victor: [00:14:18] And I was unhappy. I'm like, It's a pain.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:22] Yeah, but it's kind of delays the career a little bit longer. The kick-off. But at
Victor: [00:14:28] That time, I started my life
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:31] At the same time. So how long is this commitment for one, after you do this 10 months, are you done?
Victor: [00:14:37] Yeah, once I'm done and I'll come back as a reservist and that they cannot touch me for another six years, which is kind of, yeah, so it
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:14:44] Brings me, you're still committed six years after that.
Victor: [00:14:47] I mean, six after that. It's kind of up. And, you know, it's not. And I get to kind of finish my, you know, I've retired from reserve. It's not much money. It's like a worst case scenario is I'm on the streets, no jobs, whatever. I can have a pension that I can, you know, depend on other than the Social Security and a little bit of like health benefits.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:15:06] So that's you have one more kind of cycle where they can potentially call you in
Victor: [00:15:09] Potentially more likely other
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:15:11] Potentially. Yeah, OK. Very cool. So how can I help? What else is going on?
Victor: [00:15:18] So it's been like a crazy I just wanted to kind of again touch base and kind of every time I feel like when we talk, I dump all of this stuff on you. You know, it's never like a one to news. It's just, hey, actually, by the way, this is what happened, you know? But I kind of am happy that I know I was going to ask exactly what you told me. I was going to ask if you can kind of work with me towards the mid March when I kind of settled on and George, I have place and everything, you know, internet access and all that stuff. I come up with this plan not only WCO, but LinkedIn like a weekly target, which I kind of destroy them, not just like a cuddle Lim made right, but just
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:15:56] Have a have a reasonable target that you.
Victor: [00:15:58] Exactly, exactly. Exactly. It's like I need to make like a 40 calls, and this is what expected of me.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:16:04] Not weekly. That's not reasonable. You won't do 40 calls a week.
Victor: [00:16:08] I was giving you just an example. Just an example.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:16:12] Five calls, I think is a good, you know, several hundred connection requests. Yeah, something like that or something like that.
Victor: [00:16:19] So you guide me through that. That would be awesome, you know? And then towards the end, if I do OK, I'll be probably done by email with pretty much everything that absurd at this first time. And if you can, like, set me up for like $0 login for the boot camps and maybe once a month, whatever, I can do them repeatedly three or four times. So I get that fluency.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:16:42] I mean, you can get through most of the elite modelling package, probably in 50 to one hundred hours. But there's also the investment banking interview course, the private equity interview course consulting. If you want to do that, I mean, it'd be helpful to know like, Hey, these are my goals. I know you have asset management and you have that job lined up. But the question is kind of where do you want to go
Victor: [00:17:01] Exactly now the kind of kind of doors kind of start opening a couple of weeks ago, a couple of month ago when I was talking to you, my basement was like, OK, let's go apply to this bartender job. And if I work here and wait tables, maybe, maybe I'll get a job, maybe next year. But now, like you said, once I have my license, it's just like I, my kind of bar kind of got raised and floor with the bar also got raised. So the worst case scenario, and again, I'm very grateful I'll be back at Fidelity. So I want to kind of explore what are the best cases?
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:17:33] Yeah, exactly. So I think. Yeah, even if you do end up back at Fidelity, I think the good part is at that point, hopefully you build up a really strong network. And like, I don't I don't see how you wouldn't be able to land some interviews while you're there. Why? No, while you're at in the like, you could still interview, theoretically your resume. Yeah. And I can't tell you how desperate. How desperate the firms are right now for junior talent. Perfect. And if you humble yourself and say, you know, I'm willing to do it, you can get a job, they're hiring kids, especially if you show like you have the right resume and you show that you put in a lot of hours of self study and you've attended this many boot camps and you've and you show all that stuff. I think there would be definitely some firms that would be willing to take a chance on you. But I think you need to put in the work first and do all that networking and yeah,
Victor: [00:18:30] Absolutely which you've done.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:18:31] You've done some of it. And I think just having this fidelity backdrop is just huge relief. And now I would say this, this additional year is kind of just a nice little opportunity for you.
Victor: [00:18:44] Yeah, yeah. So kind of like, you know, be able to focus without notice,
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:18:48] Pretty rare and pretty rare.
Victor: [00:18:50] And again, I was kind of complaining, but I thought, I'm OK. Hey, maybe, you know, if there's like a hand of providence or fate, you know, kind of guided me through this because it was really horrible year. Twenty now I'm guessing.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:19:02] Well, if you became like a little bit of an animal and instead of, you know, let's say you're working 40 hours a week, but you're like, Hey, I'm going to do like banking, I'm going to work 30 additional hours. I would work 70 hours while I'm alone doing this stuff because I have nothing else to do. Yeah, you're just going to I'm going to buckle down and I'm not going to watch too much Netflix. I don't. I don't
Victor: [00:19:21] Have it. I cut it off, really. I cut it off from everything. That's everything. Yeah.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:19:26] So if you're like, Hey, I want to just spend this year to really become an animal. Whole years, a long time, if you're doing that consistently for 50 weeks in a row. Think of the number of hours that is where you.
Victor: [00:19:39] Two thousand hours close. Yeah. Fifteen hundred and fifty nine.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:19:43] Yeah, it's a lot of hours of networking or funding or training like you can really come out of that. And even if it's 20 hours time days, it's still a thousand hours. So you can really improve yourself and make yourself a lot more marketable. So we'll work on it.
Victor: [00:20:00] All of them, almost every single thing that you said, it's just the music to my ears. You know, it makes me so happy. I get inside and it's
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:20:06] Hard to dive in. It's hard. That's like, it's hard.
Victor: [00:20:10] I'll be working right now, which is fidelity at work. Close to 60 hours now, 40 hours paid, but rest twenties. Just I'm doing my own work. Nobody's required just what you're just doing. Yes, to kind of get better and better and better.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:20:22] Yes, you understand it fully. Yeah. Ok, good what? We can do the same thing. Well, first steps. First step first is passing your series exams. So don't underestimate this IED or anything like that. Just go in and kill it.
Victor: [00:20:35] Which is why I'm working 60 hours now, but that I won't have any problem. I've been working since August on just fidelity so that I don't have this like a work life, kind of in a separation of 40 hours done. I get to do so much like I shoot as a 60 hours. It's just they pay 40 hours. I have to do that. They show 20 hours, which is fine. Cool.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:20:54] Anything else?
Victor: [00:20:55] Any question? I don't, and I'm glad to see you again. I hope everything all is well with you and the family.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:21:00] Things are crazy here. As always, the little ones
Victor: [00:21:04] Are always portable people. Those little ones I know. Oh my gosh, the producers.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:21:12] Well, the problem with the two oldest ones is they don't even hear their names like everything Ronin, come on and the young ones like blah, blah. And she's like, We're like, Why is the two year old more responsive than the four of the six all different personalities now? But anyways, thanks for catching up. I think it's great to see you again, too. Let's try to touch base. Yeah, near the end of the year or early in the new year. Yes, yes. And it'll be. I'll be curious to hear. Hopefully good news from that.
Victor: [00:21:41] Oh, definitely. Definitely. Thank you so much. And again, just a quick note. Some of the people that who actually listen to the episode, they reach out and I won't apologize on air. I am really sorry. It is just been extremely busy, busy schedule with my personal life and this I will get back to them because I don't want to sound that I have much to offer other than like my own experience and how kind of came up. But I just want to kind of say on the just on episode, people reached out and I could not get back to them. I want to say that I have read them. It's just a matter of time. Once I get this license and everything, I will reach back out and, you know, try to talk to them.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:22:19] Cool like that. All right. You hear that listeners start hitting up, Victor. Just kidding. All right, everybody. Listen. Thanks, Victor. I appreciate it.
Victor: [00:22:28] Thank you. Have a great one. You too.
Patrick (CEO of WSO): [00:22:30] Bye. And thanks to you, my listeners at Wall Street Oasis. If you have any suggestions whatsoever, please don't hesitate to send them my way. Patrick at Wall Street Oasis. And till next time.
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