ok im 18 and i am doing a Economics & Finance ( 1st of 3 yrs ) degree in UCD in dublin, Ireland. Now today i saw Goldman Sachs and JP morgan looking for people in their penultimate yr and final yr but that got me thinking what do they look for? and now if i know what they look for and do it i will be successful. What mistakes do people make from 18 - 23. BTW i have a life so i dont want to take away from the holidays i go on every yr but any advice for the next few yrs would be great and what are the pitfalls?
i'm 22 so take my advice with extreme caution. (finance major, too) eh, not sure above GS and other large institutions, since i don't want to work there. as for pitfalls there are many. some things i've been through all ready have been a massive drawdown (once, averaged down), getting slapped around b/c not listening to my strategy and plan (placing stops, mainly), i wasted huge amounts of time jumping from strategy to strategy, which I'm glad I did because I know what works for me now (took me about 4 years to find that strategy, 2 years trading and learning it still). others... over trading, thinking it out too much, horrible risk management, risky bets, things i imagine a person learning to trade goes through, especially without a mentor or proper education. not having a plan, listening to other people too much, taking the market home with me (still do that, doubt it'll stop), and many more. the list goes on but i can't think at the moment. hopefully that helps? PM me if you have any other questions.
Do what an 18 year old should be doing. Date girls and continue with school. Any plans that you make will change at your age... Don't fret about it.. Michael B.
I have learned this lesson THE HARD way. I will tell you what to do right now. First off, save and invest whatever you can even if its just a few hundred dollars. There are mutual funds, savings bonds, stocks, etc. You can go to a site like www.sharebuilder.com and you can buy stocks or etfs for only $4. You want to build a portfolio right now. You will want to save as aggressively as possible until you are about 30 years old. Whatever you do, whether it be picking up garbage or elected to a political office, you want to save and start immediately. When you get out of college in 4 years, you want thousands in the bank rather then thousands owed to credit card companies. As for Goldman and JP, all of these Wall Street jobs require golden resumes. You can find all these people on google by typing the right words. Everyone looks for a GPA above 3.0. Internships are very helpful for most any business. You want to develop strong connections and be able to drop a name or two. Outgoing and confidence are also key. You also want to know as much about the finance industry as you possibly can. The most important aspect is what I said in the first part of this post. Save up now. Always think about the phrase "Either I can save up right now or pay later" You dont want to pay later on in life when your 30 or 40. You dont want to have to "catch up". When your over 30, you want to go to work each day with the thought that if your fired that you can live without work for a few years. Catching up after not paying now is extremely hard to do. As you get older, you lose energy and motivation. So my advice is to pay right now. . .
I do have the same philosophy to enjoy, but there always alternatives to do things economically and the option to save. For example, never keep your books in college. Always sell them back. There are many many ways. Choose the path where you will have fun but do it wisely and economically. You want to have fun now, but you also want a prosperous future. There is a balance and line that we walk to assure both.
just make a commitment to devote 1.5hrs a day to studying the markets and psychology. Not a big commitment, but give it 1-2yrs and ull avoid many of the pitfalls most traders make when they begin trading.
What mistakes do young people make? They make decisions as if they'll be dead by 30. It's a high probability that you won't be dead at 30, or 40,50,60 or even 70. There is a myth that one should live every day as if it's your last. Actually you should live everyday as if you have thousands more to come. That'll give you a new perspective on your decision making. On the one hand, there is time to recover from dumb decisions. On the other, you'll live with the consequences for a long time. Choose wisely!
Make that mid-20s, companies nowadays can't even look after themselves, so don't expect anything from them.