I agree with you. What I found funny was that a top MBA grad was fired because of today's economy and wants to become a day trader and that the guy that launched the thread is apparently a successful day trader and wants to gain a top MBA... What is also funny is that the person that knew the independence of being a trader cannot easily come back to the corporate world. I think it will be very difficult.
Well, if you've read some of the other threads by this guy, I feel kind of bad for him. He's worked all those years in the corporate world with his MBA, and now he's having an impossible time finding a job because of the economy and because he's 40. What would you do in his situation? Sometimes people trade and realize that life isn't all about the money. Some people would like to leave their "mark" on the world. Sitting at home scalping all day long doesn't exactly allow you that opportunity. And yes, I agree, the indepedence of being a trader is very hard to give up to go into the corporate world. I've thought about getting my MBA and doing something *else* I'd think I'd enjoy, but I can't imagine being tied down to a desk, with 60-80 hour work weeks, especially when you break down salary into day's pay, and realize how easily you can make that amount of money everyday just by scalping away. For most people, it's a give and take. The rewards of going down that path may be worth giving up some of your independence for some people.
Yes and this is what I said.. the corporate world is not friendly at all ... What happened to this person (even if i don't feel sorry for him. he has enough money to create his own business) can happen to you as well as to anybody else.. I know a girl that is 30 has a Columbia MBA and that has just been fired. She worked like a mad for a top investment bank, made a lot of money but no personal life and now she is fired.. Being a trader means being an entrepreneur your own master. It's also a passion. It has nothing to do with scalping like an idiot all day long. It is a real skill and even a gift you acquire only with a lot of hard work and dedication. don't forget that only 5% make money the others lose.. For me this is certainly the most beautiful job in the world but you can do other things besides... Look at a guy like G Soros, he made a lot of money trading and now he is creating his own charities and i think that he contributes much more to the world than a top MBA grad.... Just my opinion of course
Hi all, My Partner and I just completed our MBA degrees and we're launching the MBA Association (www.mbaassociation.org) - it's a not-for-profit (i.e. Free) that we want to build into a place for MBA students and graduates to hang-out. We could of course use the members, but more importantly, we're looking for people who might be interested in participating in the management of the association. We're planning on a lot of new features and we won't be able to handle them all ourselves. If you or someone you know is interested in working on this international initiative, we would really like to hear from you. Even if you feel that this isn't for you, we could really use any input you might have to help us make this as attractive as possible. Below, I've included a list of volunteer and full-time positions we are looking to fill. I really appreciate your time. Thanks, Nick Osinski. MBA Association nosinski@mbaassociation.org Volunteer Positions: - MBAA Corporate liaison for the job bulletin board - Book Club Moderator - Investment Competition Administrator - Business Plan Competition Administrator - MBAA Journal Editor - MBAA Personals Moderator - Forums Administrator/Moderator Full-Time Positions - Senior Management Position - Mid-level Project Management Position
i personally think it's sort of a catch22 ... if you're doing well day trading (or porp. trading) then there's really no need for an MBA. An MBA will provide value if you're chaning your careers, or want to start something on your own, or join a hedge fund or something (you'll definitely gain the contacts at a well respected B-school.) On the other hand, sales & trading at top investment banks (market making that is) usually hire MBA graduates. It's really a strange thing!
Let's put it that way. The corporate world is based on relations and contacts and an MBA enablesyou to build contacts.. But the sad thing is that the people that come to MBA's already have good backgrounds good contacts good families.... The diploma is just a plus they put on their CV... an interesting read is Poker's Liar... You can be the brightest guy on planet earth but if you do not have the right contacts and the appropriate personality you won't go very far in the corporate world even with a top MBA.. I remember working in a place were all the guys had top degrees and MBA's but more than that they all had the appropriate contacts. Very few or none were from poor families. It was like they were working just to develop their families business.. However, I recognize that an MBA is a real plus on your CV and that even without the right contacts you can certainly make it in the corporate world but it also depends on the economy.. If it is gloomy like it is today then better for you to have contacts. If not better be a good trader and work for yourself ...
Some valid points in the last several posts. I would point you to Headhunter.net. & type in key word search "Trader." You will see three pages of mostly prop type jobs that offer no base and no real benefits, other than the proverbial leverage-- unless you already have a book of business, licenses, etc. count on much hand holding for newbies. Once in awhile though, on Headhunter.net, there will be some real career jobs either in market making, options/derivatives trading, or some kind of quantitative operations function. THe base for these jobs is generally 6 figures + a ton of other benefits. IF you carefully read the desciption for these jobs, it will plainly state that unless your MBA is from Harvard, Wharton, etc. & that you have the following numerous licenses, do not bother applying. I would say that if your background is on the prop side, you have your 7, 55, 66.....all you have to do is nail the GMAT, get some decent recos & re-word your vitae---dont say, "me, trader." Improvise and polish. ONce you come out with a top MBA degree + your licenses and experience from prop trading = a great synergy if you want to work on the street.
After the City: What a relief to be out! 6 Nov 2002 Candia Peterson spent 16 years in the City of London as a broker, most recently as head of Japanese equities at ABN Amro. Now retired and planning a new life in France, she wouldn't dream of going back to banking.....except just possibly for a lot of money "Of course, if some idiot is prepared to pay me a silly amount of money, then I may come back!" These were the words - or words to that effect - quoted on Bloomberg against the name of a gentleman, well known in his field, who was retiring early after several years in broking. He was a man I knew quite well, having worked with him in my first job in the mid-eighties. I had subsequently followed his career and been well aware of his retirement - and that famous quote - when, somewhat to my surprise, my august employer of the time decided to become that '"idiot"' and brought (or should that be bought?) him away from the golf course. He became my direct manager. My immediate reaction to the news was to ring up the man who did PR for the bank and suggest that he ply someone at Bloomberg with drink, to get the story with the quote removed from the screens. It never was, and the arrival of my new boss was greeted with hilarity by clients and competition alike. I welcomed his arrival. I believed he was a white knight who would rescue our thriving little business from the damage wrought upon it by our European retail banking managers, who understood little and cared less about what we were trying to do. So I was stunned to discover barely six months later that he had, in fact, been brought back to deliver the death knell and close us down. Thus I found myself thrust into early retirement. After 18 years as a stock broker in an unforgiving Japanese market, I cannot honestly say that I was overly distressed. This was my third consecutive closure in five jobs and I had had enough. Enough of the market, enough of broking and certainly enough of fickle employers whose business philosophy seemed to draw more from the Hokey Kokey than from common sense. My only sadness was for the team I had built from scratch over three years. Most have gone on to greater things, but there is always that terrible lump that comes to the throat when one is first sacked and then asked to go sack the little band one has nurtured and grown, feeling responsible for the situation in which they find themselves. The phone rang off the hook with headhunters for the first several weeks of my retirement. None had anything palatable to offer - many simply wanted the lowdown on my former colleagues and often competitors. I was, however, temped by an invitation to set up a hedge fund with two former team mates. But, on realising that this was an unhappy and futile task for three ex-brokers with no fund management track record, I gave up on this as a bad job. It was a cathartic stepping stone for one hurled unceremoniously on the streets without notice. I got to keep a log-in on my umbilical Bloomberg and I got to imagine for a while that I was still in 'The Industry', chatting with my friends, keeping in touch with the market, pretending to buy and sell stocks in our dummy portfolio and, even - oh joy after all those years - being taken out, (as opposed to doing the taking) for lunch by brokers. Gradually, however, it dawned on me that Out was better than In. That my enforced retirement was and should be just that. As realisation awoke, I began to embrace it and as I embraced it, a new world opened up in front of me. Of course the large red-brick villa in London SW15 would have to go and school fees would have to be begged, borrowed or stolen - but oh, the opportunities! I am fortunate that my husband runs his own semi-virtual business from home and is eminently mobile. So it is that we have decided to decamp to the French Alps and make a life for ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of City life. Number one child is at boarding school and number two child will be attending the local French primary from after Christmas (she doesn't yet speak a word of French but the school has a very good integration programme). We will jointly run hubby's business from home and I think I shall dabble in a little property development in the village. We shall ski in the winter and roam the Alps in the summer. We shall take it in turns to commute to England for school soccer matches and concerts, taking advantage of our proximity to Geneva and the new age of cheap air travel and, most of all, we shall live life to the full without regrets. Of course, if some idiot wants to offer me a silly amount of money to return, I shall consider their offer with interest and they may contact me through my email address. In the meanwhile, my watchword is - 'No coming back'. candiapeterson@hotmail.com
You guys all miss the point. Having a Wharton MBA is a screen that indicates that, in some fashion, you are smarter than the average bear. This seems to impress a high percentage of people. It makes cocktail parties fun and makes women think you are handsomer than you actually are. Yes life is good. http://hometown.aol.com/ebarsamian
Hello everyone... I've been reading many of your postings over the past few days, and it has occurred to me that many of the ideas discussed would be great for the MBA Association's Journal. We're planning on releasing the 1st edition in the new year; if any of you are interested in helping us out, we would love to get some original works that we could publish... who knows, maybe the 'publicity' could lead to something. I'd be happy to hear from you all, Nick Osinski nosinski@mbaassociation.org www.mbaassociation.org --------- The MBA Association is a Non-Profit virtual community for graduates and students of accredited programs around the world.