finally did it....

[F16fixer]

juice

Peoples goals and reality can sometimes be a long ways apart. Good luck with that and hopefully they don't pull you from inactive reserve. They don't care what your trying to be.

 

[Almerick07]

Passed the series 66 2 days ago, next up is only a week long class and ill be good to go.

 

[Almerick07]

Well it is a done deal, finished with training. Im now officially a financial advisor!!! It feels so rewarding to actually be helping these people that have no idea how to save or come up with plans to reach financial goals. Just the other day convinced an elderly couple they DID have the resources to fully retire, never saw a smile so big from a little old lady when I told her she could give up her Wal-Mart job. On a side note, havnt been in an airplane since early Feb. miss it so if anyone in the PHX area wants to take me flying Ill hook you up with your portfolio.

 

[Swass]

I decided to pass on the airlines when i left the military last summer. instead, i chose business school. I would highly reccomend it as a long term route. You can make 200+ your first year as a trader at at a top firm. I was lucky enough to get into a top school, Columbia which is key. In the long run, if you have the time, don't mind the debt and are willing to move, i think it's a great option. I'll make more my first year out than I would as a senior captain at SWA.

Dude, I hope you are at the top of your game and as good as you think you are, you're gonna find out real quick how it really works out there. Good luck.

 

[Alamanach]

Finally got sick of my fat, stupid, overbearing, repressed-lesbian boss, and quit my overpaid job as an inspector. Thinking I might go be a pilot. Wondering what QOL in that line of work might be like. Anybody know any flight schools?

 

[PimpJuice]

Dude, I hope you are at the top of your game and as good as you think you are, you're gonna find out real quick how it really works out there. Good luck.

...I am

 

[Swass]

Let me know after you've been out and working for a year.

Been there, brother. In fact, still there. Just in a new capacity

You're right that if you have what it takes to go down that road (mine was EE Benefits, not trading, although I do some) then you can make pretty good coin. I worked hard and got lucky. I've seen countless that had as much talent or more doing what I do fail miserably, usually within the first year. Your degree isn't worth crap, other than opening a door to a firm. Outside of that forget what you learned in your fancy school, the real education is just beginning.

It's once that door is open that you will find out what it's really like. All the backstabbing, politics etc. are far more brutal than you have any idea about, especially at a large firm. Everyone that you are employed with is out to see you fail, it's that competetive. Everyone at your firm is going to have as much talent as you, if not more and better connections. Connections and favors go a long way, trust me.

I'm not saying don't go give 'em hell, just the opposite. I wish you the best and hope that you really are as good as you think. Like I said, let us know how you do after a year of employment.

 

[PimpJuice]

Let me know after you've been out and working for a year.

Been there, brother. In fact, still there. Just in a new capacity

You're right that if you have what it takes to go down that road (mine was EE Benefits, not trading, although I do some) then you can make pretty good coin. I worked hard and got lucky. I've seen countless that had as much talent or more doing what I do fail miserably, usually within the first year. Your degree isn't worth crap, other than opening a door to a firm. Outside of that forget what you learned in your fancy school, the real education is just beginning.

It's once that door is open that you will find out what it's really like. All the backstabbing, politics etc. are far more brutal than you have any idea about, especially at a large firm. Everyone that you are employed with is out to see you fail, it's that competetive. Everyone at your firm is going to have as much talent as you, if not more and better connections. Connections and favors go a long way, trust me.

I'm not saying don't go give 'em hell, just the opposite. I wish you the best and hope that you really are as good as you think. Like I said, let us know how you do after a year of employment.

The significance of an MBA is truly weighted to the school you go to. Getting one from a top five school really doesn't just open doors, it blows them open. The average starting salary out of Columbia is in the six figures. Over 1/2 the class will go into sales/trading or I Banking where first year associates are well over 200k (if you stay on Wall Street). Yes, nothing is a given, there are pitfalls and no future is secure. That being said, while I'm no genius, I'll take those numbers and odds over an airline career in a heartbeat. And trust me, I truly am a rock. I put together a good story out of the Navy, studied hard for the GMAT and luckily (not deservedly) got into a top school. Getting in is the hardest part.

I would never talk anyone out of a flying career. Just don't do it for the money or job security. Do it for the lifestyle and love of flying. I thought about it carefully.The flying to me looked boring, the top end of the pay chart too low and job security too weak. My path is not for everyone, I'm just laying it out there for others. After all, this thread is "Civilian Transition".

 

[Almerick07]

update

after being in the field for a couple of months this is no cake walk. I have been incredibly succesful/lucky thus far but it shouldnt get any easier for the next couple of years. It is more than worth it, we just had a regional meeting and numerous of the veterans (10+ yrs) are averaging 40k per month plus bonuses, profit sharing and partnership payouts which equals atleast 1-2 million per yr. Our firms top producer averages 70k per month, has been with the firm for 17 yrs. I also get to wake up in my bed everynight, do something I enjoy and afford a lifestyle that was out of reach previously. Just so everyone knows, when youre new into this industry nobody give a sh*t about you. A degree doesnt get you anything, if anything just puts a target on your head and expectations that you will fail. Like someone else said get ready for a real education, text books and professors who have been out of the industry for more than 6 months wont teach you a damn thing. Get ready for the real thing, and that 200k paycheck is not dependent on your degree not one tiny bit...no matter what people tell you

 

[PimpJuice]

after being in the field for a couple of months this is no cake walk. I have been incredibly succesful/lucky thus far but it shouldnt get any easier for the next couple of years. It is more than worth it, we just had a regional meeting and numerous of the veterans (10+ yrs) are averaging 40k per month plus bonuses, profit sharing and partnership payouts which equals atleast 1-2 million per yr. Our firms top producer averages 70k per month, has been with the firm for 17 yrs. I also get to wake up in my bed everynight, do something I enjoy and afford a lifestyle that was out of reach previously. Just so everyone knows, when youre new into this industry nobody give a sh*t about you. A degree doesnt get you anything, if anything just puts a target on your head and expectations that you will fail. Like someone else said get ready for a real education, text books and professors who have been out of the industry for more than 6 months wont teach you a damn thing. Get ready for the real thing, and that 200k paycheck is not dependent on your degree not one tiny bit...no matter what people tell you

I don't sit on the other side of an interview desk (for an associate position) at Goldman Sachs without an MBA from a top five school. Period. Yes, you have to perform. However, an average guy from a top school has a huge if not unfair advantage in certain segments of the finance industry over a smarter guy with no MBA or one from a mediocre school. Not one of my friends over three years out of school in sales and trading are making less than 400 K a year. Some are over a 1 mil. The top producer at your firm after 17 years makes 70k a month. That is common for guys at top investment banks on Wall Street in 1/2 that time and most of them have the MBA.

Now, all that aside, I'll likely be on the street selling shwetty balls for a nickle in five years.