Graduating soon with a Finance Degree - want some talk on jobs

[whyzze]

So im graduating from a mediocre school in June with my BS in Finance. Got started on the job search a little late, but its not going to bad.

I wanted to talk to some people in the same boat as me, or others who have just been through it.

I am getting my email spammed by insurance companies and financial planner positions, they also call nonstop. Im not really interested in these positions as I could have gotten these jobs out of high school. I mean the planner job isn't horrible, but its definately my fallback. keep in mind I dont mind sales.

Commercial banks - i am not interested in at all from experience.

Theres a few more, especially analysis that i am considering, but i feel i will eventually hate my job and be bored to death.

I have always been extremely interested in financial derivates and since I decided to major in finance knew I wanted to work in the industry (I would like to move to chicago as well). Anyways, after some research ive found that commodity brokers are in huge demand right now. I know it is high stress and tons of work, but I dont think it will be any worse than a financial planner, but with double the income.

So im looking for some discussion on the jobs that are available to us and the pros and cons. I am also looking for some insider info from someone who knows alot/works at a futures brokeridge.

[emon87]

I'm nowhere near the job hunting stage (soph) but AFAIK most/all of the top jobs are settled by now. Recruiting is mostly done in the fall for new grads. You might consider taking a "year off". Do some traveling, volunteer work, whatever. Basically, don't get trapped into an industry you don't like just because you missed the boat this year. You can get recruited again next year.

Feel free to correct me if that is bad advice, but it is basically what my dad did 30 some years ago.

[whyzze]

Ya i know some company's do the fall recruiting batch process and so on. Some do more than 1 a year. It hasn't gotten in my way at all so far. Maybe a few Canadian company's I have been looking at.

I guess i forgot to mention that the commodity broker is basically my dream job, however information on the profession is not as readily available as the others.

[dkoleary]

Im studying pharmacy right now (1st year) and am considering changing to Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance for the DOLLARS....

Is there really a lot of money in being a broker/dealer or should I just stick with Pharmacy?

I'm in Australian btw;

[bluef0x]

[ QUOTE ]
Im studying pharmacy right now (1st year) and am considering changing to Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Finance for the DOLLARS....

Is there really a lot of money in being a broker/dealer or should I just stick with Pharmacy?

I'm in Australian btw;

[/ QUOTE ]

Pharmacy absolutely owns in the US. Get your degree and move here for big $$$.

[csuf_gambl0o0r]

i am somewhat in the same boat except im graduating next year instead of this year, 5 year plan.

last summer, i interned at merrill lynch under an FA. and its defintely something that i am not interested in. financial planning is basically marketing, you have to market yourself. the rest of the stuff, financial planning and managing portfolios is easy.

i was looking at the finance "tracks" and non of them look that attractive to me.

im thinkin about starting out in commercial banking just to get my feet wet.

[Thremp]

Can you really get a decent job on the 5 year plan?


I'd probably insta-reject most five year guys mostly cause it screams: "It take me 25% longer to do something most average people can do."

[caguma]

[ QUOTE ]
Can you really get a decent job on the 5 year plan?


I'd probably insta-reject most five year guys mostly cause it screams: "It take me 25% longer to do something most average people can do."

[/ QUOTE ]

Easy response to that would be just to say that you weren't sure yet what you wanted to do with your life and needed some time to decide on it so you took an extra year in school. Plenty of people go for five years who aren't just slackers, what about people who change their major?

[ScottieK]

After taking my banking class for my MBA, I didn't want to have anything to do with a commercial bank. Most of it was bond portfolio stuff and an occasional loan decision exercise. Now that I work for a commercial bank doing loan underwriting, I've changed my perspective.

This is what I've been doing for eighteen months. I conduct the due diligence on commercial and real estate loans that range from $100,000 to $50 million in size. It's my job to collect the relevant financial statements, tax returns, and any other information I need from a client. I send them to our credit department to be formatted in a standard way, which comes complete with ratios and a risk score. I plug that score and other information into our risk rating model. We also have a profitability model that we use to determine the ROE and Net Income to the bank. Then I do the memorandum, what we call "the writeup."

The writeup is the hardest part. This is the analysis and justification for extending the loan. Depending on the size of the credit, it may be approved by one, two, or three levels of authority. The largest loans go to credit committee, a panel of senior credit officers in the bank who decide whether or not to do a deal.

The writeup begins with a description of the terms of the deal, such as rate, form of credit, maturity terms, purpose, etc. Then there is a description of the borrower's main source of revenue, how they do business. After that, I analyze the borrower's financial condition for things like continuing profitability, liquidity, activity, and compare those to industry averages. If there is a guarantor on the loan, I also analyze his financial condition and income from tax returns. If there is collateral on the loan, I analyze the quality and value of the collateral. If there are any loan covenants the borrower must comply with (like a certain debt to net worth ratio, liquidity ratio, or submission of financial information) I check to make sure they are in compliance. If I need to get further information, I may contact the borrower, their accountant, consultants, or anyone I need to talk to.

Then I conduct a debt service coverage analysis to determine whether or not the borrower can be expected to pay the loan down according to the terms. If the loan is for constructing a new business or new homes, I use the borrower's projected income statements to see whether they are reasonable and can be expected to pay off the loan. These usually get a stress test to see how bad things can get before they are unable to repay the loan (e.g., drop expected revenue to a breakeven point, raise COGS to breakeven, etc.) If everything looks good, I make a recommendation to approve the credit. If not so good, then I can suggest changes to the structure of the deal or not recommend the credit.

Once I'm done with the writeup, I slap the entire credit package together and submit it for review. After my bosses and I are confident in the quality of the package, we submit it to whatever levels of authority are required for approval.

I enjoy it because I get to see how businesses and wealthy people make their money and how they structure their assets. It's business school up close and personal. Every deal is unique. I've done writeups for deals for home builders, tribal enterprises, property owners, hotels, mortgage companies, racetrack and casino owners, franchise builders, manufacturers, golf courses, churches, shopping malls, gas station owners, all sorts of businesses. I get to help our clients build something new, improve an existing property, or just improve their business overall. Hours are standard 40 a week, no overtime, no travel, good vacation and benefits.

If I want, I can eventually move into a loan officer position, the guy who goes out and brings clients into the bank. I have considered specializing in Native American tribal credits. I could also head our analysis department. Or if I see a business opportunity, I could leave the bank and open my own business.

Feel free to ask or PM any questions to me.

ScottieK

[kbinder]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Can you really get a decent job on the 5 year plan?


I'd probably insta-reject most five year guys mostly cause it screams: "It take me 25% longer to do something most average people can do."

[/ QUOTE ]

Easy response to that would be just to say that you weren't sure yet what you wanted to do with your life and needed some time to decide on it so you took an extra year in school. Plenty of people go for five years who aren't just slackers, what about people who change their major?

[/ QUOTE ]

Or you could lie and say that your program is a 5-year program. Almost all finance majors at my school do a 5-year program. (I am not a finance major)