Hello all my first post:
I need to comment in this thread.
First, God I wish I was 20 again, and all pissed off.
I work for Goldman now.
But don't let me kid you, I wasn't hired by gs, our firm was acquired. Those of us who now work for Goldman feel
very fortunate because we know, (from experience), that
everything previously said about Harvard, Sloan, Wharton, etc.
is totally true. Pedigree is very, very important.
Look at the recruiting schedule for some of these firms.
Have you heard this comment, (taken out of context), "Triumph of the mediocre".
Or the, "Hyenas and gazelles", concept.
This is often the reality, (from what I have been told by friends
who are md's themselves).
My experience also tells me that much of the big ballin', high risk,
high 7 figures, is very limited if it exists at all, and I am
surrounded by these types of people now and was around them
on the floor of the CBOT. I honesty think you need to check
your salary figures by speaking to some of these people in person, or on the phone. Call Spear fx in Chicago.
And yes I know fx dwarfs all other markets in size,
and therefore I am a smalltime player compared to Mr. Lipschutz.
But I would argue Lipschutz was a product of his time and an
anomaly, like W. Buffet.
But as another poster mentioned most guys are only able to
capture the edge. What is the edge in the fx markets?
You know how small it is!!
I work with guys all day long who capture edge and trade vol.
at good prices in liquid markets and some still blow out.
Your passion is inspiring. Good for you!!
If you really want a big institutional or hedge fund job?
Get a college degree from the best school you can get into.
Major in math or engineering, minor in Chinese.
Can't get into Harvard, or Chicago, or Penn, or Columbia?
Sure you can. Have you heard of the extension schools
associated with these universities? This can be a proving ground
for matriculating into the "day school", at these places.
Everyone must pay dues.
So you sent out resumes. You will probably get 0 responses.
Now what? This is what you might wan't to be thinking about,
instead of who is the biggest or the most profitable.
Finally, you wan't to trade, no college, OK.
Get to an exchange floor and start working doing something.
You will learn more about supply, demand, fear, greed in 6
months than you will ever learn at any IB job or any college on the planet earth in 5 years.
AND if you get a stake to trade with;
Trade it profitably, develop a good track record, use solid risk reward. In time you will have more money chasing you than you
know what to do with.