AccipiterQ wrote:
I'll try to keep this brief. I'm in my early 30s now, and have a couple years experience as a manger, in a non financial field. I have always had an interest in asset management and investing; those interests were not really being satisfied in the field I was in. I enjoy leadership opportunities as well, so at least I was getting that in the field I was in. I did well in high school, I left a couple years early. I went to undergrad to a top 30 college, right as my family was disintegrating. For the first 2 years I had one of my parents calling me talking about how awful my other parent was, how awful I was, that I was worthless, and how it was my fault we were losing our house soon and asking me what homeless shelter I wanted to live in. Try studying biochemistry under those conditions, not good times. I ended up with an F in calculus my first semester (ironic as I tutored people in it in high school), had to withdraw from several courses over the first couple years, and got mostly Cs. I was sleeping about 19 hours per day, and I should have just dropped out or transferred somewhere, but that would have entailed going back home and I would have rather died. So I stayed there for 4 years, even though I knew I would never graduate. Towards the end I started doing better, and got mostly high Bs.
After that I was old enough to finally move out, and saved money for a year before going to a local state college for a year to finish my BA. I did much better, I had about a 3.9, taking 7 classes per semester so I could finish in the year. I wasn't very enthralled with the field my degree was in, but the thought of starting over on another undergrad degree was miserable. I eventually moved to a large city in the northeast and took some master's classes at one university, before transferring to a different program somewhere else that I liked much better, loved actually, and completed my masters. I figured I'd find enjoyment in the field if I climbed higher. I did climb higher and got to take on some leadership roles but ultimately I was never fully satisfied. I love math, money, investing, numbers, and the abstract; I was getting none of that. Finally as I entered my 30s I realized this is my last chance to get into something I want. I'm hoping to have a family within a couple of years, and won't be doing the school+dad+job route.
As I'm applying, I'm just overwhelmed. I look at my transcript from my first undergrad experience and it's awful. The part that I hate most is that I'm not even that person anymore, it's stuff from literally 14 years ago that's most likely going to get me rejected from the schools I'm looking at. I have that F in calculus, no hard math/science courses on my transcript (ironic again because I love biochemistry) that I didn't withdraw from or fail. I withdrew from about 10 courses, got Ds, Cs, etc. Then there's the transfers, from one school to another in undergrad, and then technically again in grad school. Granted my GPA at the 2nd undergrad, first grad where I took some classes, and then 2nd were all in the 3.8-4.0 range, but it looks weak. It looks like I can't commit to a program. I don't have a finance background to put on my apps, and my work history looks odd because I work as an IT consultant on the side, in addition to my main job. I didn't do great on the quant (got like a 40) on the GMATs..so there's no help there. It just sucks because 75% of this stuff is related to that undergrad experience 14 years ago, and I don't know what to do. It's a train wreck, my whole application is a train wreck, and I just sort of realized it today. I'm trying to fill out these applications for 2nd round deadlines, and my will is being sapped. I can hardly write anything, because it all feels pointless.
Hey man,
sounds tough. But don't give up before you try. First of all, keep in mind that an MBA is only ONE of many possible paths towards you getting into asset management. It's a good one maybe, but let's be honest, the best MBA programs look for success in the past, especially academic + finance experience, and you don't have either... But you have plenty of options, more than you might think:
1. Do an MBA in a lower ranked school but that places well in finance, or is in the right place (Baruch for example). Then it will be your task to prove yourself, but it may help you land your first job.
2. Do an MF and not an MBA (a bit easier to get into, and will give you the hardcore knowledge you will need)
3. Try and get some sort of entry level finance job and elbow and network your way to where you want to be
4. Start managing your own money, and see where that takes you (may seem ridiculous, but this is how Carlos Slim did it)
5. A mysterious circumstantial event??
But seriously... you have a lot of possibilities, and maybe going down the traditional path is the thing that will frustrate you most because you haven't already succeeded in the classic manner. So what? I know plenty of brilliant/fascinating/successful folks who were terrible in school or even dropped out. Just keep on trying and keep on reevaluating your strategies on how to get your first break.
Hope this encourages you!!!!
But seriously dude,