Anthony Cortazzo ⋅ King Of Prussia, PA Lockheed Martin ⋅ 8 years experience

Michael,

I am a Penn State Alum and understand where you are coming from as PSU is not a target school. I broke into Wall Street. Feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to talk. tonycortazzo@gmail.com

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Seth,

Thanks for your advice. I'm sorry if there was confusion about my current situation. I have not yet graduated. I'll be finished in May 2015.

I am really trying to get information so I would be able to make informed decisions now regarding my goals and plans. Decisions like whether to declare my major as Finance or Accounting, or something else entirely. I am at the point that I have to declare my major, and I wanted to dispel any myths before I chose one over another.

I apologize if I came across as pessimistic in my original question. I just know that as an Army recruiter for three years, I came to the realization that I didn't care much for it. From what I have gathered from some of the people I've met, all in my local area mind you, there seem to be many similarities between prospecting for recruits and prospecting for financial planning clients. There may be vast differences between my little corner of the world and other places, but It may be very much the same. If I'm wrong about my preconceptions, please shed some light on the truth for me.

In regards to my preference of geographic area, I think I may have misspoken. I think I wouldn't mind Wall Street; I just don't really see myself migrating to that part of the country in order to break into the industry. It's quite possible that I might end up there at some time; but I think initially I'll be trying extremely hard to find something in a different geographic area. Not close to where I am now, but relatively closer than NY.

Obviously if I am offered a ton of money and other incentives to come to NY, I'll have to seriously reevaluate that decision; but in the absence of something truly incredible like that, I will be forced to heed to certain limitations. I won't be the typical 22 year old graduate. I have a family, and I have existing responsibilities and constraints that will have to be slowly acclimated to change. So again, I apologize if I was unclear about my situation.

As I said in my last response, I'll be fully committed to courting potential employers next academic year; and at that time I would be very very grateful if you took the time to critique my resume. What I have now is just tailored toward non-professional positions that I think may beneficial to me in the meantime.

One question I have asked over and over is what sorts of professions do you think would be good stepping stones for me now; given that I have not yet graduated and I live in a very economically deprived region of the country?

Thank you a lot for your advice. I really appreciate it.

Michael Davis ⋅ Princeton, WV U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Thanks for the insight. I had actually looked into insurance a little bit, a little over a year ago; but the thought sort of faded as my attention shifted to other things. Thanks for reminding me.

That may be a really good opportunity for me. I checked into the details you mentioned; and I'll probably continue to keep a close eye on Prudential and others like it throughout the next year. Next year I'll be a senior, which means I'll be in full recruitment mode; so I'm really glad you opened my eyes again to that industry. Thanks.

Kevin Wiley ⋅ Kingston, WA Ameriprise Financial ⋅ 4 years experience

Michael,

If you would like to talk sometime, I would be glad to set aside a little time.

Kevin Wiley
Financial Advisor

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
2011 NW Myhre Road, Suite 301
Silverdale WA 98383
Office 360 613 1975
Fax 360 613 1992
TF 800 447 6021
Kevin.wiley@morganstanley.com

Seattle
601 Union Street, Suite 2900
Seattle, WA 98101-9925
Toll Free: 800-755-5720
Fax: (206) 206-464-5928

Seth Mitchell ⋅

Michael:

We thank you and all who serve so very much for making America great and keeping us safe.

First let me say that you need to train your mind to be "unlimited". By that I mean: if you want to work in financial services, never ever say you don't want "Wall Street" or "planning/advising" because you know what, you might find yourself cutting off job options that you might actually eventually love.

And, if you were to interview for a job in an area to be an investment analyst and say you don't want to work on "Wall Street" I frankly don't think you would get too far! Like it or not, Wall Street is the heart of global financial services.

Rule #1: be optimistic and positive during any formal or informal interview and keep yourself open to any and all ideas. No recruiter wants complaining pessimists: you would get skewered. That being said: be clear and specific why you want that certain job you're interviewing for and why the employer NEEDS to hire you for it.

If you land 10 job offers -- you will have your pick of the litter and then you can say -- ah, I got an offer to be a distressed debt analyst in Los Angeles, perfect!

Now, sorry for that long-winded answer and now to your real question: can you get a job in investment analysis? Absolutely.

Any employer would be proud to hire a veteran, and that will probably open many doors for you. At the end of the day, you will only get hired however because they want "Michael" -- his skills, abilities, interests, characteristics, experiences. The full picture.

I'd be more than happy to take a look at your resume or answer any specifics so reach out to me on ashemllc@icloud.com.

Congratulations on completing your degree, good luck with the career progression, and thank you again for your service.

Seth Mitchell, CFA

Kelly Thrasher ⋅ Denver, PA Accolade ⋅ 20 years experience

Michael, Prudential is always looking for good people with the right skills. Shameless plug there BUT start researching different companies and look at what we all have to offer. Also Pru is pro-veteran (I got hired in the last 2 years). In short look around, there are a ton of companies that have positions that deal with finanical analysis. Also look at our locations. Newark is our Int'l HQs and US Headquarters but we've got big and small sites around the country. Dresher, PA alone has 2,000 employees on site from 4-5 core businesses.

Good luck,

Kelly