The WTF are u doing with your life thread

[i wear shooes]

how the fuck did you land a gig like that- the food

i work for munchonme.

just applied. sent my resume and sample writing and got the job

[gettoasty]

thanks for sharing jay, i am in similar situation except transitioning from college to first job. still applying to positions and haven't had any luck with call backs. I have applied for jobs on the the 1st of Sept. (bummed around/heartbreak since end of June). Applied every 2 weeks -- 3-4 jobs.

it is a bit depressing especially since everyone in my household is out during the day at work or school. i am fortunate enough to be granted a gym pass in which i can pass my time every night (night time are the worse!).

i also realized in life that when times look the bleakest, if you keep your head up, things will bound to change for the better [or worse if you choose to do absolutely nothing].

i do quite enjoy reading personal anecdotes from members here, it generally brings up good spirits. so thanks again

[DJ_Flame]

accounting seems like the most boring, mind-numbing shit ever. pays well, but fuck - i couldn't do it till i'm 65ish.

Working for the Big 4 pays peanuts...until you are a partner.

[mr fluffernutter]

times look the bleakest

[jaac]

^ feel that.

never really felt this extended period of grimness before. been about 3 weeks. Literally nothing makes me feel good for more then a couple hours. Been running/gym as an escape kinda deal. Applied to other uni's, started a savings fund to travel again. Lookin for a beezy again.

[caid]

Working for the Big 4 pays peanuts...until you are a partner.

Not really true. You start off making nothing but my first couples year's raises were at least 35% of the prior year's salary. Stick around till you're designated and a manager and you are looking at more than decent salary and lots of calls from headhunters. Granted my big 4 experience was a few years ago and things have probably changed, but it moves up quick. You don't need to be on the partner track.

That being said accounting at a big 4 is a soul sucking. People either turn into an accountant first, person second or get burned out.

[automaton]

internship turned into a 3 month contract, with the possibility of full time once that is done, woo hoo!!

[crissyw]

willing to pay people to take my online Stats class and write a 20 page comparative govt paper for me

~___~

majorin in poli sci might be a mistake

[on-display]

it is unless you plan to go into law school

[Nov Spur]

As a broke polisci grad I may be inclined to accept such an offer, and subsequently confirm your assertion.

[DJ_Flame]

Not really true. You start off making nothing but my first couples year's raises were at least 35% of the prior year's salary. Stick around till you're designated and a manager and you are looking at more than decent salary and lots of calls from headhunters. Granted my big 4 experience was a few years ago and things have probably changed, but it moves up quick. You don't need to be on the partner track.

That being said accounting at a big 4 is a soul sucking. People either turn into an accountant first, person second or get burned out.

Since you have worked @ the Big 4, hows the corporate advisory track? I grad in 18 months time, and seems like advisory is the best so far. Auditing is soul sucking (the only good thing is that they are always looking for fresh grads for audits, regardless of GPA) and corporate tax / transfer pricing is lame and you are stuck pretty quickly since you are too specialized.

[michaelttizzle]

should i become an actuary :\

Im a senior in high school and plan on applying as a math or business major to the uc's plus some privates.

[nism]

actuarial studies usually have lots of statistics units, stats will open a LOT of doors for you.

[ikol]

should i become an actuary :\

Im a senior in high school and plan on applying as a math or business major to the uc's plus some privates.

You shouldn't. Place Actuary on the shelf as a backup. Go for stats + business. 70% of all actuaries I knew found it wholly unsatisfying and quit after a year. feel free to pm me.

[azif]

should i become an actuary :\

Im a senior in high school and plan on applying as a math or business major to the uc's plus some privates.

I've almost qualified as an actuary (one more exam to go).

Not to sure what the path is like in america. In australia, you do 4 years of university and then 3yrs + of exam/study part time while you are working. University courses aint so bad but expect 30-40% pass rates in the external exams.

actuarial studies usually have lots of statistics units, stats will open a LOT of doors for you.

NISM is right. Actuarial maths is more Stats than pure maths. You only need the basic business subjects (first year accounting/economics and maybe some basic finance courses)

You shouldn't. Place Actuary on the shelf as a backup. Go for stats + business. 70% of all actuaries I knew found it wholly unsatisfying and quit after a year. feel free to pm me.

As an actuary you arent going to be making IB / baller money

Do it if youre interested in statistics and applying that in business

[ikol]

congrats azif

The last one is prolly coming up soon?

So back to michael. He's applying to uc's which afaik does not have any actuarial programs. I think there's basically 3 things to keep in mind.

1. In the states, the job opportunities are limited in # and geographically. Supply seems to be growing faster than demand. He needs to be willing to move if he wants to get the type of actuarial gig he wants.

2, the actuarial profession is super niche and does not lend itself well to crossovers into other careers. You end up choosing 1 of 2 actuarial societies and then generally specializing in one of five areas (pension consluting,etc). Crossover even within the actuarial profession itself blows. Outside of that, no one really recognizes your exams even though they're suppose to be hard and you spent several years post college to pass them.

3. If you really love stats and want to gbm this and gibbs sampling that, this gig is probably not what you're looking for. The level of stats sophistication can be surprisingly primitive.

So I would say, for someone just about to enter college, don't be too myopic towards a career that requires so much commitment.

Michael! Consider other gigs and grad school! Just get an internship to see if you might like it.

<

[mmfood]

Since being layoff off from my job, my daily routine has been:

1. waking up at noon everyday

2. applying for jobs / fuckin' around on the internet

3. eating hibachi at a place right outside my neighborhood

4. playing soccer at the university down the street until 10 at night

5. getting drunk somewhere around town

6. repeat

I kinda feel like a piece of shit because I am contributing nothing to society at the moment. But on the other hand, Ive gotten into pretty good shape from playing soccer and I have all the free time to build my portfolio and be lazy as shit throughout the day. So I'm content.

[shufon]

@michaeltizzle. If you're looking at math vs business, this is my opinion of how undergrad majors stack up against each other in terms of both salary right out of school and variety of career paths:

Applied math, operations research, physics, computer science >

Pure math, statistics >

Business

On another note, I just started talks to get an 8 figure investment for my hedge fund. I think I'm finally onto something

[Nov Spur]

Since being layoff off from my job, my daily routine has been:

1. waking up at noon everyday

2. applying for jobs / fuckin' around on the internet

3. eating hibachi at a place right outside my neighborhood

4. playing soccer at the university down the street until 10 at night

5. getting drunk somewhere around town

6. repeat

I kinda feel like a piece of shit because I am contributing nothing to society at the moment. But on the other hand, Ive gotten into pretty good shape from playing soccer and I have all the free time to build my portfolio and be lazy as shit throughout the day. So I'm content.

This. Only replace the hibachi with tofu.

[BlueOctoberFan]

My undergrad was in business (dual degree accounting and finance) and it was incredibly unsatisfying work, both in the public and private sectors of accounting. Based on my experience, a business degree counts for very little. After a few years, I decided to change directions completely and am now taking my last class for a Psychology Ph.D., teaching, and working a fellowship.

[michaelttizzle]

you guys are super helpful ill probably major in applied math since I do really enjoy math and statistics.

[ohsnap]

it took me 19 years and 10 months

i'm now in a field that i never imagined i'd ever be in. and i'm honestly loving every second of it.

[shufon]

What are you doing now dude?

[gettoasty]

internship opportunity still possible with private wealth company.

internship (paid possibly depending on work) with real estate agent.

aw man, wtf is going on...i feel like all this is very entrepreneurial but i have a degree in finance and statistics, lol.

more shocked than disappointed currently with no call backs except from family & friends. i am either over-qualified or the current market doesn't feel like training new employees b/c I definitely meet the requirements.

[azif]

congrats azif

The last one is prolly coming up soon?

Cheers

Yep, hopefully last exam i have to sit is late October.

So my life = work + study

[BlueOctoberFan]

more shocked than disappointed currently with no call backs except from family & friends. i am either over-qualified or the current market doesn't feel like training new employees b/c I definitely meet the requirements.

My experience has been that if you don't know someone to get you the job, applying blindly won't do it. I applied places for months after graduating, but couldn't find a job anywhere until a friend from school who had interned at a firm recommended me to them. The only other way that I've found a job was through a recruiting agency.

My job hunting experience is also from six years ago, so I can only imagine what it is like since the economy took a virtually world-wide downturn.

[caid]

Since you have worked @ the Big 4, hows the corporate advisory track? I grad in 18 months time, and seems like advisory is the best so far. Auditing is soul sucking (the only good thing is that they are always looking for fresh grads for audits, regardless of GPA) and corporate tax / transfer pricing is lame and you are stuck pretty quickly since you are too specialized.

I think it really depends on which firm you end up at. Where I started everyone had to go through audit first, they didn't give us a choice. I know there are firms that let people jump straight into a tax group or something specialized, but I think that is limiting unless you want to work in that specific area for a long time.

I guess I can't speak to corporate advisory as my experience was two years in audit before they let me move over to the technology risk group, which I found way more interesting. If you can get straight into a group that you are interested in, I would say go for it. It's worth it to go through the Big 4's just for the experience.

[Charles]

I quit my job, and bought a one way ticket to Belgium. Selling my car and all my furniture/appliances. Reduced my wardrobe from a walk in closet to a backpack.

adventure time

[dovo]

About to quit my job (I have two but this is the main beezy), grow out dreads, and just start exploring life and myself. (no fap-o)

[xerrox]

Since there's a lot of business talk...

Studying my ass off for a corporate valuation midterm that's going to destroy me. Everyone in this computer lab is studying for it and appear to be as lost as I am.

My finance courses are making me reconsider if I want to go down the i-banking route. It's par for my school but holy hell financial statements are going to drive me crazy. This deferred tax asset/liability reconciliation of provision for income taxes with cash taxes paid etc etc is incomprehensible.

Maybe I'll try to do management consulting or something :S