Sunday, August 31, 2008

What I learned this summer

Contrary to previous posts, I am so ready to go back to school!

Technically, I am not quite done with the summer internship but mentally I am. Given current market conditions and recent firm, ummm, "restructurings", a job offer seems incredibly improbable. Which frankly, is fine by me at this point. The summer left me feeling much less enthusiastic than I was going in. I am also dealing with a raging and highly unexpected desire to live in New York and do anything besides investment management. Hmmm. I talk myself into and out of and then back in to continuing on my current trajectory on a daily basis. Given my current fickle state of mind - there's no point dwelling on this point here.

The fund I am with has been in the biz for about 20 years and is currently experiencing unprecedented turmoil and upheaval. Lesson #1: Past results are no prediction of future results. This makes doing due diligence on employers very complicated.

One of the individuals impacted by our "restructurings" was a recent GSB grad. That hit close to home. Lesson #2: A fancy MBA doesn't buy you job security.

Lesson #3: Never move to a small, Midwest city for a job alone where your husband has no job prospects because, in the event that you are "restructured", you will have no further job prospects and, as mentioned previously, your husband will have no job prospects, and you will be fucking miserable, in a small, Midwest city. No thank you.

I can't decide if my lackluster love for investment management is a result of a less than ideal summer or the final proof that I have been pursuing the wrong career for the past 6 years or so. Hmmm. I just want to do something, ya know? But I'm not really suited for anything else. Or so it feels. And what I know of the corporate world is not particularly appealing.

Oh, yeah. And I'm pregnant. Oops. This should make recruiting very interesting.

Over and out.

3 comments:

Samantha said...

Congratulations!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. Your husband was not all jobless :-). Congrats to both of you.

Anonymous said...

congrats! that's great news - i am sure recruiting will go fine. you did well during internship recruiting and you will do well in the coming year.