He doesn’t need to focus exclusively on the ‘finance industry’. There are many interesting roles in regular companies (snack foods, cosmetics, consumer products, life insurance, industrial heating/cooling systems, waste management, etc.) that will be able to use his skills. And many of these are much less volatile than financial services. Most kids hear “finance” and assume that means a bank or hedge fund, but every organization needs a solid finance function.
If it were my kid, I’d be steering him towards state government right now. Interesting and robust roles, and typically less competition than financial services. Who chooses the bank to lead a bond offering to finance bridge construction? Who identifies shortfalls in tax revenue and figures out why? Who provides the state legislature with the analysis of why SNAP costs have gone up even while the population is declining? Why is the pension fund for state police underfunded even though the pension fund for state court officers is on track?
All of these roles have direct parallels to jobs in the private sector but provide a good on-ramp right now.
Good luck. Volatile time to be job hunting for sure.
Unfortunately he did research over his previous summers so there is no job experiences outside of academic - TAing, tutoring, or assisting creating new math courses. My husband’s friend knowing of our son’s math ability over a year ago had offered him an interview for a quant training program but at the time he thought he would be in grad school so he thanked him and turned it down. We will obviously contact that friend again to see if he could interview for next year. We have tracked down friends, friends of friends, and relatives who have helped review his revised resume, offered tips in pivoting away from academic career, and he has a pending call with a quant department at a distant relative’s company for advice on financial/math knowledge he should brush up on, interview tips, recruiters to use, and hopefully referrals.
His girlfriend is from the west coast and spent spring break in NYC finding an apartment with her mother. She rented a small, very reasonably priced furnished studio apartment which she will move into straight from graduation and he will join her shortly after. She does not have a job lined up either, but their college, we, and her family have been helping her with contacts in her chosen field. They are both hard workers and understand they will need to take temporary jobs to bring in money as they look for career path jobs. They also have no student loans and if needed parents as short term safety nets.
He is still in the middle of undergrad classes and getting ready to present his Masters thesis in 2 weeks so outside of revising his resume and zoom calls with the assorted people we have sent his way, he is pretty busy with school. After his Masters talk he plans on contacting staffing agencies. He is open to temporary positions. We told him to just keep positive and keep moving forward while not forgetting to enjoy himself on the way.
I have never heard of Cornell’s tech center. If he is not a Cornell alum, he went to an LAC, could he still look into events there or is it only for Cornell grads?
He had always said if I can’t do the job I would love and be a professor then I will sell my soul and go into finance and get the money. I think that is why his first reaction is to look at finance jobs. I have brought up other industries and government work and have sent him non-finance high mathematical job postings to review.
I think he will branch out as he realizes how tough the job market is right now. He still plans to continue doing math research and publishing on his own and with several current professors, but all that will be unpaid for him and in his free time.
It’s not all or nothing. People who sell large benefit packages to corporations ( covering tens of thousands of employees) do very well financially. Actuaries can make high salaries depending on the type of job. People who work at airlines predicting fuel prices and hedging those bets do VERY well.
They do have some public events.
There may be an updated list of the local companies their PhD students started- who may be hiring.
Founders who participate in the program come from academic backgrounds and are focused on accelerating their young companies under the guidance of Cornell Tech faculty and advisors. To date, the program has launched more than 100 startups, including baby sleep monitor Nanit, real estate construction intelligence platform OnsiteIQ and infectious disease diagnostic Biotia. In total, the companies launched from the Runway Startups program have a valuation of more than $660 million and have created more than 500 new jobs in New York City.
From 2023
I agree with @blossom, he needs to cast his net wide at this point since he is off cycle for the traditional finance job paths.
If he gets a chance to talk to people at quant firms (or even traditional financial services firms with significant trading and underwriting businesses), he might want to explore opportunities in operations, including IT systems and risk/credit management. A good friend and classmate of S has a similar background to your S and he has a very well paying position in Ops with one of the well known quant firms. @hebegebe and @Catcherinthetoast may have other insights as to quants and financial institutions in general, especially off cycle opportunities.
If they allow alternate route for non education majors, that would work.
The individual would have to pass a certification test in their area of teaching.
The entry level salaries in NYC are pretty good, and it is not uncommon to get additional money for credits you have, for teaching during a prep etc.
But- you have to like the job. If you stay you will need a masters within 5 years. If you teach for 2-3 years you will leave with a lot of transferable skills.
IIRC, anyone can apply to take this test. That doesn’t mean anything at all. It’s sort of like secondaries for medical schools. Everyone who applies gets them.Even if you won’t advance, you will still get the test.
Good news is, this covers more than just teachers - though DK what ancillary staff who are not administrators earn.
“The data, sourced from the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System (NYSTRS) and the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), covers 239,254 teachers and administrators outside New York City and 139,121 other school employees.”
The higher salaries are for the administrators. This takes a level of experience AND additional certification. This is not something new grads step into.
If someone wants to teach in NYC and isn’t credentialed, they can apply for content area jobs at some of the private schools. These can be excellent jobs, and the private schools don’t usually require state certification.
I think the point here is…new grads need to be flexible…both in job type and location. The first job doesn’t have to be the last job!
D19’s roommate was teaching history at a private school in NYC after graduating last year . He was earning around $50k a year. I doubt he had a teaching credential- not sure how it all worked.
Yes, lots of jobs require additional licensure or certification. But the point is there are opportunities with comfortable salaries in areas People might not have initially considered.
Boarding schools are great employers, if the fit is good. Salaries start around $40,000 or $45,000 but housing and food are provided, so the actual value of the compensation is more like $80,000 (including all benefits)
