It was not long ago when Barclay's was involved in the LIBOR scandal. Recently, I read about an UBS trader who managed to lose a huge sum in a matter of one day. Being idle makes you intro-spect and wonder what all this means, especially to someone who was very excited about a career in the financial services industry not long ago. Finally I did not get that chance (for now) but I wonder if that was what I really want.
The likes of HSBC were in the news recently, for something as heinous as "money laundering". I was told that the bank's agents actually would come and collect money from you (your hard earned black money), deposit it in your Swiss Bank account and keep you updated! That affected me a lot. I for one was very excited about getting into the industry because of the rush it gives you (keeping you up on copious amount of caffeine), opportunities to meet genuinely smart people and ability to solve problems that are relevant. However, my perception has changed a lot. Maybe this is the "justification syndrome" that most of us suffer from. The idea of "sour grapes" comes to your minds I guess. But then, who gives a fudge? You should neither..
What really attracted me to the financial industry ?
1. Money - There is no denying that money is something that plays a key role in many people's life (all of us shallow mortals) and all the BIG bonus that one hears about is bound to attract them to the industry. Wall street is a dream from many of the graduates from IIT's (the other one being the Silicon valley!) and that is where you want to be, amidst all the happenings!
2. Fame - Probably not unless you are a Soros or Buffet who can make it really huge. The industry definitely does not give you the autonomy you enjoy as a entrepreneur! There is that hollow feeling - I am making money for a firm that might be using it to help drug lords in trafficking them, helping billionaires launder money or helping a rebel nation develop secret nuclear technology (See - Credit Suisse - one of the firms that actually rejected me - for good I guess !).
3. Impact - Again probably not unless you are a trader. But then one needs to define impact in a more narrow way. Is impact about changing something in the world/changing the lives of people or is it about being able to swell your organizations balance sheet (without getting caught)!
I remember this part form the movie Inside Job - A banker telling a regulator - "We will be greedy. You have got to bring in the rules and control us".
This might be the lowest I could go in my life. The question is - Can money fill a void created by such a shallowness?
Not the end of the story -
Do not despair! There are many other jobs where you still have a good overlap of all 3 things but it is difficult to find them since they are rare. I am amazed by way in which money can really blind us, especially someone who is just starting his/her career.
Moreover, that is how the society judges us. Slowly that becomes the way we start judging ourselves.
So does that mean I have given up on breaking into the financial industry? No way! I will probably become a regulator and screw all these guys for their evil-deeds someday!
The likes of HSBC were in the news recently, for something as heinous as "money laundering". I was told that the bank's agents actually would come and collect money from you (your hard earned black money), deposit it in your Swiss Bank account and keep you updated! That affected me a lot. I for one was very excited about getting into the industry because of the rush it gives you (keeping you up on copious amount of caffeine), opportunities to meet genuinely smart people and ability to solve problems that are relevant. However, my perception has changed a lot. Maybe this is the "justification syndrome" that most of us suffer from. The idea of "sour grapes" comes to your minds I guess. But then, who gives a fudge? You should neither..
What really attracted me to the financial industry ?
1. Money - There is no denying that money is something that plays a key role in many people's life (all of us shallow mortals) and all the BIG bonus that one hears about is bound to attract them to the industry. Wall street is a dream from many of the graduates from IIT's (the other one being the Silicon valley!) and that is where you want to be, amidst all the happenings!
2. Fame - Probably not unless you are a Soros or Buffet who can make it really huge. The industry definitely does not give you the autonomy you enjoy as a entrepreneur! There is that hollow feeling - I am making money for a firm that might be using it to help drug lords in trafficking them, helping billionaires launder money or helping a rebel nation develop secret nuclear technology (See - Credit Suisse - one of the firms that actually rejected me - for good I guess !).
3. Impact - Again probably not unless you are a trader. But then one needs to define impact in a more narrow way. Is impact about changing something in the world/changing the lives of people or is it about being able to swell your organizations balance sheet (without getting caught)!
I remember this part form the movie Inside Job - A banker telling a regulator - "We will be greedy. You have got to bring in the rules and control us".
This might be the lowest I could go in my life. The question is - Can money fill a void created by such a shallowness?
Not the end of the story -
Do not despair! There are many other jobs where you still have a good overlap of all 3 things but it is difficult to find them since they are rare. I am amazed by way in which money can really blind us, especially someone who is just starting his/her career.
Moreover, that is how the society judges us. Slowly that becomes the way we start judging ourselves.
So does that mean I have given up on breaking into the financial industry? No way! I will probably become a regulator and screw all these guys for their evil-deeds someday!
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