Most people who meet me would not immediately associate me with finance. When they hear about my blog, they’d immediately jump to fashion or writing. Even some of my closest friends and family can’t make the connection. My control freak tendency to plan to every last detail and organize things in the “perfect” order pointed towards event planning or even database management. But never quite finance. Indeed, it wasn’t something I grew up knowing I loved. It was something I naturally fell into through my education and surrounding environment. But having really thought about it recently, I really do feel like finance is the right path for me. And by finance, I mean investing.
Why? Because investing allows us to forecast the future. Not just about the future of the stock market, but about the world. That’s why Warren Buffet is called the Oracle of Omaha- he’s like a psychic! It involves the study of all things, from the technology developments, history, psychology, recent legislations to the latest fashion. All these factors come together to create the future. Investing allows us to study the world, place a bet behind our convictions and be rewarded for being correct/punished for being wrong. Unlike most occupations where you repetitively do the same tasks to achieve the same means, finance appeases our natural curiosity of this ever-changing world and get paid for it. I’m not saying that finance is not repetitive- I’m convinced it is one of the industries that rely the most on copy and pasting- but the factors affecting the world are always changing and consequently so are the forecasts. It makes for an exciting, broad and enriching life-long learning experience.
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What area in finance? Investment Management? Private Wealth Management?
I’m spending my summer in investment banking, but I was interviewing for investment management positions as well.
Comment by Carolyn April 5, 2010 @ 11:21 amcarolyn: mostly i am thinking of investment mgmt.
ooh, a lot of my friends are in ib. it is definitely an area that is picking up fast. i hope you’re ready for the all nighters! goodluck!
Comment by Barneys Girl April 5, 2010 @ 2:39 pmehh..seriously, you could replace “finance” with “psychic” or astrology and it would sound just as right (or in my view: wrong). You are gambling and for some reason society awards your passion with a lot of money – that’s it. No need to talk about something as nonsensical as “finance allows me to forecast the future!”. Don’t get me wrong – we need more women in finance and it’s always a great thing when your work is fullfilling. But finance doesn’t make you a psychic.
Comment by Lana August 9, 2011 @ 8:19 am