The exciting, everchanging world of finance has a strong draw for students throughout the Grossman School of Business. But these same students often wonder: what can a career in finance look like, and how do you build one?
Last week, six ̽̽ alumni shared their professional experience about the finance business and how to approach a career on Wall Street – or beyond -- at the Careers in Finance panel.
Moderated by ̽̽ alumnus and Grossman Board of Advisor member Jamie Flicker, the professionals provided insights on how they have gotten to where they are today; advice to students and soon-to-be grads; tips on life after college and more. Over 70 students attended the April 5th virtual panel featuring:
- Daniel Dichter, CDFA ‘95, UBS Financial Services
- Bruce Hernandez ‘82, Partner at Spire Capital
- Nina Hughes ’87, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Axiomada
- Jeffrey Johnson ’88, Partner at Morgan Lewis
- Jim Kearney ‘92, President at Quadrant Capital Management a subsidiary of Peapack-Gladstone Bank
- Host & Moderator - Jamie Flicker CPA ‘87, Managing Director at DCS Advisory
The panel represented all facets of the financial world, from CEOs to presidents, partners to managers, lawyers to advisors, allowing students to get a varied perspective of the different career paths in financial services. The panelists brought many decades of experience, making them the perfect sources of advice, insights, and ideas to inspire students gearing up for the financial world.
Dean Sanjay Sharma kicked off the discussion with a welcome to this 9th rendition of the Careers in Finance Panel, which is just “one of the many initiatives [the Grossman School of Business] have taken to enhance experience learning, career and professional development for our students”. He went on to give thanks, saying, “this is all thanks to our alumni; the alumni ground the academic classroom learning into actual business experience, allowing our students to be much better prepared for a career. We couldn’t do any of these experiential learning opportunities without our alumni.”
Jamie welcomed the panelists and set the tone for the discussion. “The purpose of today is twofold: one, to understand what we do on Wall Street and what Wall Street is all about, and two, to better understand a path to a career in financial services.”
The panel of Catamount finance professionals spoke at length about the wide variety of career path options available to the students on Wall Street or in financial services. From sales, trading, equity research, debt derivatives, commodity risk analysis; to mergers & acquisitions, strategic planning, product development, and communications. The panelists also debunked the notion that there is only one way to get a job in investment banking. The opposite proved true – each panelist had their own unique path, from an Electrical Engineering degree to a string of opportunities that eventually landed on Wall Street.
Throughout the discussion panelists provided words of inspiration and even mottos for students to follow as they begin their careers.
Bruce Hernandez struck to the heart of the advice, saying, “Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone. Get uncomfortable, be able to act in an uncomfortable environment.”
He also dismissed the concept of dumb luck, though he acknowledged it could play a role in anyone’s path. “Go manufacture your own luck,” he said, earning smiles from his panelists.
Nina Hughes, who leveraged her interest in electrical engineering and tech into the finance world, agreed, saying the most important thing was to “do the hard work, use your expertise, find your grit.”
Panelists also agreed that there was so much more to building a career than base knowledge or even a degree. “The people that you are in class with and have relationships with, are going to be so valuable for you in your life. Use those relationships to help you get into the next level that you want to get at, and treat them well.”
“You never know where your path is going to lead, mistakes are not only mistakes. There is plenty there to learn from,” added Dan Dichter, whose own life experiences led him to a new career focus as a CDFA (Certified Divorce Financial Advisor).
Jamie Flicker noted that students should always know that there are “changes in life, so many things that are not controllable.” Many of the panelists spoke about working on Wall Street during 9/11 and the 2008 financial crash – events that shook their careers. It was a somber link between the pasts and today’s uncertain, COVID-19 world.
In the over an hour and a half panel, agreement between the panelists was clear: for all of the careers in finance, there is no one clear path. Students need to put in the work, use their network, and take chances. The rest will follow.
The Grossman School of Business is so thankful to this panel of financial experts for taking time to speak with our students, and to Jamie Flicker for arranging yet another fantastic rendition of this event.