<p>I think that i-banking careers and trading jobs will continue to have a certain mystique about them. This may actually be magnified because there will certainly be far fewer young i-bankers for the next few years. However, I also believe the public's already poor perception of bankers has probably gotten even worse. Today there are Congressional hearings directed at the credit agencies (S&P, Moody's, Fitch). These guys who sold high ratings in exchange for banking business look like real crooks. However, people forget that the huge majority of bankers are inherently honest hard-working people.</p>
<p>^Can't access the article. Do you have a text version?</p>
<p>Despite the recent collapse of several U.S. banking institutions, Stephen Dalli isn't looking to leave the financial-services sector, where he's spent his entire 28-year career.</p>
<p>"It's the only industry I've known," says the former Morgan Stanley trader, who was laid off in February.</p>
<p>Mr. Dalli isn't alone in his desire to stay on Wall Street but the ranks are thinner than they used to be, according to a recent survey by reports ********.com, an invite-only networking Web site geared to finance professionals.</p>
<p>Some 29% of respondents said they are considering moving outside of financial services. Of those, more than half said they'd go into business development and management consulting. The rest mentioned areas such as marketing and sales, media and entertainment, real estate and law. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they're undecided about whether they're willing to broaden their searches beyond Wall Street.
[Financial Professionals] Getty Images</p>
<p>More than 50% of financial professionals in a recent survey say they are undecided about leaving or are already considering leaving the field.</p>
<p>About 47% of 338 financial-services professionals say they are opposed to switching industries, according to the survey, which was conducted between Sept. 26 and Oct. 1. About the same number also say they plan on launching job searches within the next three months.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, online chatter among **<strong><em>'s 500,000 members has been focused lately on job hunting, says the site's founder, Mareza Larizadeh. "They're looking for help," he says, adding that most of *</em></strong>*'s members are finance professionals many with years of experience in the industry.</p>
<p>For those hoping to stay in finance, securing a new position, but in a different function, may prove difficult. Mr. Dalli says he's pursued sales roles only to learn from recruiters that employers are concerned he'll want to go back into trading once the economy improves. "It's very frustrating," he says.</p>
<p>Then there's the growing competition to contend with. "The sheer number of qualified applicants out there for any given role is very large," says Arthur Casavant of New Canaan, Conn., who started job hunting about three months ago after deciding to come out of early retirement at age 50. He previously worked in lending, finance and general management in banking for 28 years and found retirement unfulfilling. "I have a set of skills I would like to redeploy, but I may shift industries because of the current market conditions," he says.</p>
<p>Those thinning job opportunities are part of what's driving industry veterans to look beyond Wall Street. "The well's pretty dry," says Kevin McGovern of Pleasantville, N.Y., who was laid off in September from a chief administrative officer post at Merrill Lynch & Co. Since then, he's been searching for work in the nonprofit and pharmaceutical sectors, in addition to financial services, where he's spent that past nine years. "My confidence level is pretty good," he says, adding that he's in talks with several recruiting firms and has been heavily networking. Still, Mr. McGovern expects his search to take six to eight months, or twice as long as during less volatile economic times.</p>
<p>Patience may indeed be necessary, as many employers are putting their hiring plans on hold or canceling them all together, says Jay Gaines, chief executive officer of Jay Gaines & Company, a New York recruiting firm that specializes in financial services. "We expect our business to be off for the next few months," he says. "Some people are too distracted and worrying about what's going to act on their hiring needs."</p>
<p>Still, Mr. Gaines says he anticipates a turnaround later this year or in early 2009. "They'll be plenty of need going forward," he says, adding that new employment opportunities within financial services are likely to sprout up. "I'm optimistic."</p>
<p>One such growth sector may be financial counseling. Consider that Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, based in New York, is looking to recruit up to 20% more financial advisers this year, reports Emily Viner, vice president, agency growth and development. The insurer currently employs 3,000 of these professionals at its more than 100 offices throughout the nation. About one-third of the openings will be for positions in the New York area, she adds.</p>
<p>Outside of financial services, hiring activity is robust for information-technology professionals, according to a recent report from Manpower Inc., a global provider of recruitment and outplacement services. Software developers, systems engineers and network administrators are in high demand, the study shows. Manpower also says that demand continues to be strong in growing sectors such as oil and natural gas exploration, health care and government.</p>
<p>^Thanks. Can you put a space in between the word with the *s to identify it?</p>
<p>Replace **** with D o o s t a n g . com</p>
<p>none of the investment banker haters here would ever go beyond equities in dallas if they tried working in finance</p>
<p>^Indeed, investment bankers will NEVER DIE.</p>
<p>you can hate the investment bankers all you want, but we bankers will continue to commend lots of MONEY and PRESTIGE. because all that matters in life is MONEY and PRESTIGE. MONEY + PRESTIGE = POWER AND HAPPINESS.</p>
<p>the fact that we ibankers are being bailed out by the government and are awarded bonuses for our incompetence and for f***ing up this economy just shows how PRESTIGIOUS investment bankers are. </p>
<p>there is NO OTHER INDUSTRY in the world where you are highly rewarded high bonuses for f***ing up the economy. </p>
<p>Bloomberg.com:</a> Exclusive</p>