<p>WOW, some people here are really harsh on me.</p>
<p>Let me make my case clear. My college career in Columbia is not as lackluster as I had made it out to be. I did do something extracurricular activities, and took some leadership positions. In my opinion, all of those activities and positions are fluff pieces that are virtually worthless to me and probably to my future employers. There will probably be quite a few people in elite institutions who would admit to these sentiments behind the curtain.</p>
<p>For your information, I did get some decent job after college. But, is it my fault that the company went bankrupt shortly? Afterward, through some research about the fundamentals of our economy, I realized that this economy is screwed for the next 3-4 years. Then, I decided to travel across Europe, Africa, and Asia and do some part-time teachings as voluntary work. In the meantime, I made small money through my investment to pay for my expenses. After the market failed to break some technical resistance points in the summer of 2008, I decided to load up on my short positions on financial companies and make up about $40-60 K playing the technical resistance and support points for short entries and covered targets.</p>
<p>To truthcomesout, I could care less if it is GS, MS, C, BAC, MER, or any other dog on Wall Street. The only reason why I had mentioned GS because it has the strongest likelihood of coming out of this crisis alive, and without being partially nationalized. You seem to be one of those analysts who thinks that they are doing something worthwhile in their 10-12 hours/day and 6 days/week job. In fact, they probably know nothing about the dynamics and core business of the sector that they are covering on. Otherwise, their clients would not have lost 60-80% of their portfolios in the past year, while these same fools kept advising those poor people to average down. Quite contrary to your accusation, I believed that there is much to learn in any prestigious institution. For anyone, the key is to realize that there will always going to be someone who is greater than you. On the other hand, there is nothing to accomplish at GS. If you are someone who has been with the same i-bank for the past 10-20 years, you may commend yourself for being an obedient puppy. In my opinion, you are nothing more than an incompetent fool who needs his master to survive. Without the i-banking company, your life and value would be worthless. If you are truly talented, you would learn as much as possible and start something on your own in 2-3 years. Please spare me the lecture about doing something worthwhile at any of these i-banks. Let me make my point clear to me: they do not give a damn about your belief, thought, or passion.</p>
<p>To astonmartinDBS, how do you define "the cream of the crop"? Do you based that on pure IQ scores, EQ scores, or what? Most people out there seem to based this definition on GPA. If you are someone with a 3.8-4.0 GPA, you can go out in the real world and brag about it. You can call yourself a genius for all I care. In my opinion, a high GPA score does not indicate one's true intelligence. It only indicates to employers that you can do an entry level job to an proficient level, so that you won't embarrass the company. College does not improve your productivity; it only certifies that your intelligence is in the 51% quartile or higher.</p>
<p>Also, who said that I made money solely on fundamental or technical analysis? It is based on the fact that I have a solid trading strategy that I can rely on through good and bad times. The strategy does not keep me from losing money. In fact, the strategy's purpose is to put me in a position to maximize my profit and minimize my losses. I won't go in details to how that system works here. I will only say that it works best in a volatile market.</p>
<p>JPNguyen, you make it sounds like these senior VPS are interested in speaking to chumps. In fact, if you have nothing to offer to them, your chances of networking with these people are next to nothing. You may think that a 3.8-4.0 GPA is enough to entice their attention. I would beg to differ. In fact, three years ago, I had met alumni from Columbia who are holding senior positions in JPM, GS, and MS. Most of these folks' academic records are not as impressive as you think. Therefore, unless you have done something exceptional, they only pretend to notice your presence because of politeness.</p>