<p>My teacher for AP Govt went to NYU and got his Econ B.S. there, he then went and got a MBA from Harvard Business School (after a few years), he then became a manager of sorts for Charles Schwab in NYC. But somehow, he's a teacher now, probably making 1/10th of what he used to make.</p>
<p>The guy is brilliant, but he ended up as a teacher.</p>
<p>This example has told me not to strictly pursue business, it's too unpredictable.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on this? Is the business world too unstable? Sure there are those that make it to the top, but what about those who don't, what do they end up as?</p>
<p>Business is not everybody's passion... money is not everybody's passion.... different individuals do different things for different reasons... life is complex and dynamic.... I wouldn't judge an entire career path based on one guy's choices.</p>
<p>i believe there is a chance of failure with everything in life. however...with passion and vision...along with hard work...the chance of failing is minimized while chance of succeeding is maximized. i also think it depends on your definition of success.</p>
<p>yeh^^^^^ agreees. maybe he felt that he had earned enough, or was just too tired at the politics and cruelty of the businss world, thus left for good. Maybe teaching was once his dream or sth as well! Im sure if hes a harvard mba graduate who was a manager and as you said is brilliant, theres no way the cant get a job of some sort if he wanted....</p>
<p>If you ask me, it sounds to me like he lost his fuel. In this case I would say his fuel was greed. If he felt that he had earned enough then there would be no reason for him to keep doing his over-exhausting job. Also, in business you can't think of failing because then you will fail. You can only keep two steps ahead of everyone while trying to predict and anticipate moves from every side of the problem. Business is a really advanced and dangerous game of chess. Once you nail your opponent into a check than you basically have your life in check, but if you don't the worries will never stop. (Again from my rediculously greedy perspective.)</p>
<p>Don't fear failure... it's nothing more than a stepping stone... whether you're in business, history, medicine, counseling, teaching, pornography, or whatever... you will fail, but you learn to use your failure as a stepping stone/motivation for success. Embrace that ****</p>
<p>Failure only exists when you label its existence..... my uncle lives in NYC and has faced 200k in debt while tryin to write his own books and work his way up.....he now pulls in over 400k a year and has extremely flexible hours...( he works mostly at home)...hes a writer not a businessman but the example still holds true...he never even considered giving up...his 200k in debt living in NYC was only an obstacle in his way towards greatness....of which he still isnt satisfied....failure wont come if you have a deep internal vision towards where you want life to head......it really is that simple</p>
<p>One of the history teachers at my school was a stockbroker for Dean Witter (now Morgan Stanley Dean Witter) before he came to teach......he started at my school in 93 or something, so he might have left DW when it got merged with Morgan Stanley...I dunno.</p>
<p>Yes, in business, you have to be brave/courageous/risktaking/whatever. You can't fear failure. If you're afraid of failing in business, you're too chicken and therefore shouldn't be in business. </p>
<p>Seriously, don't be afraid of failing...use it as a stepping stone to success. When you get out of college, HIT THE GROUND RUNNING. Don't look backwards. Don't look at all the people whose toes you had to step on to get to where you are, because in that instant, someone else will take your spot at the top.</p>
<p>Failure is the first. Those of us that are really smart skip step one and move on. A math teacher at my school went to Columbia and was a trader for UBS securities. I think he wants to be a teacher. its all about step 1.</p>
<p>funnyman=If you're asking these questions, I would recommend that you DON'T pursue business as your career. If you're afraid of failing, if you even THINK that you might fail, then you shouldn't do business. Because business is a brutal field, and if you even DOUBT FOR A SECOND that you might fail, then you WILL fail.</p>
<p>There isn't anything wrong with what the OP is doing - he wants to make an informed, thought-out decision before committing fully to it, which I don't believe is a flaw in any field, even business.</p>
<p>Take trading for example. Once you place your bet, you shouldn't question the decision at all. Can you do anything to change the direction of the stock to your advantage? That's why there are people with quant skills to evaluate/analyze so good decisions can be made.</p>
<p>A question on trading: do traders need to have quant skills, or do they have "back-office" people do all the research while they make the final decision on the buy/sell?</p>
<p>I do think back-office people get the short end of the stick - they don't get paid the multi-million dollar salaries, and it has to be one of the most mundane jobs I can think of.</p>
<p>Funnyman> I am not a professional trader...I am still a student. I simply know of this industry well due to A) several friend's dads/family friends have walked me through the industry and taken me to their jobs etc B) I personally trade my own account and co-manage a few client's capital (mostly relatives, family friends, relative's relatives) which has led to further interaction with traders, brokers, market makers etc C) internship at a trading firm in NYC. </p>
<p>However it really depends on what type of a trader someone is. For example, my friend's dad essentially has a more "typical" job type senario as he works at a bank while a friend of mine manages a book from home in his pajamas (he trades Euro futs/options so his "day" starts of at around 2:30 AM EST). </p>
<p>As for reading suggestions here are some to check out: Reminiscence of a Stock Operator, the Market Wizards series. These are books which basically give you an idea of what the life of traders is like while not delving into too much detail. Send me an email and I will send over some reading material to you.</p>
<p>Timepiece> There are pure quants while there are others who are quant traders. These guys are NOT backoffice and are very integrated to the activities of the trading desk. Backoffice is like keeping track of P/L, running errands for traders/quants etc, keeping track of trades, other grunt work.</p>
<p>A family friend, actually a lifelong friend of my dad went from a successful career to teaching.</p>
<p>He was a CPA had an MBA from the University of Chicago and was the CFO of a fortune 100 company. He retired in his mid 50's worth somewhere in the low to mid 8 figures.</p>
<p>He went on to teach part time at a local community college, obviously it's not because he failed at business, he just decided it's what he wanted to do. Teaching at the college level is easy stress free work, he doesn't do it for the money.</p>
<p>You know what sucks, he would have a very hard time getting hired at a "prestigious" business school without a Phd, and it's a shame because I would have a ton more respect for what he has to say about busines than some PHd at Harvard who has never worked a day in business in his life, and has done nothing but sat in a classroom.</p>
<p>This is very general by the way.
It's actually kind of sad with business professors, having a Phd in business usually means you were either a failure and couldn't hack it in the real world, or never even attempted it.</p>
<p>Succesful business people don't get Phd's, they don't have the time nor the desire as they are actually doing business. </p>
<p>Top school really should hire more people like our family friend. It makes more sense to me to learn from retired succesful business people than someone who sat in a classroom all his life. A mix of both would probably be best, they would both have sometihng to offer</p>