Help me find a new job/career... warning *deep thread*

[Blackjack200]

In the OP you mentioned being a financial advisor as being a potential consideration. That was my first career job, so I'll share my experience and what I know:

* There are no barriers to entry other than some relatively minimal licencing requirements. To sell securities you'll need Series 7 and Series 66 licenses from FINRA. To sell insurance, you'll have to get licensed at the state level.

* Generally speaking, you will not be provided with leads. That means you have to get your own clients however you can. For me, that meant calling all my friends and family and asking them for meetings so I could pitch them. I hated this part, ultimately, it's why I left.

* For the most part, compensation works like this: if you sell a loaded mutual fund, you get a cut of the 5% sales load up front, and a 0.25% comission trail every year the money stays in the fund. If you sell a life insurance product you get 80-120% of the first year premium, and little if any trail.

* Many, but not all, institutions will have certain products that they want you to push. Life insurance, proprietary mutual fund products, etc. There can be a ton of pressure to sell them.

* There are some advisors that put themselves out as "Fee only" advisors. That means that they bill clients by the hour. They generally only recommend no-load funds and and use insurance brokers when their clients need to buy insurance, so they avoid all commissions (and, IMO, conflicts of interest).

I wish I had it to do over again - I would have gone the fee only route, but as a fresh young college kid, I had no idea how the industry works.

 

[Macamus Prime]

You got married and are planning/figuring out your career,.. with the help from an internet,... now. Not really my approach to life, but hey, it's yours and it makes you happy.

Anyway, sounds like you should stick with your current job and market yourself in a sales manager type position. Look at other industries, buy know that some of them are tough.

Like Financial Advisor. Do you have any idea what will happen when the next bubble bursts? No matter how many warnings you give your clients on how returns are NOT guaranteed and there is a risk to lose their investment, you will be held accountable by your clients and customers. And, most places will take you in if you can gaurantee a booking of X amount in assets. Worse, some places allow for senior sales to poach junior sales accounts, under the guise that they need to put the client's growth 1st, for the overall benefit of the company. Be very careful in this field.

 

[blackdogdeek]

business analyst at an investment bank - communications skills and learning ability are musts as is a knowledge of technology though this would be weighted more toward software instead of hardware. the pay is very good but the hours would probably vary between 45 - 50 hours/wk.

teacher - again communications skills are paramount here. you would need additional schooling but many school are willing to hire professionals WHILE they work toward education certification. the pay isn't nearly as good as a business analyst but you get summers off, lots of vacation and an arguably much more rewarding career.

 

[Cuda1447]

You got married and are planning/figuring out your career,.. with the help from an internet,... now. Not really my approach to life, but hey, it's yours and it makes you happy.

Anyway, sounds like you should stick with your current job and market yourself in a sales manager type position. Look at other industries, buy know that some of them are tough.

I am married, have been for a couple of years. I paid for the wedding out of my pocket. I own a home and have comfortable savings. I am doing just fine. I make plenty of money but I want to make more and am not happy with my career prospects at my current job. Things change, there is nothing wrong with changing with them.

 

[Cuda1447]

business analyst at an investment bank - communications skills and learning ability are musts as is a knowledge of technology though this would be weighted more toward software instead of hardware. the pay is very good but the hours would probably vary between 45 - 50 hours/wk.

teacher - again communications skills are paramount here. you would need additional schooling but many school are willing to hire professionals WHILE they work toward education certification. the pay isn't nearly as good as a business analyst but you get summers off, lots of vacation and an arguably much more rewarding career.

Communication skills - check
Technology knowledge - check
Ability to learn - check
45 hours a week I can handle. 50 is pushing the limit. If the money is good though and the hours start early and gives me weekends free, well that's an upgrade over what I have now.

 

[Cuda1447]

what are some of your hobbies? What past jobs or work were you passionate about? What phase of the job do you enjoy the most: consensus, initial planning, implimentation, review, wrap-up? Do you prefer working with adults, teens, youth? If you majored in psychology, then you have taken the profile tests; what were the results? Introvert or extrovert (without "masking")? Why did you choose psychology as your major?

all of these will help you identify the type of career that will make it enjoyable to get up each day and head to work.

Hobbies - technology, sports, bullshitting with people, politics, business, problem solving. It terms of my actual business, I really like to help people. I feel I do an excellent job and am very knowledgeable about what I sell. Generally my customers are much happier than others and I enjoy this.


I'm an extrovert, but I will say that I do get anxious when I'm out of my element. I wouldn't really say I am nervous if I'm doing something that I've done before and am familiar with. But if its a situation where I am constantly visiting new places and doing new things every day, that probably wouldn't suit me to well. I like things to be familiar.

 

[Apathetic]

If you're looking at technology sales, you may want to see if there's any opportunities for pharmaceutical sales in your area.

Dave

Edit: damn spelling error

 

[Ancalagon44]

What type of pay and career path is their in the recruitment field?

My brother has been in recruitment for the last few years, think he wants out.

The problem that he has found is that its brutal. They only care about results, about the bottom line. Its not about how many calls you make or how many meetings you setup, or anything else. If your candidate accepts a great job that would earn you big bucks, and your work on that deal was amazing, but he drops dead of a heart attack after 2 months at this company, you get nothing. Not even a pat on the back from your boss.

Theres no reward or even congratulations for your day to day tasks, basically. That only comes when money comes in. I'm not sure how different that is to what you currently do.

 

[Elbryn]

could look into being an account rep for a technology company. ie: emc, cisco, etc.. now it's still the big blue corporate machine. i guess i'm not sure why seek a change if most of the ideas for change also involve selling people on something. if you were willing to make a complete change, there's plenty of safe careers that have dedicated hours. actuaries can make alot of money but is very math based. pharmacists make great money but would involve going back to school to get a pharmD. They make great money but you get alot less time off but have alot of flexibility in where you work.

 

[wheresmybacon]

I would also suggest HR and Banking, or - *gulp* - dare I say, IT. The latter option there, IT, would require self-study on your part, and if the market is saturated in your area with low-experience techs willing to work for nothing, it may not be feasible. If you love technology it's a pretty fun career. I don't even feel like I'm working half the time. I'm in IT.

I came out of college with a BA, and a double major in Business Administration and Economics. I had no experience doing anything other than playing and coaching soccer. Fortunately for me it was 1996 - if you'd used a computer before and knew what autoexec.bat and config.sys did, you were pretty much qualified to be a tech back then. These days most places will require Comptia's A+ at the minimum, but you may find some that don't. They just want a quick learner with a proven track record of not sucking at something.

I think HR and Banking are probably your easiest transition since the barrier to entrance in either career is almost non-existent, but I would prepare yourself for the possibility of making less than $40k. You have zero experience. That's the biggest hurdle for you right now. Also I think both would be boring as shit.

Why do you want out of sales? Good sales people can make a very good living.

 

[x26]

Alright. ATOT is like my big brother. So here I am, coming to you for advice. I think I want a new job/career. I'm going to give you a quick background on myself, strengths and weaknesses. I'm hoping someone can suggest a career to look into. There are a ton of jobs out there, its just a matter of finding them.


I am 26. I have a B.A. in Psychology which I think was a grand waste of time. I have a steady work history. I am currently steadily employed in a sales position. Throughout college I have always worked in sales and excelled. I was recognized in my company for being in the top 1% in sales this last year (20,000+ employees). I was looking into going into management with this company and starting a career. For non-important reasons though, it looks as if it might be in my best interest to look for another job/career. (Although, things may still work out where I'm at)


Personal traits, skills and weaknesses:

I am always punctual. I find most people in this world aren't. I don't understand.
I'm extremely efficient, much more so than most people I know.
I learn quickly and am very competitive. If someone does a job better than I do, chances are I'll learn what they do, imitate it and eventually improve upon it.
I have very good communication skills.
I don't have any specific weaknesses that I can think of other than horrible hand writing. I literally write like a 7 year old.



Some things that will limit career choices though:

- I am a family man. I only have a wife right now, but I want to start a family soon. I do not want a job that I will work 60+ hours a week. I want to go to work, do my job, do a good job and go home. I will not be a slave to my employer.

- I do not want a job that requires much travel.

- I do not want a job that requires cold calling or any other aggravating, annoying or pestering type behavior.

- I live north of Tampa, Fl. I would prefer to do something outside of the main city. I'm a small town kind of guy, I don't like dealing with inner city/traffic problems. It stresses me out


I'm sure there are other weaknesses and prohibiting factors that I have, but I can't think of any others right now. I am also sure I'll get some bullshit responses, but I'm hoping I will also get some responses that might give me an idea I haven't looked into yet.



*edit* a couple other things


I don't mind something entry level that I can work my way up in, but I will not take any job that pays less than $40,000 a year starting out. I have a minimum that I need to maintain to continue paying my bills. I also want a career, not just a job. I fully intend to move up within whatever company I join and I would like to do so somewhat rapidly. I feel confident once I obtain a position I'll be able to move up easily enough, given the opportunity.


Some careers that I have looked into a little bit....

Financial Advising or some other careers at a financial institution.
Human Resources
Some sort of sales of of a technology product.
Being a trainer/representative for a company that sells a product/server (technology related) in a retail environment.


So yea, those are just some ideas that have crossed my mind. Hopefully someone here can suggest some other ideas to look into..... hopefully.

Is T Rowe Price still there??--Try them.
Raymond James?

Tampa ain't so great..
Former "Cheval" resident.
Good Luck!!