Getting into banking or the money markets business? could I?
Discussion
Right then in an effort to get shot down could I....
I'm 30, have been in marketing since I was 21.....
I have no Degree but years of experience....(in the wrong area)
Having been made redundant at Christmas Im thinking of possible changes, always wanted to do the money career thing even have 2 GCSE's in Maths
I've never been a 9-5er and wouldn't care if it had to be in town from 9pm-7am to work some foreign currency market.
My own investments worked out ok untill I cashed in as a deposit on a house.
At the moment Im considering a significant drop in income so I thought why not look at doing what I wish I had done?
I was swept away by a marketing role in the Car aftermarket industry in my early twenties with a nice expenses account, selection of cars, boats, and women...... great fun but I always wondered if I had chased this instead....
In short should I, could I, any tips?
Serious replies requested, silly replies laughed at.....
I'm 30, have been in marketing since I was 21.....
I have no Degree but years of experience....(in the wrong area)
Having been made redundant at Christmas Im thinking of possible changes, always wanted to do the money career thing even have 2 GCSE's in Maths

I've never been a 9-5er and wouldn't care if it had to be in town from 9pm-7am to work some foreign currency market.
My own investments worked out ok untill I cashed in as a deposit on a house.
At the moment Im considering a significant drop in income so I thought why not look at doing what I wish I had done?
I was swept away by a marketing role in the Car aftermarket industry in my early twenties with a nice expenses account, selection of cars, boats, and women...... great fun but I always wondered if I had chased this instead....
In short should I, could I, any tips?
Serious replies requested, silly replies laughed at.....
ShadownINja said:
You say marketing... as in strategy/copy writing/customer analysis etc or cold calling/closing deals? If the latter, you might be able to get in as a stockbroker (not a trader).
You could search for recruitment agencies in the city and ask their opinion on your chances.
Combination of New business, New Product Development, integrated strategies with larger clients, sponsorship, direct involvment in large scale deals... £1m+You could search for recruitment agencies in the city and ask their opinion on your chances.
not cold calling?
Any one in the trade?
Being brutally honest I would say it will be VERY tough.
There's a ton of different opportunities out there (M&A, trading, research, fund management, etc etc) but the reality is that without any kind of relevant experience you would have to start at the bottom whatever you choose. In that case you are competing against young fresh talent (21/24 yr olds) out of universities or people with a couple of years of relevant experience and Harvard MBAs, etc
Its illegal to discriminate against age but the reality is that a lot of city firms do it. For the junior roles they want young people who are willing to work 26 hours a day and generally treat them like a commodity without them complaining. Anything more senior and you need people with directly relevant experience.
The markets/recruitment are improving but there's still a ton of highly skilled people who are still looking for roles and they will get there before people with no experience.
Saying that, you can always get lucky through connections, etc and there are always exceptions (but they are rare) to the rule but I would say be very realistic and don't bang your head against a wall for too long if it doesn't work out. Try the smaller firms, try and get some experience (even unpaid), try maybe outside of London where the competition isn't so tough, blag/beg etc
Good luck!
There's a ton of different opportunities out there (M&A, trading, research, fund management, etc etc) but the reality is that without any kind of relevant experience you would have to start at the bottom whatever you choose. In that case you are competing against young fresh talent (21/24 yr olds) out of universities or people with a couple of years of relevant experience and Harvard MBAs, etc
Its illegal to discriminate against age but the reality is that a lot of city firms do it. For the junior roles they want young people who are willing to work 26 hours a day and generally treat them like a commodity without them complaining. Anything more senior and you need people with directly relevant experience.
The markets/recruitment are improving but there's still a ton of highly skilled people who are still looking for roles and they will get there before people with no experience.
Saying that, you can always get lucky through connections, etc and there are always exceptions (but they are rare) to the rule but I would say be very realistic and don't bang your head against a wall for too long if it doesn't work out. Try the smaller firms, try and get some experience (even unpaid), try maybe outside of London where the competition isn't so tough, blag/beg etc
Good luck!
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