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My story as an "insider" on Wall Street
With all of the bad press going on and the public outcry against the bailout, it is tough for me as an insider to deal with this financial crisis from a professional and personal standpoint.
Both DH and I work in finance. I am specifically smack in the middle of this mess since I buy/manage commercial mortgage backed securities. While DH has the much more stable job, I used to have the higher earning potential. It sucks since recent events have totally turned our 5 year plan upside down. This market will definitely take a while to correct itself and our plans for grad school and children will have to get pushed back. We are conservative with our money, but it is tough to realize that all of our savings will eventually get depleted as soon as I lose my job.
Some of our friends took two years to get another job in the aftermath of the Tech bubble, so I am frightened it will take me longer. My firm as a whole is very stable since I am on the buy side of the industry, but that does not mean my group is protected. Heck, we are the main reason our clients fear giving us more money to begin with.
Anyways, I just want to put it all out there. I am tired of people on these boards claiming they are frightened by the effects of this financial crises when they are not in the front lines. Everyone has a right to his/her feelings and I am not trying to demean it. However, it is still irritating when people ponder about their future careers that are still years down the road whereas some of us actually realize we need to revamp ourselves and have to look for an entirely new career today.
I have spent 5 years in this rat race and it is not the end of the world if I start all over again. However, it is still unnerving to realize that your plans can go up in flames in such a short time.
Sorry if I got you depressed, but I just needed to get that off my chest.
Re: My story as an "insider" on Wall Street
Thanks, I am trying my best to keep sane. Everyone's post about calming down does help me. I am so deep in this mess that it is hard to hear those words from friends and colleagues who are also in the same boat.
Hang in there! I've got a few friends in finance and I know it's a really rough time. You're in a better position than many since you've been conservative with your money, plenty of people have been living on the edge and banking on huge bonuses coming through and are really going to be screwed.
I'm guessing you read that post on the evil board about the girl who can't get into her career for a few years because there is some kind of age limit on it (which I can't understand unless she is 15 or something) and her husband is still in college and they are totally freaking out about him not being able to get a job in computer science in like 3 years!
Sorry you have to go through this. Having highly-specialized skills can be a real double edged sword.
I think everybody tends to think in selfish terms when it comes to things like this. It's never a big deal until it hits home. Don't take it personally. I think at least everyone on this board knows you're in a more fragile position than most.
But hey, you haven't lost it yet. Keep hope, and take advantage of every opportunity to expand your skill set -- that's all I got.
"As of page 2 this might be the most boring argument ever. It's making me long for Rape Day." - Mouse
sorry you are going through all this! The only thing I can say is that any plan can be modified or changed and I don't want you to feel like you have to 100% "start over" and things can always be done a different way. There is no 1 way things have to go in life!!!
(((HUGS)))
I'm sorry jlaj. My DH works for a huge company that is toeing the bankruptcy line and it's very stressful. I can't imagine how hard it would be if we were both in the same position.
Vent away b/c it's totally understandable!
Is there any hope that with a bailout the market for your product would get moving again?
Feel free to vent anytime, jlaj. I don't even fully understand what's going on and it's scary, and I imagine it's much worse when you DO understand and are directly affected.
So, will you for sure lose your job?
It's not 100% yet, but I do a lot of the risk analysis and doom and gloom scenarios for my bosses. The fact that we are even considering "death" scenarios is frightening to me. My specialty is pretty much dead at this point so I do need to figure out how to learn new skills, like workouts for commercial mortgages, if I want to continue in this specialized industry.
I think I am coming to a huge fork in the road where I have to decide if this is worth all of the stress or not.
Agreed, thank you so much for putting things into perspective. I have to remember that.
I hear you...FI runs a company that sells software to help educate people and improve their credit. Most of the work they've been doing was a waste, now that banks have rendered their products virtually useless by not allowing anyone to use it. If he doesn't take the risk and buy the company, after firing everyone, they'll most likely liquidate it and he'll lose all of his options, and his job.
It's especially frustrating when you've got a good education and worked and saved and have done everything right, and you're still not safe.
Sorry to hear you have to deal with this too...The upside is that we're in a better position then most, and given our educations, we're resilient; we'll find a new path!
Ugh. I'm sorry. I have a number of acquaintances in that world from my time at Citi as well as old contacts from undergrad.
If you need to grab a drink some day after work (or during lunch), let me know.
Jlaj--the one piece of advice I can give you is to not sell yourself short. If worst comes to worst and you have to find a new job or a new industry, you're smart, you're ambitious, you're determined and you'll succeed. No doubt in my mind.
Whenever someone I know is staring down the barrel at job issues (and I was in that position myself a few months ago), I like to tell them about my mom's story...she was with her company for 20 years when they laid her off. She spent a few weeks trying to get herself back up, keep our home and help get me through school. In the end, she decided to go into business for herself...as a travel agent, something she'd NEVER done before in her life.
Here she is, 13 years later and more successful than she could ever imagine, even in a time when many travel agencies are struggling. She took a chance, re-invented herself and it's always inspired me. When we had our layoffs in July, and I was worried I'd be among them, it was listening to her story again that reminded me all is never lost. Not when you've got some creativity and a good head on your shoulders.
You've got all that and more, no doubt!
Good luck!!!
While I am not involved in Wall Street, I work in the housing industry (as does Dylanite) and it is a scary time for us right now as well. My dept. has been cut in half over the recent months, and I think we are all just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I have been doing this for about 4 years now, and dont have anything else on my resume. I have worked in different aspects of real estate (escrow and title, commerical and residential) but nothing outside of real estate besides retail. It is very scary to think that you might have to start compeltely over
Hang in there dev (and Dylanite)!