Is It Possible? Unorthodox Background

Water Cooler Careers
#1

Hi.
I decided to go to college in hopes of making into IB or S&T. I’m 27 at the current moment and will be 30 by the time I get my degree in math from german university. Pre-University, I worked in a funeral home and became the MD.

Why I do want to work in finance? Because I like finance and investing. Working in this funeral home taught me how businesses are run and now I want to help a variety of businesses grow with the strategic acumen I’ve developed. I love the customer and technical/ Hands-On part the most but it’s a boring business, banking is higher level and better companies more complex and relationship driven etc. I am someone that prefers short-term projects, has the ability to quickly find solutions to a complex problem, I can handle the pressure when a decision with lots of capital involved needs to be made, I am interested in finance, markets, human psychology, and such a level of high-stakes decision making.

I think maybe my best shot is directly looking for a buy-side fund that focuses on something related to my previous experience (PE or HF). In these firms, industry experience is actually valuable and I would be seen as an ‘experienced professional’, whereas I previous experience would be largely discounted / disregarded in IB/S&T. Within IB I might have a bigger change going for a group that covers my former industry. What industry/sector would a funeral home fall under? Real estate? Healthcare? I have been talking to some IB/ PE guys. They said, that it will probably be much easier to win offers in S&T, at (quant) funds or prop trading firms, and unlike IB/PE, they don’t require multiple previous internships and so on, just raw ability. What do you think about that?

I got side tracked and was wondering if it is still possible to break into it after I graduate? Do you think it is possible to get into IB or S&T? What would be the best way to break into the field? What would be the best career to pursue? What type of position should I be seeking out? What job would suit me?

Thanks in advance

#2

I would play up the funeral home experience and tell my interviewers, “look, I don’t want to brag, but at my old job, I was at the top of my field…people were literally dying to see me…and I can do the same for you.” Delivered with a s#!t-eating grin on your face, naturally.

#3

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#4

Odds are slim but not impossible, if you went to a very highly ranked school. Otherwise you should at the least institute and develop a good background plan like accounting, corporate finance and valuation advisory. There is a firm called Service Corp Intl in the US that basically is a PE firm that buys and rolls up funeral homes into its umbrella. Something like that if you were able to manage the move would be your ideal role, but it is a long shot and very niche.