working in finance

[star02]

i'm graduating this spring with a finance and international business degree and am really interested in working for brokerage firms. However, from what people tell me, this industry is very male-oriented. So does anyone know the best way for a female to enter this industry?

[AlphaXiGirl]

You're right. It is a very male dominated field but there is room for talented women in this field as well.

I've been in the financial industry for 8 years and have done quite well - although I left the true "brokerage" side a few years ago to come work for one of those "evil" mutual fund companies .

My best advice for you is to be competent and look competent. A friend of mine who is very competent in her work didn't "look" competent... she's a very pretty girl, at the time was 26, and had long blonde hair and didn't quite look like someone that you'd trust your money to.... she got a new shorter hairstyle, started wearing glasses... new look, new clients, new found respect. It sounds harsh but if you want the part, you've got to play the part.

The male brokers/financial advisors are pretty quick to want to mentor young women that they think have what it takes. Like in many fields, women have to "prove" themselves a little more than men do but it is absolutely possible.

What I've found on the mutual fund side is that there are many more women in Sr. Management roles than what I saw on the brokerage side. The reason I made the switch was to get out of the sales side and move into the support side and an opportunity was waiting for me (due to a little networking on my part).

Good Luck!

[pirepresent]

I interned at a big brokerage firm, and you're right - it's VERY male oriented. Just be prepared to either put up or shut up - if you're going to work for one of the big ones, there's not really much room for mistakes whether you're a man OR a woman. So the pressure is on. There's a lot of testosterone involved, and a lot of ego EVERYWHERE.

The successful women brokers that I saw were ones that were confident and didn't get caught up in the office rat race of who-is-making-how-much-money-off-of-which-clients.

Also, I'm not sure which firms your looking at, but the one I interned at (PM me if you want name) had two ways of entering - one was by joining a group, and the other was trying to cut it on your own. If you're a rookie with no clients and no experience, I would DEFINETLY recommend joining the group, because you'd have older and more experienced mentors with a client base already built in. The only downsides are, they're harder to get into (if you don't mind doing it alone, usually the managers will stick you in an office alone until you pass your series 7, then basically throw you to the wolves - not a lot of training or mentoring, so the turnover is high, and they hire a lot of people), and groups are kind of hard to break away from later when you want your own clients, but to get started, it's definetly better than trying to cut it on your own, especially for the tiny salaries they pay these poor brokers.

Just what I learned during my summer internship - take it for what it's worth! Good luck!

[Rudey]

There is a reason why there are lots of male brokers. Because they don't really ever do any thinking; they get on the phone and make cold calls. Ever see Boiler Room? If you have the balls to do that and sell your firm's overpriced services, your sex shouldn't matter.

-Rudey

[star02]

got a call back from SmithBarney!!!!!! http://superbabies.homestead.com/fil...cingbanana.gif