Wildcat is set free

[wildcat]

Well, it is past midnight but in several hours I will take my last final and graduate.  Yeah    I can't help but wonder if my graduate degree was worth the money and time - ala John Greaney perspective.  I am SUPPOSED to feel good about it but I really don't in some respects.

I thought I had a job lined up but after jumping through hoops and a couple rounds of interviews I found out I got "cut."  It was a very good job, one I think I wanted but the competition was fierce, probably only a 10-20% of getting it.  So I am kind of down about it but life goes on.  I have been toying with a few ideas as to what comes next.  It is weird to be in a situation where I can go any place and do just about anything yet I can't quite put my finger on the "best" option.  I think I put so much thought into that job I didn't get I am now kind of lost.

Anyway, it has been a long 1 1/2 years and I have learned a little from school/textbooks/professors but I have learned a lot from you all (all good too).  I never grew up with a parents who offered much advice in the way of "how life/jobs work" so I would like to thank you all ( JG included  ) for it, especially the regulars who openly share their life experiences quite often.

So thanks from the bottom of my heart.  On to the next chapter...

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Anyway, it has been a long 1 1/2 years and I have learned a little from school/textbooks/professors but I have learned a lot from you all (all good too).  I never grew up with a parents who offered much advice in the way of "how life/jobs work" so I would like to thank you all ( JG included  ) for it, especially the regulars who openly share their life experiences quite often.

So thanks from the bottom of my heart.  On to the next chapter...

Your thanks is humbly accepted. Sorry you missed out on the job.
It happens to everyone. The world is your oyster if you can just
view it from the right perspective. Good luck!

JG

 

[brewer12345]

Congrats, WC. Been there, done that. When I finished, I had about 3 weeks to sudy for the first round of the CFA, so my feelings of relief were postponed. But that's what it was: relief (not wild joy). When I finished CFA I, I sat in my car and cried for 15 minutes before heading home - that's how exhausted and wrung out I was. Give yourself a little time to rebound now that school is done.

Don't worry about the job; there are plenty of fish in the sea. You are a bright, resourceful person and now have a shiny new degree. Seen the unemployment % lately? 5%, which is historically low. You will find an attractive job in short order, or jump off in a new direction (small business, perhaps).

Where in the world are you? Never know if someone on these boards might be able to help.

 

[Dawg52]

Congrats! I know how you feel. When I graduated from college I had no job in hand. I didn't even want to go to the graduation ceremony but did just to please my parents. Then I got 2 offers shortly after I graduated. So what looks cloudy now may turn into sunshine in just a short time for you. Take a trip to some warm weather state and enjoy a couple of weeks off. Then just start knocking on doors. It will come.

BTW, I'm sure JG will be glad to take care of your vacation expenses for you. Just send him the bill. 

 

[Eagle43]

Congratulations and the degree will be worth it.

Perhaps it's time to initiate your "Severe nomadic tendencies" and take a trip... get out of the institution, and follow Dog51's advice...  Forward all invoices to JG. 

 

[justin]

Congrats. I just finished one hell of a difficult grad course I was taking at night. I feel your pain bro. The feeling of relief after everything is "done" is one of the greatest feelings. Like you have won the war. Take a break. Sit on the couch, watch some tv, read that book you've been putting off, take a walk around the block. Do nothing for a few hours. It's great to have free time.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Congrats.  I just finished one hell of a difficult grad course I was taking at night.  I feel your pain bro.  The feeling of relief after everything is "done" is one of the greatest feelings.  Like you have won the war.  Take a break.  Sit on the couch, watch some tv, read that book you've been putting off, take a walk around the block.  Do nothing for a few hours.  It's great to have free time.

Amen to that. Each time I finished a bar exam (I've taken the bar in 3 states) it felt like the end of a war where the "guns fall silent" and there is a strange feeling of peace. Rather than watch TV, read a book, etc... just enjoy the silence in your mind.

 

[cube_rat]

Congratulations, Wildcat! You're still young, so all of that hard work in obtaining your graduate degree will not go to waste.

 

[Howard]

I never thought of any course completion as the end, but got on with seeing what other courses I could take, mainly at night, after work.

I have been fired three times, nature of corporate restructurings, but when one door closed, another opened.

Started my career selling dog food, ended up selling high tech medical electronics.

Just keep knocking on doors, get some Recruiters working for you, someone will recognise your talent.

 

[wildcat]

Whew!! Feeling better. Thanks for all of your kind words and to offer a couple replies:

Where in the world are you? Never know if someone on these boards might be able to help.

Well, funny you ask because I really have been quite nomadic over the past few years. Seems like every place is just temporary. I just know I am going home to Lexington, KY for the holidays to spend some time with the family and friends (I became an uncle a little bit ago and I haven't even been able to meet my niece ) I have neglected since starting grad school. After all of the holiday hoopla it is my choice. I interviewed in Chicago but I love the west.

Your thanks is humbly accepted.

Hey man since when are you humble? Don't let me down JG

Take a trip to some warm weather state and enjoy a couple of weeks off. Then just start knocking on doors. It will come.

That is good advice Dog - Eagle - Howard. I have a tendency to very hard on myself and I hate to lose in anything, including interviews. Pisses me off. I should, as you all have astutely pointed out, chill out and take a little break. Think about things and then hit it hard. De-institutionalize for a short period of time.

 

[Outtahere]

Congatulations Wildcat, I'm sure you'll find a suitable postion to put you on your way to FIRE.

 

[laurence]

Congrats, Bro! I second the thoughts here. It won't hurt your career path to spend even a month just decompressing. Sleep a lot, play with your niece, then take a road trip, see some big sky. Right now the exhaustion is probably darkening your world view. I remember the week after my daughter was born I got about 20 hours of sleep total, plus dealing with the stress of her Down Syndrome diagnosis, heart defect yadda yadda pushed me close to a cliff. I was just moving through life mechanically. Then that first weekend after she came home, and we got a full night's sleep, then cuddled in bed with her in the morning, watching t.v. was like the curtains being pulled back. Nothing like that realization that you are going to make it, and believe me WC, you are going to make it!

 

[haha]

Congrats, Bro!  I second the thoughts here.  It won't hurt your career path to spend even a month just decompressing.  Sleep a lot, play with your niece, then take a road trip, see some big sky.  Right now the exhaustion is probably darkening your world view.  I remember the week after my daughter was born I got about 20 hours of sleep total, plus dealing with the stress of her Down Syndrome diagnosis, heart defect yadda yadda pushed me close to a cliff.  I was just moving through life mechanically.  Then that first weekend after she came home, and we got a full night's sleep, then cuddled in bed with her in the morning, watching t.v. was like the curtains being pulled back.  Nothing like that realization that you are going to make it, and believe me WC, you are going to make it! 

Nice post, L.

Ha

 

[wildcat]

Thanks L and I agree nice post.

 

[sgeeeee]

I appologize if I've missed it, Wildcat, but what did you study? What kind of employment are you looking for?

 

[wildcat]

MBA - Finance, looking for a challenging job in that area. I had an interview for an equity analyst position (and thought that was what I wanted) but didn't make the final cut. But I am pretty open and opportunistic.

 

[greg]

I appologize if I've missed it, Wildcat, but what did you study? What kind of employment are you looking for?

Wildcat:

Just found this thread. Congratulations! All the best. And now it's time to give you the real secret of life: Plastics.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Wildcat:

Just found this thread.  Congratulations!  All the best. And now it's time to give you the real secret of life:  Plastics.   

One word............real estate!

JG

 

[Martha]

One word............real estate!

JG

\

Two words.........pre nup!

 

[Mr._johngalt]

\

Two words.........pre nup!

Ooooh......good one!

JG

 

[wildcat]

And now it's time to give you the real secret of life:  Plastics

Two words.........pre nup!

Thanks Greg.  Even though we may disagree on some financial planning topics I still like your thinking.  Keep up the diversity.  Pre-nup and plastics....got it!  

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Thanks Greg.  Even though we may disagree on some financial planning topics I still like your thinking.  Keep up the diversity.  Pre-nup and plastics....got it!  

I once dated a woman who was "enhanced" (plastics?). They looked good.
The pre nup issue never came up. A really terrible match in most aspects.
I never even brought up the pre nup issue with DW. She knew I would never
tread the rocky trails again without one. Smart lady.

JG