From wiping tables to being a Vice President
By Ritz
It
is a cliché, from rags to riches, but one full of reality
for me. I do hereby solemnly testify that America is truly
a land of opportunities, where your intelligence and hard
work is rewarded by wealth.
It was not too long ago, that a bright 20 years old arrived
in New York. He was just like any other immigrant: full
of dreams. He had procured an admission for a graduate
degree. Of course, he could not pay the tuition but was
confident that he would get around this minor hurdle.
Which he did!
He obtained an assistantship. This meant that his tuition
was waived and he would receive an additional $450 per
week. To add to this good fortune, he found a job on the
campus wiping soiled tables at McDonalds at minimum wages,
which was around $3 an hour.
Years rolled by, living skimpily and working diligently
toward his goal of a better life. Academically, he had
done well. Unfortunately, the economy was in recession.
It was difficult to find any job, let alone a job as a
Wall Street analyst, which is what he was looking for.
The graduation was drawing near and soon his student visa
would expire. If he did not find a job soon, he would
have to leave his Atlantis: United States of America.
Financially, he could not last more than a couple of months.
He was repeatedly told that finding a Stock Market job
was impossible, especially since he did not graduate from
one of the star colleges, where the cream of Wall Street
came from. Even after persistently sending 1000 resumes,
he had not succeeded in making a dent in the industry.
He made the brave decision to take a detour to the Wall
Street. Soon, he was hired as a computer programmer in
the Silicon Valley. This was not what he wanted or knew
much about, but accepted it all the same to get through
the tough times.
He had not yet given up on his dream. Falling back on
his resourcefulness, he joined a CFA program for what
was a princely sum to him: $1500. This program has since
become an industry standard for portfolio management.
It turned out to be an excellent way to network. He hobnobbed
with the Money Managers from firms around the nation.
Serendipity struck again, in the form of a money manager
from an investment bank on the east coast. Soon the young
hero of this story had received a job offer from this
bank. The world could not have been a happier place for
him!
Breathing a sigh of relief, he decided that now was the
time to prove himself. This was not a very difficult for
an intelligent and hard working immigrant to do. In a
few years, he worked his way up to being a Vice President
in this prestigious institution.
I am sure that Harrison Ford would agree with me, that
perseverance is one of the key ingredients of success.
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