Jared Dillian, the former head of ETF trading at Lehman Brothers, attributes his success not to a brand-name undergraduate degree or a well-known business program, but to his scrappy nature.
"A lot of life is getting out there and hustling," Dillian told Alex Grodnik on the Wall Street Oasis podcast.
Dillian attended the US Coast Guard Academy, and after working in the Coast Guard for a number of years, wanted to switch careers to a job on Wall Street. He started business school at the University of San Francisco to make the jump.
"I got a great education there but it was not a place that bulge bracket banks were recruiting," he said, referring to the big-name corporate banks where many people want to work.
Business school alone was unlikely enough to get him hired in the type of role we wanted. So, amid an already packed schedule, he made the decision to pick up another job.
He was working as a lieutenant in the Coast Guard during the day, going to business school at night, and began work as a clerk in the Pacific Exchange three days a week. For a little over a year he would go to bed at midnight and wake up at 3:30 to juggle it all, he said.
"It gave me such a huge edge over people when I was applying to these banks," Dillian said. "I could sit on the trading floor in an informational interview and I could talk about options and trading in a way that someone from an Ivy League school could not."
Though others around him may have had a better educational "pedigree," his hard work and perseverance are what landed him in the role of head trader at Lehman Brothers.
Source: Bloomberg Pro Terminal
Read more:
25 Canada Square, Level 33, office 50, Canary Wharf London, E14 5LQ +44 20 3608 6256
World Financial Markets - 0700 17 600 Varchev Exchange - 0700 115 44
Varchev Finance Ltd is registered in the FCA (FINANCIAL CONDUCT AUTHORITY) with a passport in the United Kingdom: FCA, United Kingdom - registration number: 494 045, which allows provision of financial services in the United Kingdom.
Varchev Finance Ltd strictly comply with the statutes of the European directive MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments). targeting increased efficiency, transparency and uniformity of financial instruments.
Varchev Finance Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Supervision Commission - Sofia, Bulgaria: License number RG-03-02-05 / 15.03.2006
The information on this site is not intended for distribution or use by any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.
Disclaimer:
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 63,41% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.