I’d like to start by thanking

Where were we - April? First year, internship and job search are all over now. Enjoyed them and happy to have a new career that I am likely to enjoy. I’m now very busy figuring out what to do with all of my time next year.

School ended well and was fun. Grades are whatever; focus on learning so you can add value. Plenty of people with great grades do not get jobs or full-time offers because they can not extrapolate beyond what they have read or are not effective. Luck plays a part too, so confidence and being prepared are important so you can recognize and act when presented with good opportunities.

Internship was in Structured Finance for a large Investment Bank and I enjoyed it a lot. The fields’ generic and broad name is corralled well by wikipedia. The group I worked for and have signed up for full-time originates and executes their own deals and works across a lot of products and geographies – CDO, CLO, ABS, tax, capital structures, derivatives, etc. Hours were great because bespoke deals versus high flow – 8a to 7p, 5 days per week. Pay over the summer and full-time is same as other IBD jobs – great. Not sure how compensation evolves over time, but should at least keep pace. Seems like plenty of transferable skills gained; for instance, my group is a majority owner of a VC, works with PEs, hedge Funds, and lots of other more focused groups within the bank.

With four weeks to go before “classes” start, I am agonizing over whether to go to the Cote d’Azur for 1 week, Greece islands for 2, Spain, Italy or some combination of some or all. A grander trip to Dubai and China fell through because the Chinese consulate insisted that I return to Iran to apply for a two week tourist visa – only the all mighty, all knowing master of all knows what absurd logic went into the creation of the matrix used to come to this conclusion.

Otherwise, I’m now living in Notting Hill and enjoying it considerable more than the sterile Marylebone area. Plenty of other good options out there, this just makes sense for me right now – lot of pubs and restaurants... My girlfriend moved from the US and lives around the corner, which is also great. I am now off to join the natives in their favourite past time – pubbing.