Hi guys I got some good news, I got hired at a big bank as an analyst. Specifically I got hired by an organization that is designed to help people with autism called Specialisterne. This is their website http://usa.specialisterne.com/
They help people who face similar barriers to employment as autistic people, so I applied with my schizophrenia diagnosis. I would encourage other similar people to take a look at their website if you are looking for a job. Good luck!
This is sort of my first real permanent job. I am in mid office in Capital Markets Risk Management. I presume by IB you mean investment banking. IB is too competitive to get into and stressful for me just starting out. I might consider moving towards IB, equity research or sales and trading after 1 or 2 years experience. My job is going well. With Specialisterne, they are not going to have front office roles available as they are just too competitive. I am still in the first month evaluation process. Basically they make you build lego robots, program them and make a powerpoint presentation as a team. I have 8 people on the team. I think it’s more of a problem solving and teamwork test, also tests your presentation skills. There is a colleague that is extremely domineering and overbearing and I spoke to the trainers. Then his attitude gotten a lot better towards me as he realizes he is in a precarious situation.
If you were in banking before your diagnosis I think it would be a lot easier to get back into front office roles as you already have the experience. However, I wonder if people like us should work in IB as the work hours are 80-120 hours a week and we need sleep to function well.
Yeah I still hear voices all the time even on meds albeit very quietly so I’m not sure if this will cause an issue distraction-wise. As you know these jobs require intense focus.
I would advise you to never give up about your dreams in finance. It took me full 6 years since my diagnosis before I am capable of working full time and studying a masters of finance at the same time. I don’t know how long you and moonwalker have had schizophrenia but I think eventually with the aid of medication we can all learn to ignore our voices. My previous job was at an investment bank as an assistant and I heard colleagues talking about me all the time, eventually it got better. My job currently only has one or two hallucinations throughout the day and I have learned to ignore them so it’s manageable.