Yes, but like you, I was skeptical. I'm an academic and thought it would be the perfect occupation for me given my tendency to read and think and write. The reality of academia however kills any time or motivation to read or think or write, really. Or to do so in a way that might satisfy the creative urge behind breakthrough albums. I realize now, though, that most jobs are like that - i.e., they don't permit you to pursue your interests unencumbered or even to give you space to fully utilize the skills you possess. What's funny is that it's not always easy to tell what an occupation is like. Finance was perhaps my first love. I left it after a very short while in my 20s because I was and am drawn to it for the same reasons I'm drawn to academia - I get to read, write, think about complex things. But unlike academia I could make more money. However, that's not what I saw when I entered for a brief time. I saw the darker side of it and I left, perhaps prematurely, without going deeper.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've sometimes daydreamed about academia myself, not that it would ever become a reality for me. What subject do you teach?
I think you're right that the reality of most jobs is dissappointing - particularly if you enjoy reading, writing and thinking. Frankly, I'm going through a mid-life crisis trying to figure out how to create more meaningful value in my daily life. I don't know if I'm bored, burnt out or cynical but something isn't connecting and I can't see myself spending another 20 years playing corporate politics while my real skillset atrophies. Like you the topic of finance is my first love and I'm naturally drawn to it. I don't necessarily want to leave the world of finance - I just need to attack the subject from another unencumbered angle . This is one of the reasons I started writing this blog.
We seem to be having the same struggle but on opposites sides of the same fence, as I'm also having a crisis of sorts.
I've tried investing as a retail investor on the side, and considered trading; I've done OK but it just hasn't felt immersive enough for me yet to feel confident enough to make investing a permanent part of my life - in no small part because of the demands of my day job. But I still love it and read as much as I can. The consequence is that I tend to know more than most retail investors but invest far less than they might.
I think your blog is great. Quite heterodox and skeptical. Finance often seems similar to academia; there's a giant theoretical vat of koolaid for anyone to drink as much as they please for as long as they like. It's good to read someone who isn't drinking it.
I teach two subjects right now - social welfare and social justice, the former of which is in many ways antithetical to the culture of finance and the latter of which is quite controversial at the moment.
I'm not sure what your credentials are, but you could teach at a university or college course with an MA in Canada. You might or might not like it. Have you considered that?
I do have a couple post-graduate degrees so maybe that is something I'll explore. My most enjoyable time in the world of finance was while I was at school so this is an interesting avenue. I'd need to brush up on things, but I'd like to create a course on the history of financial bubbles and collapses. Such a course would be highly valuable to fresh-faced business students who will undoubtedly repeat the mistakes made numerous times throughout history. You've got me thinking - thanks!
Hey! Sorry I lost track of this convo. I love the idea of a course on financial bubbles and collapses. I'm sure you've read these and more, but one of the things that helped me over the last few years, as an amateur, is reading the mass market stuff. Schiller's two books here were great - Irrational Exuberance and Narrative Economics. In the latter he has a chart of late 20th century bimetalism and superimposes the narrative interest in bimetalism with the narrative interest in Bitcoin and crypto. The similarity is shocking. Reinhart and Rogoff's "This Time is Different" is similar to Schiller's IE; Schiller calls the kind of intellectual complascence as "new era thinking" while R and R call it "this time is different" thinking, both attempting to highlight that one of the reasons people continue to make the same mistake is that they seize on variables that differentiate the present from the past and reason that such variables discount the threat of a collapse or even the presence of a bubble. There's more obviously and you likely know these titles and more so I'm all ears if you have a suggestion. But I was impressed with how much information is available to the non-specialist and yet gets ignored. Good luck with your course. Happy to help with syllabus construction or teaching tips lol
Good to hear from you. Two of my all time favourites on financial speculation: Devil Take the Hindmost and A Short History of Financial Euphoria.
People learn from experience. Unfortunately that experience dies with each generation. And those who have read about history may counterintuitively be the most prone to overconfidence in their ability to identify - and therefore maneuver through - a financial bubble.
Yes, but like you, I was skeptical. I'm an academic and thought it would be the perfect occupation for me given my tendency to read and think and write. The reality of academia however kills any time or motivation to read or think or write, really. Or to do so in a way that might satisfy the creative urge behind breakthrough albums. I realize now, though, that most jobs are like that - i.e., they don't permit you to pursue your interests unencumbered or even to give you space to fully utilize the skills you possess. What's funny is that it's not always easy to tell what an occupation is like. Finance was perhaps my first love. I left it after a very short while in my 20s because I was and am drawn to it for the same reasons I'm drawn to academia - I get to read, write, think about complex things. But unlike academia I could make more money. However, that's not what I saw when I entered for a brief time. I saw the darker side of it and I left, perhaps prematurely, without going deeper.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've sometimes daydreamed about academia myself, not that it would ever become a reality for me. What subject do you teach?
I think you're right that the reality of most jobs is dissappointing - particularly if you enjoy reading, writing and thinking. Frankly, I'm going through a mid-life crisis trying to figure out how to create more meaningful value in my daily life. I don't know if I'm bored, burnt out or cynical but something isn't connecting and I can't see myself spending another 20 years playing corporate politics while my real skillset atrophies. Like you the topic of finance is my first love and I'm naturally drawn to it. I don't necessarily want to leave the world of finance - I just need to attack the subject from another unencumbered angle . This is one of the reasons I started writing this blog.
We seem to be having the same struggle but on opposites sides of the same fence, as I'm also having a crisis of sorts.
I've tried investing as a retail investor on the side, and considered trading; I've done OK but it just hasn't felt immersive enough for me yet to feel confident enough to make investing a permanent part of my life - in no small part because of the demands of my day job. But I still love it and read as much as I can. The consequence is that I tend to know more than most retail investors but invest far less than they might.
I think your blog is great. Quite heterodox and skeptical. Finance often seems similar to academia; there's a giant theoretical vat of koolaid for anyone to drink as much as they please for as long as they like. It's good to read someone who isn't drinking it.
I teach two subjects right now - social welfare and social justice, the former of which is in many ways antithetical to the culture of finance and the latter of which is quite controversial at the moment.
I'm not sure what your credentials are, but you could teach at a university or college course with an MA in Canada. You might or might not like it. Have you considered that?
I do have a couple post-graduate degrees so maybe that is something I'll explore. My most enjoyable time in the world of finance was while I was at school so this is an interesting avenue. I'd need to brush up on things, but I'd like to create a course on the history of financial bubbles and collapses. Such a course would be highly valuable to fresh-faced business students who will undoubtedly repeat the mistakes made numerous times throughout history. You've got me thinking - thanks!
Hey! Sorry I lost track of this convo. I love the idea of a course on financial bubbles and collapses. I'm sure you've read these and more, but one of the things that helped me over the last few years, as an amateur, is reading the mass market stuff. Schiller's two books here were great - Irrational Exuberance and Narrative Economics. In the latter he has a chart of late 20th century bimetalism and superimposes the narrative interest in bimetalism with the narrative interest in Bitcoin and crypto. The similarity is shocking. Reinhart and Rogoff's "This Time is Different" is similar to Schiller's IE; Schiller calls the kind of intellectual complascence as "new era thinking" while R and R call it "this time is different" thinking, both attempting to highlight that one of the reasons people continue to make the same mistake is that they seize on variables that differentiate the present from the past and reason that such variables discount the threat of a collapse or even the presence of a bubble. There's more obviously and you likely know these titles and more so I'm all ears if you have a suggestion. But I was impressed with how much information is available to the non-specialist and yet gets ignored. Good luck with your course. Happy to help with syllabus construction or teaching tips lol
Good to hear from you. Two of my all time favourites on financial speculation: Devil Take the Hindmost and A Short History of Financial Euphoria.
People learn from experience. Unfortunately that experience dies with each generation. And those who have read about history may counterintuitively be the most prone to overconfidence in their ability to identify - and therefore maneuver through - a financial bubble.
I have the Euphoria if that's by Galbraith. It's on my list. I'll order Chancellor's book.