OT: Career advice Part II

[Trxjw]

I was kind of hoping for a course that's cheaper than a Bootcamp but provides projects and homework. I don't need a piece of paper. It's not for THIS job but other subsequent jobs and just to put on my resume and be able to do it. I doubt anyone would ask for a certificate. Hell, no one asks me for my school diplomas.

That's kind of the big differentiator for this sort of thing. Once you get into the world of assignments and the like, you're getting into the bootcamps and Coursera's of the industry. Creating your own assignments is easy enough with some curiosity and creativity, but having someone validate your work is another story. Though in my experience the Python community has been really supportive of newbies, so you might be able to check out the Python Reddit and find someone willing to help out now and then.

Most jobs don't require certificates or anything like it, but I wasn't sure of your situation. Sometimes employers will reimburse you for learning new skills if it costs you out of pocket, but they require some sort of proof. With new jobs, it depends on the company, but usually they'll want to see your Github and/or have you take some sort of competency test. Especially if you don't have professional experience in the language on your resume that they can validate.

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

Thanks that could be a good resource. I have gone through a couple hour primer from a coworker but I'd still call it 0. I think I'd be decent at it. I have little SQL background and I do think logic formulas in excel are a very simple example of programming, and I'm good at that. But I should still start from step 1.

I was kind of hoping I could take classes that aren't self-direct but cheaper than Bootcamp. Does something like that exist?

By Self Direct do you mean classes where you can do them on your own time? As opposed to something like a bootcamp where you're doing your learning at a set time everyday?

If that's the case, I don't know of any resources off the top of my head that's more bootcamp-ish like you say. If that's what you're looking for, I would poke around r/python and r/learnpython and see if anyone there has any recommendations.

And even if you feel like you're not going to be motivated to self learn (you can tell me if I'm making a wrong assumption saying that), I would create a free Udemy account and sign up for that course I mentioned in my last post.

At worst you're gaining a premium resource for free you can reference later at any time

 

[SnowblindNYR]

By Self Direct do you mean classes where you can do them on your own time? As opposed to something like a bootcamp where you're doing your learning at a set time everyday?

If that's the case, I don't know of any resources off the top of my head that's more bootcamp-ish like you say. If that's what you're looking for, I would poke around r/python and r/learnpython and see if anyone there has any recommendations.

And even if you feel like you're not going to be motivated to self learn (you can tell me if I'm making a wrong assumption saying that), I would create a free Udemy account and sign up for that course I mentioned in my last post.

At worst you're gaining a premium resource for free you can reference later at any time

Thanks, yeah I'll sign up for that course.

And yeah to me self directed is anything you do on your own time as opposed to classes with teachers that hold you accountable. And nope you're not making the wrong assumption, I just feel like I can't force myself to learn these things unless there's someone with a carrot and stick. I know it doesn't show me in the best light.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Are you starting from zero with this or do you have some programming knowledge? Even a little gives you an advantage

I had to learn python for work, and it can be tedious

If you're starting from zero, I would recommend checking out "Automate The Boring Stuff with Python" on Udemy.

It's a relatively straight forward beginner course and teaches you the basics, and applies that to doing small projects writing python scripts that can be used in your everyday life (i.e web scraping, Microsoft office hacks)

And as luck would have it, I just looked at the Python reddit and the course is free until July 4th (normally 15$).

Once you start to get a better understanding from there you can move around to different resources such as "Learn Python the Hard Way"

Honestly there isn't a "best way" to learn this stuff, you kinda just have to choose a method and stick with it. You'll only learn by doing it everyday

Just bought two courses, the one you suggested and a finance course since I work in finance (though this one may be investing rather than lending). The class you mentioned was $15, usually it's $50, the other one was like $13. At these prices even if I'm too lazy I won't lose much sleep.

 

[Kane One]

If you want something with a school-vibe, check out edX. I’ve never used it as I went to school for CS, but it’s probably worth a shot. Not sure how much it costs.

Python is by far the easiest language for beginners, so good luck!

 

[Kane One]

You’re likely going to get stuck on things, so make good use of StackOverflow. It’s probably where every one of your google searches will lead you.

 

[NYSPORTS]

Thanks, here's the catch, I need to stay here another 3 years for it all to vest. By that point I'll have more equity and hopefully VP status which would probably be good amount of equity. But still, I like everything about the company except for the pay and I don't know if I should look within the next couple of years or ride it out.

not sure what you do. Equity in a co is nice but it’s also a carrot to keep you around. If you’re not happy with your comp i wouldn’t sacrifice three years simply so the carrot becomes vested. If you need experience, i get it but i would advise not to sit and wait for equity to vest if i am underpaid in the first place.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

not sure what you do. Equity in a co is nice but it’s also a carrot to keep you around. If you’re not happy with your comp i wouldn’t sacrifice three years simply so the carrot becomes vested. If you need experience, i get it but i would advise not to sit and wait for equity to vest if i am underpaid in the first place.

I'm staying there to get some experience and to not look like a job hopper. I know a lot of people say that job-hopping isn't as taboo anymore but my friend was in the same field and constantly had to answer why he hasn't been at a place for a long time before moving on and he had a very hard time recruiting. He has some really nice names on his resume too.

 

[NYSPORTS]

I'm staying there to get some experience and to not look like a job hopper. I know a lot of people say that job-hopping isn't as taboo anymore but my friend was in the same field and constantly had to answer why he hasn't been at a place for a long time before moving on and he had a very hard time recruiting. He has some really nice names on his resume too.

job hoping is no big deal b/c all these companies turn people over. Anybody who has hired you has job hopped. What is it you do?

 

[SnowblindNYR]

job hoping is no big deal b/c all these companies turn people over. Anybody who has hired you has job hopped. What is it you do?

I work in corporate finance for a small business lender.

You may be right about job hopping being no big deal but I feel like my friend is a cautionary tale. He has a very nice resume but was having trouble even getting interviews. It's not like he's a bad interviewer and wasn't getting hired, he couldn't even get in the door.

 

[effen]

I work in corporate finance for a small business lender.

You may be right about job hopping being no big deal but I feel like my friend is a cautionary tale. He has a very nice resume but was having trouble even getting interviews. It's not like he's a bad interviewer and wasn't getting hired, he couldn't even get in the door.

Yeah but there's a difference between changing jobs and job hopping 5 times in 6 years.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Yeah but there's a difference between changing jobs and job hopping 5 times in 6 years.

Yes, but here's my work experience since my last job that I had for a long time (almost 4 years).

Mar'14- Laid off

Mar'14-Aug'14: After I got laid off I had a break before I started business school

Aug'14-May'15: First year of business school

May'15-Aug'15: MBA internship (full time)

Aug'15-Dec'15: MBA internship (part-time)

Aug'15-May'16: Second year of business school

May'16-May'17: Unemployed

May'17-May'18: Project Manager/Financial Analyst

May'18-Dec'18: Unemployed

Jan'19-Present: My current financial analyst job, this does include a promotion

As you can see I have had no stability the last 6 years, other than this current job and even then it's only been a year and a half.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

So after 2 months working on a project, I think I finally figured out how to solve it. Basically I had pieces of the puzzle separately and now I will put them all together and it should make sense. I'm really happy, conceptually I think it's flawless. In case anyone is wondering what the project is I'm modeling amortization, defaults, and prepayments of a loan portfolio.

 

[NYSPORTS]

So after 2 months working on a project, I think I finally figured out how to solve it. Basically I had pieces of the puzzle separately and now I will put them all together and it should make sense.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Nice! This is basically an input into a model so probably the results won't be as dire. But I wouldn't be surprised if we're going to go belly up soon. We're not in a great business for the current economy.

 

[Chaels Arms]

Yes, but here's my work experience since my last job that I had for a long time (almost 4 years).

Mar'14- Laid off

Mar'14-Aug'14: After I got laid off I had a break before I started business school

Aug'14-May'15: First year of business school

May'15-Aug'15: MBA internship (full time)

Aug'15-Dec'15: MBA internship (part-time)

Aug'15-May'16: Second year of business school

May'16-May'17: Unemployed

May'17-May'18: Project Manager/Financial Analyst

May'18-Dec'18: Unemployed

Jan'19-Present: My current financial analyst job, this does include a promotion

As you can see I have had no stability the last 6 years, other than this current job and even then it's only been a year and a half.

Did you leave the May '17 - May '18 job under good circumstances?

Most of the other time periods you're going to be fine talking about since you were involved in school or internships.

Honestly, even if you left the May '17 - May '18 job on bad terms I still don't think it's going to be a big deal so long as your current employer will give you a good recommendation.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Did you leave the May '17 - May '18 job under good circumstances?

Most of the other time periods you're going to be fine talking about since you were involved in school or internships.

Honestly, even if you left the May '17 - May '18 job on bad terms I still don't think it's going to be a big deal so long as your current employer will give you a good recommendation.

Yeah, I left it under good circumstances my former boss was a very nice lady that has offered to help and give references.

 

[LokiDog]

So after 8 years as military police attached to special operations units, I spent the last year struggling to find work, then finding employment as a marketing manager (what my first degree is in) and making a decent, but certainly not impressive salary. I’ve just been contracted as an English language urban dialect linguist (what my second degree is in) for the federal government, essentially translating modern slang and gang jargon for law enforcement (what my associates degree is in) purposes. It utilizes my security clearance but allows me to work from home/in conjunction with my other job at a rate of $26 an hour. If I put in 10-20 hours per week while working in my other job, I suddenly jump from a 5 digit to 6 digit income and, more than appreciating the additional income, I feel pretty honored to be selected as accomplished enough a linguist/police officer to be a part of this project. Pretty happy tonight.

 

[CasusBelli]

So after 2 months working on a project, I think I finally figured out how to solve it. Basically I had pieces of the puzzle separately and now I will put them all together and it should make sense. I'm really happy, conceptually I think it's flawless. In case anyone is wondering what the project is I'm modeling amortization, defaults, and prepayments of a loan portfolio.

Copulas?

 

[sbjnyc]

Copulas?

Those didn't work out so well for mortgages before.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Copulas?

Well not intentionally. But who knows if I accidentally used it. It looks too complicated on the wiki page to accidentally use though. I'm not a quant. I'm doing corporate finance/FP&A.

This is the methodology:

1) Model out planned amortization based on UPB, term, and APR.

2) Model out defaults/prepayments based on a non-cumulative default curve multiply it by UPB adjust each month.

3) UPB adjusted each month is UPB minus cumulative planned amortization of each previous month.

4) Model out expected amortization as 1-(cumulative default %+cumulative prepayment %) * Planned amortization.

 

[CasusBelli]

Those didn't work out so well for mortgages before.

That’s because they used Gaussian copulas, which have relatively thin tails and thus underestimate the impact of tail events, much like using normal distribution to describe asset price fluctuations understates the frequency and impact of tail events. For that reason, thankfully, there are families of copulas that overcome that shortfall by featuring fatter tails and even skews. There’s nothing inherently “bad” about cúpulas; simpler alternatives, usually from linear algebra, require even more simplistic assumptions about the individual asset behaviors that cópelas do not.

 

[CasusBelli]

Well not intentionally. But who knows if I accidentally used it. It looks too complicated on the wiki page to accidentally use though. I'm not a quant. I'm doing corporate finance/FP&A.

This is the methodology:

1) Model out planned amortization based on UPB, term, and APR.

2) Model out defaults/prepayments based on a non-cumulative default curve multiply it by UPB adjust each month.

3) UPB adjusted each month is UPB minus cumulative planned amortization of each previous month.

4) Model out expected amortization as 1-(cumulative default %+cumulative prepayment %) * Planned amortization.

The copula just allows you to model correlations amongst assets. So if you have two bonds from a lender, and he defaults on the senior bond, your model should show him defaulting on junior debt.

Copula models are just a fancy way of saying: a function that describes joint movements in random variables. They are also surprisingly simple to implement in R and/or Python if that — to quote Austin Powers — is your bag.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

The copula just allows you to model correlations amongst assets. So if you have two bonds from a lender, and he defaults on the senior bond, your model should show him defaulting on junior debt.

Copula models are just a fancy way of saying: a function that describes joint movements in random variables. They are also surprisingly simple to implement in R and/or Python if that — to quote Austin Powers — is your bag.

I remember modeling correlations in my investment analysis class. Or at least my classmate did for the group, haha. It wasn't that complicated.

 

[sbjnyc]

That’s because they used Gaussian copulas, which have relatively thin tails and thus underestimate the impact of tail events, much like using normal distribution to describe asset price fluctuations understates the frequency and impact of tail events. For that reason, thankfully, there are families of copulas that overcome that shortfall by featuring fatter tails and even skews. There’s nothing inherently “bad” about cúpulas; simpler alternatives, usually from linear algebra, require even more simplistic assumptions about the individual asset behaviors that cópelas do not.

Like anything else, copulas are what they are but how they are used define their impact. The problem is that in tail events of interest, everything tends to move in the same direction!