Equity finance is a blood sport with no mercy. To get a decent gig, you usually have to put in long hours at a desk and learn the business. Or you need to get lucky and land with a firm that scores a big hit somewhere down the line. You truly "start at the bottom" on Wall St.

I have a Masters in Finance and I chose to teach instead of putting myself through that atmosphere, no matter where I lived. The only real players on Wall St are the analysts, the brokers, the fund managers, and the investment bankers. It's hard to break into that crowd. NYC chews a lot of people up......and those that make it sometimes have to sell their souls to get to the top. Furthermore, most of the top dogs usually have a CFA and that is one NASTY exam to pass.

If you still like finance, I recommend getting with a standard company and work their numbers internally. The money is still very good - usually $80K plus to start. Very few people want to work with numbers so the demand is always solid.