Whoa!

The casebook fee for my Introduction to Venturing course at Columbia this term was US$203.

5 subjects down, 1 to go

Nearly there.

3 subjects down, 3 to go

It's been a looooong semester.

White-collar sweatshops batter young workers

[USA Today 25.11.2002]

"Nancy Collins remembers when she hit rock bottom. She was in Australia for her investment-banking job at JP Morgan, trying to seal deals on two projects at once."

She thought she could handle the stress. After all, co-workers had dubbed her previous boss the "Prince of Darkness" for making people work until 3 a.m., and she knew she was good at what she did. But then, one night after weeks of 18-hour days and constant travel, she staggered home at 7 a.m. Not to sleep. To shower. As she stood in the water, she started crying. At age 25, she was having a midlife crisis. "I started thinking, there's got to be more to life than this," she says."

As I venture back into the working world next year, I'm sure one of the questions I'll be asking myself is "Is it worth all the effort?"

1 subject down (Brands), 5 to go

Woo hoo!! Guess who's going to see Moby in Melbourne next March?

Concert description at inthemix.

Proposed subjects for final term at MBS:

I've submitted my preferences for subjects for Term 4 back home at MBS. Similar to this term at Columbia, I'm going to do a mix of subjects. I'll post descriptions later, but here are my top five preferences:

1. Marketing Strategy - the capstone subject in the marketing program at MBS; includes the simulation game MARKSTRAT
   
2. Risk Management - taught by a visiting professor (John Bilson) - this subject will be very handy if I end up in banking post-MBA
   
3. Managing New Ventures - an opportunity to put my Introduction to Venturing knowledge into practice; this subject is essentially a consulting project for an existing start-up
   
4. Corporate Strategy - the name says it all; handy subject for CEOs and management consultants
   
5. Negotiations - a mostly practical subject; should come in handy when negotiating that post-MBA salary package ;-)
   

If I don't get into all of these subjects, there are at least three other subjects available at MBS next term that I'd be very keen on doing. Should be an exciting semester!

The Current State of Recruitment at New York Investment Banks

I was having a chat with an M&A banker from one of the most prestiguous investment banks last week. Apparently the recruitment scene is so bad right now that people who used to be Analysts and have spent two years at business school are applying to be Analysts again, because the few Associate positions that are opening up this year have pretty much been allocated to people who did really well on their summer internships.

The whole recruitment scene here at Columbia is pretty surreal. I am surrounded by some truly brilliant people, and very few of them have managed to secure employment yet.

It's going to be just as challenging when I return to Melbourne in January to start the whole recruitment process myself. Aaargh - I shouldn't be thinking about this now. Must get my Columbia term papers and exams out of the way first.

Fast Thinker, but...

"Unfortunately, we have been unable to invite you to participate in the final stage of our recruitment process based on our current hiring needs."

Impulse Travel

After an intensive month of study, it's time for a break. It's Thanksgiving in America this weekend, which for Columbia Business School students, means a five-day weekend! I'm heading down to 77th St this evening for dinner with a friend and to see the balloons being blown up for tomorrow's parade. Tomorrow I'll head down to 40th St to see the parade, then it's off to Montreal for a couple of days! Full update when I return.