On the Path Toward First Finance Job

Today (08/27/2010) I attended the Employment Services Orientation at Inspiration Corporation and got an overview of the program as well as completing the intake process. Employment Services are provided under The Employment Project which assists clients in learning skills that will allow the student to obtain and maintain gainful employment.

The first step during the orientation is completing the intake interview. This interview provides staff with information about the client so that each individual recieves the correct services. In my case that is employment skills training and also career training so that I can obtain my first position in the field of finance. I also commit to my workshop time for the training cycle. I will attend the Employment Prepartion Training workshop in the afternoon so I can maintain my morning hours at The Heartland Institute.

Earning Credentials

On 9 August, I attended a WIA meeting at Microtrain Technologies, Inc. to discuss how to recieve the grant and what curriculum I would be taking once I was determined eligible for the grant. I first need to be determined eligible by an office that is able to offer the grant and then I take that information back to Microtrain. I then sign a letter of intent and start training. My program will provide me with MOS Master certification plus four elective courses from the catalog. The electives are in programs such as SharePoint, VIsio, FrontPage, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and InDesign. Electives are chosen according to the trainee's career aspirations.

On 4 August I attended the Open house Admissions Event for the IIT Stuart School of Business and learned about their MS Finance degree program. This program is excellent with enough concentrations to choose from that a student can even recieve a broad education in the case of electives. I am specifically interested in Financial Theory, Financial Markets, and Investment Management. I also spoke with the director of the Public Administration program. I need to complete a little more research and preparation before I enter this program. I will attend the Open House event on 20 October as well after getting an answer as to weather I can earn an MSF and an MPA together even though it is not one of the joint degree options specifically named on the dual degree list.

I will examine taking some math courses at Harold Washington College or Truman College before entering the IIT program so I can at least understand concepts taught in calculus and Business Math. Likely couses are Business 141 Business Mathematics and Mathematics 204 Calculus for Business and Social Sciences (HWC) or Business 0141 Business Mathematics, Mathematics 0143 Pre-Calculus, and Mathematics 0204 Caluculus for Business and Social Sciences (Truman). It is also possible that I will earn an Advanced Certificate in Accounting.

Top Issues this Summer

There are several important issues on the domestic and foreign fronts this summer. Domestically, the big issues are the jobs and economy, BP oil spill, immigration, financial reform, and the debt. International issues topping the  list are Israel, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Jobs and economy is number one because it is effected by all the other issues that follow. However, independently there are too many people that are long-term unemployed and we have no issue with discussing cutting or letting  expire unemployment benefits and other programs that assist these people in surviving. These jobs have been lost after other issues created problems. The first stimulus did create or save some jobs. We, however, need to do more to support small businesses which create most of the jobs.

The downturn began bcasue of the burst of the housing bubble which was fueled by many government and non-government actions. The overarching action that  created the environment for all that followed was the encouragement for all to own a home which accelerated under George W Bush's Ownership Society platform. This created the environment for the Federal Reserve to keep the interest rates too low for two long. The historically low interest  and other pressures preceded creation of various designer loan products and lending to borrowers that it should have been clear if an actual income analysis had been complete would not have qualified for the loan. It should not have surprised anyone that under these conditions many people would default on their mortgages and that eventually this condition could potentially leak into the prime mortgages. It is impossible to approve a No Doc or NINJA mortgage and not expect that there would be a default when income, assets, and liabilities were not examined in the approval process or underwriting were ignored.

Treasury: TARP has generated at least $16B in profit so far

With Citigroup and Wells Fargo repaying a total of $45 billion in funds they received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the total amount repaid to the program now stands at $164 billion, according to the Treasury Department. By the end of 2010, total repayments should exceed $175 billion, the Treasury estimated. "Taxpayers have already received over $16 billion in profits from all TARP programs and that profit could be considerably higher as the Treasury sells additional warrants in the weeks ahead," the department said in a statement. MarketWatch (12/23) , Reuters (12/24) , The Wall Street Journal (12/24)

Wall Street Must Change and the Debt Must Come Down

In a pre-taped exclusive interview with David Gregory for Meet the Press Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said two things must happen: Wall Street must change and the debt must come down. He also said that the growth that occurred was a positive sign but the recovery would take a while.

The indicators of a budding recovery were that GDP growth was at 3.5% for the third quarter and that job losses had slowed.  The reason the growth will remain sluggish is because other indicators released were lower than previous months.

Mr. Geithner repeated his admonition (AFP) that the debt was too high and must come down. The debt would be addressed as the economy continues to grow and policies would be decided as conditions dictated. The other important statement was that Wall Street must change. The regulatory proposal caused Wall Street to balk.