Life after Professional Poker

[AdamBragar]

I've got a question for all you working non-poker professionals out there. So here's my story....

I graduated college a year ago and having been working for the past year for a company that does economic policy research. I graduated with a B.S. in econ and I plan to get a PhD in econ. BUT, not for another year or so.

So here's the deal. I am seriously considering leaving my job and playing poker for a living for a year, for various reasons, but the main reason, by far being, I think this would be a fantastic once in a lifetime experience. After the year, I'd go to school (I plan on applying to grad schools in the fall).

The question is:

How do potential employers and grad schools look upon people who played poker for a year? Do I just ommit a year on my resume? Do I say I played poker for a year? If you're an employer now, what would you think? Has anyone here played poker and then gone back into the workforce?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Michael Davis]

"I went to Europe. I wanted to see the world."

-Michael

[Alex/Mugaaz]

[ QUOTE ]
"I went to Europe. I wanted to see the world."

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

[Nigel]

Just make sure you actually have been to Europe so you can talk about it whenb they ask you about your travels. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[henrikrh]

[ QUOTE ]
Just make sure you actually have been to Europe so you can talk about it whenb they ask you about your travels. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

When you go make sure you hit up an EPT event aswell, haha.

[Justin A]

Yeah definitely don't tell them you played poker.

[PorscheNGuns]

How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

And seriously, can't you hold down a low paying job and play poker on the side? Don't you get weekends off?...although, from your only 110 posts in 8 months of membership, I can assume there's an outside chance, unlike others here, that you have a girlfriend.

I know you'll make the right decision, not that I could ever give a flying [censored].

-Matt

[Bodhi]

[ QUOTE ]
although, from your only 110 posts in 8 months of membership, I can assume there's an outside chance, unlike others here, that you have a girlfriend.

[/ QUOTE ]
/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[jrobb83]

[ QUOTE ]

How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Economics is most definately not the study of money. And I'm not sure exactly why you think this is so looney, others take time off like this before beginning a profession or graduate school for many reasons.

[einbert]

[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker seems to me to be an excellent experience for someone very interested in economics.

[Blackjack]

I read in someones profile that their occupation was "Equity Manager." That got a good chuckle.

[Blackjack]

[ QUOTE ]
"I went to Europe. I wanted to see the world."

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL - You don't want to convey your opinion that Europe is the only other part of the world. Say you wanted to travel and experience more of the world.

Blackjack

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".


[/ QUOTE ]

You are retarded. Economics is not the study of money, it's a theory of choice.

[PorscheNGuns]

Keep grinding out that 12K/year. Mom is proud.

-Matt

[Jeff W]

[ QUOTE ]
I think this would be a fantastic once in a lifetime experience.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong, you've been watching too much WPT. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
Keep grinding out that 12K/year. Mom is proud.

-Matt

[/ QUOTE ]

This is genuinely funny. You have no idea who I am, what I do, if I play winning poker, nothing. Yet you think somehow this is an insult. Honestly, you are a triumph.

[AdamBragar]

I'm not considering poker cause I watchted the WPT one night and saw a lot of money on the table or saw Shaina Hiatt's boobs. I'm fully aware of the negatives of relying on poker as a sole source of income. That's not the question here.

I'm really just looking at whether playing poker for a year, especially after already working for a year, will negatively effect my career afterwards.

[Abu Turab]

Look at it this way: YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE! I assume that you are in your early 20's, not tied down and probably don't have school loans to worry about. Taking a year off to play poker is no worse than f'ing around the world with a EuroRail Pass and a backpack while trying to bang a chick in every port! If this is your hearts desire, then go for it. The time will come when you won't be able to do this and you'll always regret the decision.

[sinfulslick18]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Economics is most definately not the study of money. And I'm not sure exactly why you think this is so looney, others take time off like this before beginning a profession or graduate school for many reasons.

[/ QUOTE ]

[sexypanda]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker seems to me to be an excellent experience for someone very interested in economics.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think so too. I was a CS and Econ major in school, and poker is the only place where I actually apply what I've learned in college. I've been spending alot of time recently trying to see if I can understand the "economics" of poker. So far I have a lot of crazy theories that are probably wrong. If you think of the poker table as the "marketplace" and your opponents as your "competition", all poker is, is trying to come up with the perfect strategy to maximize your profits. If you're seriously thinking of getting a PhD in economics, and are interested in poker, you may even try to spend the year not only playing poker, but theorizing about the economics of the game. So far, I've not seen any economic models applied to poker, but I really think alot of the concepts I learned in college are very applicable, if only I hadn't drank so much.

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker seems to me to be an excellent experience for someone very interested in economics.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think so too. I was a CS and Econ major in school, and poker is the only place where I actually apply what I've learned in college. I've been spending alot of time recently trying to see if I can understand the "economics" of poker. So far I have a lot of crazy theories that are probably wrong. If you think of the poker table as the "marketplace" and your opponents as your "competition", all poker is, is trying to come up with the perfect strategy to maximize your profits. If you're seriously thinking of getting a PhD in economics, and are interested in poker, you may even try to spend the year not only playing poker, but theorizing about the economics of the game. So far, I've not seen any economic models applied to poker, but I really think alot of the concepts I learned in college are very applicable, if only I hadn't drank so much.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's difficult? Replace Utility with EV.

[sexypanda]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker seems to me to be an excellent experience for someone very interested in economics.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think so too. I was a CS and Econ major in school, and poker is the only place where I actually apply what I've learned in college. I've been spending alot of time recently trying to see if I can understand the "economics" of poker. So far I have a lot of crazy theories that are probably wrong. If you think of the poker table as the "marketplace" and your opponents as your "competition", all poker is, is trying to come up with the perfect strategy to maximize your profits. If you're seriously thinking of getting a PhD in economics, and are interested in poker, you may even try to spend the year not only playing poker, but theorizing about the economics of the game. So far, I've not seen any economic models applied to poker, but I really think alot of the concepts I learned in college are very applicable, if only I hadn't drank so much.

[/ QUOTE ]

What's difficult? Replace Utility with EV.

[/ QUOTE ]

True, but I think you can take this beyond evaluating immediate equity, which obviously good players do. I haven't looked at an econ or stats book in years so I'm going to butcher this (I really need to get some books from my parents attic before I can formulate anything coherent).

I think if you could somehow create an equation that takes into account three variables: immediate odds, implied odds, and fold equity, and assign a weighting to each variable based on your competition (you would place a higher weighting on implied odds at a loose table or against a loose opponent and you would place a higher weighting on fold equity at a tight table or against a tight opponent), you could then derive optimal plays from that equation. You would first need to understand how to optimally calculate the value of each of the variables. TOP does a great job of explaining immediate odds and implied odds, but I think does a poor job with "fold equity" (it's actually not defined in TOP). I think to compute the fold equity value, you would need to take into account your opponents range of hands, his betting pattern, and the board. The "hyperagressive" strategy seems to put a great deal of weighting on implied odds and fold equity, where as the "conservative" strategy puts a great weighting on immediate odds.

If you can somehow create a set of equations that accurately compute each of the three variables, and then a meta equation that assigns the correct weighting to them given the table conditions (ie your competitors strategy), I think you could actually create a dynamic program that can play nearly optimally under any conditions. In any case, this is mostly speculation based on absolutely nothing, but would be interesting to study further.

[sfer]

This is implicitly what you are doing by putting them on hand ranges.

[SenecaJim]

[ QUOTE ]

And seriously, can't you hold down a low paying job and play poker on the side? Don't you get weekends off?...although, from your only 110 posts in 8 months of membership, I can assume there's an outside chance, unlike others here, that you have a girlfriend.


-Matt

[/ QUOTE ]


Speak for yourself, I have a girlfriend. However, my wife said I had to either giver her up or poker up, so I'm dumping her this weekend.

[turnipmonster]

my .02 is people spend way too much time worrying about what potential employers are going to think about them doing <insert non 9-5 activity here> with their time. I think you'd be much better off not worrying about what anyone thinks about how you choose to spend your life, or the choices you make.

if you want to take a year off and play poker, have fun and go for it. if an interviewer asks you what you did with that year, tell them the truth and maybe tell them what you learned from it. if they don't want to hire you because of it, big deal. there are other jobs out there. I just think life is too short to worry about what some potential employer is going to think about how you chose to spend your time. also, most people secretly want to do stuff like that (take a year off and be skier, poker player, backpacker, whatever) and will think it's awesome that you actually did.

--turnipmonster

[sexypanda]

[ QUOTE ]
This is implicitly what you are doing by putting them on hand ranges.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's absolutely true, but I haven't seen anyone write down these concepts with any mathematical rigor. Most of economics is common sense, but Nobel Prizes are handed out to those who can put to math these common sense theories. I think it would definitely be an interesting venture for a year if that's a subject the OP is interested in. Game theory is really the only economic concept that I've seen applied to poker, I'm sure many more are just as applicable.

[einbert]

[ QUOTE ]
I think you'd be much better off not worrying about what anyone thinks about how you choose to spend your life, or the choices you make.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hell yes.

[cookie]

If I remember correctly bisonbison played poker pro for a while. Then got a job, even though he told he had played poker for a while, I think he said something like:
"jada jada jada pleayed poker for a while, but I miss the team spirit of working with other people"

[Justin A]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Keep grinding out that 12K/year. Mom is proud.

-Matt

[/ QUOTE ]

This is genuinely funny. You have no idea who I am, what I do, if I play winning poker, nothing. Yet you think somehow this is an insult. Honestly, you are a triumph.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, he clearly overestimated your yearly earn. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[sethypooh21]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

[/ QUOTE ]

Poker seems to me to be an excellent experience for someone very interested in economics.

[/ QUOTE ]

Especially once you get into the economics-psychology overlap (cognitive biases, acting under impartial/wrong information etc...)

[MrTrik]

If I were you, I'd take a shot at it. Just keep your goals near the front of your mind. Like someone else said, you only live once and a poker walkabout is much easier at your age than it will be in years to come.

[zerosum]

[ QUOTE ]
Just make sure you actually have been to Europe so you can talk about it whenb they ask you about your travels.

[/ QUOTE ]

Forget the *I went to Europe* routine. It's too easy to get tricked when talking about it.

So, what do I recommend? Say you partied too hard one night and were in a coma for one year. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Arnfinn Madsen]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This is implicitly what you are doing by putting them on hand ranges.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's absolutely true, but I haven't seen anyone write down these concepts with any mathematical rigor. Most of economics is common sense, but Nobel Prizes are handed out to those who can put to math these common sense theories. I think it would definitely be an interesting venture for a year if that's a subject the OP is interested in. Game theory is really the only economic concept that I've seen applied to poker, I'm sure many more are just as applicable.

[/ QUOTE ]

Some complex fuzzy logic theories apply to poker. Life only consists of fuzzy logic IMO, exact sciences are lame.

[Nate tha' Great]

You haven't gotten too many good responses here, so let me tell you some of the things that come to mind. I will be rambling a bit here.

1) In some ways, working somewhere for one year or so out of school and then leaving represents the worst of both worlds.

A lot of kids take time off immediately after college, for a variety of legitimate and illegitimate reasons. This might be looked down upon some if you're applying to some supercompetitive sort of firm, but my educated guess is that it's fairly well tolerated in most places, especially since the economy isn't so good. But this doesn't describe your situation exactly.

On the other hand, it's also fairly natural for someone to want to move on from their first job out of school after they work somewhere for three or four years. This is usually enough time to be able to tell a good story: "I learned X and Y skills. My employer liked me, and I recieved P and Q promotions and distinctions. I liked A and B about this job but didn't like C and D. I stuck with it, gave it my all, but then determined to move in a different direction". Of course, the story is going to be a little bit more difficult to tell if the direction that you decided to move in was poker. Nevertheless, even with the poker component, it's much easier to spin something positive out of having worked somewhere for 3-4 years than it is just having worked somewhere for one year. But this doesn't describe you either.

Working somewhere for one year and then having a "gap" is awkward. I don't mean to discourage you, but that's the truth.

2) To the extent you might want to re-enter the non-self employed job market at some point, you need to think about what sort of things you might want to do.

Generally speaking, the less specialized a position is, and the more competitive that it is, the more your resume gap is going to harm you.

Something like managment consulting for example. These firms are not usually looking for particular unique talents or skills, but essentially just smart kids with good GPAs at good universities with no obvious faults. And a lot of smart kids with good GPAs at good univerisities and no obvious faults and perhaps also not any extraordinary talents apply to be management consultants. These firms are going to wind up making a lot of safe, low-risk hires, because basically it's damned hard to tell what makes for a good management consultant, so instead you make a list of qualities that you don't like and eliminate people over the course of several stages. Your resume gap is going to be a black mark in this sort of field, and you won't even get the chance to try and weave together a story during an interview, because your resume will have been weeded out during the first or second stages of the process. This is going to be especially true for large, private-sector firms.

Contrast this to if you were a say graphic designer (this is what my best friend does). Most graphic design firms are small and independently run. They are looking for a very particular skill. They'll frequently encounter people who have freelanced or otherwise taken unusual career paths. And for the most part, they could give a [censored] about your GPA; they basically want to see a nice portfolio and some semblence of creative spark during an interview. Taking a year off to play poker is going to be a lot more problematic for a management consultant than for a graphic designer, an actor, a writer, or even an airline pilot.

3) As I've hinted at already, getting a job is really a two-stage process:

Stage 1 - being filtered through a faceless, nameless pile of resumes.

Stage 2 - receiving an interview and spinning your experience together in a compelling, coherent story.

In terms of Stage 1, it will help to have something on your resume instead of a complete gap. Perhaps this could be an entrepenurial activity, freelance work, or even charitable work. But it helps to have something (working part-time at Starbucks doesn't count). If you have nothing, I imagine that it would be helpful to go back and get a master's degree or something in order to have something fresh to start with.

You might be able to bypass Stage 1, but it will require some sort of personal connection (e.g. a college buddy who started his own firm, or who works at a small firm where he has a good rapport with one of the partners), some sort of unusual and eye-catching skill (this gets back to the specialization issue), or some stroke of luck.

You won't be at as much of a disadvantage if you can make it to Stage 2, but you will need to determine whether it's advantageous to discuss your poker playing. I don't think this is as much of a slam dunk as some of the other posters have indicated. For example, if you wanted to do something like become a trader, or work for a hedge fund, it might well be helpful to mention poker, as the skills required in these sort of occupations overlap with poker quite a bit. Remember, this is also a bit of a Bayesian thing, because *if* you have made it to Stage 2, it means that the employer is tolerant enough to give a chance to someone with a non-conventional career path. The firms that would *really* frown upon your having taken time off to play cards won't give you an interview to begin with.

4) Finally, a lot of it comes down to just how resourceful you are. If you're the sort of person that colors within the lines, you're probably going to regret having quit your job to play poker. On the other hand, if you're the sort of person who colors outside of the lines *and gets away with it*, you should be able to manage.

[Jeff W]

[ QUOTE ]
For example, if you wanted to do something like become a trader, or work for a hedge fund, it might well be helpful to mention poker, as the skills required in these sort of occupations overlap with poker quite a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not going to get a real job unless I'm forced to by a catastrophic downswing in game quality, but it's always good to have a backup plan. How difficult is it to get a job as a trader or w/ a hedge fund? What are they looking for?

[Nate tha' Great]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not going to get a real job unless I'm forced to by a catastrophic downswing in game quality, but it's always good to have a backup plan. How difficult is it to get a job as a trader or w/ a hedge fund? What are they looking for?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have no real idea, other than that I had an interview with a hedge fund a while back. I didn't get an offer after it became clear to all sides that I wasn't really interested in the job (in large part because I would have had to move to [censored] Connecticut), but my impression is that these firms are looking for a particular sort of highly creative, highly analytical sort of intellect, and might be willing to make a "high-risk" hire if they see some flash of genius. The problem is that these are *highly* desirable jobs, especially for kids with overachieving investment banker type pedigrees, so an interview would be very tough to come by. I only got my interview as a result of a personal connection.

I have a couple of friends who are traders. Trading firms are looking for strong analytical ability, capacity to handle stress, capacity to think fast under pressure, and an extroverted personality type. Again, I don't mention trading because I think it would be an easy job for the poster to get, but because they're looking for a somewhat more specialized skills set than a standard issue sort of office job.

[Jeff W]

Hmmm... sounds like I wouldn't differentiate myself enough in the resume process to get an interview.

[AdamBragar]

[ QUOTE ]


So, what do I recommend? Say you partied too hard one night and were in a coma for one year. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

That was my four years of college.

[Mike Gallo]

Adam,

Don't tell them. Leave it blank. If and/or when they ask about the missing years, reply with a gleam in your eye, I was an entrepenaur specializing in the entertainment industry.

Has anyone here played poker and then gone back into the workforce?

Roughly 85 % of poker "pro's" go back to the workforce.

[Mike Gallo]

[ QUOTE ]
"I went to Europe. I wanted to see the world."

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

Amsterdam baby /images/graemlins/tongue.gif..Amsterdam /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[Mike Gallo]

Consider yourself lucky. I had an entire thread devoted to a former screen name.

Nothing but haters Dave, nothing but haters. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[AdamBragar]

Nate,

Unfortunately, I agree with you 100 percent. If I had taken off time between college and a first job, that may have not looked as awkward as the dreaded gap in the resume. I've got a lot of other stuff loaded on my resume that actually makes me look like a pretty competent person.

If I was thinking of taking time off and then going back to the workforce directly, I would probably think this is a bad idea. But, I'm going to grad school where I will be hidden from the real world for another 5 or 6 blessed years.

It comes down to a few things:

1) Will a 1 year gap in my resume actually matter when applying for a job 6-7 years from now (after grad school)?

2) Will playing poker for a year make it harder for me to get into Grad school?


3) Will I be able to get away with saying to a grad school admissions person (that's probably the technical term for it) that I played poker for a year?

[SA125]

Two characteristics of successful people are sincerity and enthusiasm/passion. The honesty in those things can be sensed. That's what makes a salesman successful. A sense of honesty and sincerity. Your level of intelligence will be taken as a given with your academic accomplishments.

If you can communicate with sincerity and enthusiasm whatever it is you're trying to communicate when that time comes, it will be sensed and you'll have no trouble dealing with the men who hire for the openings in the jobs you want. No matter what you've been doing.

[TStoneMBD]

i certainly dont have near the life experience as nate does, and his advice is excellent. however, my opinion on the matter is that its important to do what you love. to many people, its important to make oodles of money. poker is a career with an unstable future as noone knows what is to come, but for the shortterm the oodles are there. if you cannot find a job that pays more than 70k a year within your first 5 years then play poker if you can make $100/hr+.

many people from these forums discourage turning pro, and it certainly has its pitfalls, but i have been pro for over a year now and have no regrets whatsoever. as much as id like to think so, its not like im some sort of prodigy either.

poker is easy money. to make the kind of money most people are making in poker at a job it generally takes great training, talent and skill. turning pro may be a dream of yours, but its a very attainable dream if you have hardcore discipline and selfcontrol. during the current golden age, poker makes for very stable income if you do things right and are overrolled.

[iraise50]

I think many of you are actually wrong on this issue. I have several years of management experience working with charities in a variety of positions. For an entire year the only "job" I went to was playing poker, and while I dind't crack 6 figures, I did ok enough to enjoy it. I more or less miss at least some of my time being with others, so I was looking for only terrific jobs that I would truly enjoy being at. It really amkes your job search entirely different when you say, and mean..."Well, I jsut don't think that your organization is compatable with my needs". So, I finally found a position at a place I really love, I manage a coffeeshop. I love coffee. It's my friend.

I told you all of that to tell you that...I enver misled anyone about my poker playing. What I found was that people were uniformly impressed that I was willing to take such risks, had enough beleif in myself to do it and the courage to admit it to what could possibly be a skeptical audience. I think if you focus on the romantic aspects of it, of pitting yourself agaisnt others in a kind of real life survivor...if you focus on your willingness to try something new, to take risks, to be totally accountable for successes and failures, to have to reasearch and learn ever-more efficient methods of success...all of these things make you a more valuable employee. You'll sound too phony trying to replicate an imaginary year of your life in an interview.

[smb394]

I think that the gap in the resume can be significant. But it depends on what you are trying to do with your Econ PhD. Tenure-track professor, government, private firm? My best advice would be to find an at least semi-interesting position that would both look good on your resume and not require too many hours (so you can play at night).

Also, I had an interview for a spot on a derivatives desk with a large market maker/trading firm earlier this year in which poker came up. They were asking about my BB/100, s.d. per hour, etc. (in addition to probability questions). These all went well. The fact that I am not an Ivy or MIT grad did not. /images/graemlins/mad.gif


FWIW, I am currently out of school 1 year myself and considering grad school down the road.

Good luck.

[bufrakbh]

Just my thoughts. Its a long post so I have only read some, and apologise if it has been written before.

First of all do what you feel is the right thing for you. NOW. If that is playing poker for the next year, then fine. Enjoy it and dont worry about what might happen in a years time. Ofcourse this assumes that you really want it, and are not just addicted or looking for an easy buck /images/graemlins/wink.gif Well, basicly that you have fun taking it seriously, I guess.

Secondly it is all about presentation. When you after a year goes back to your PHD or a job in the private sector, I believe it can be an advantage to have played poker. Think about how much you will have learned! Its not all just about cards. You might be better at picking up signs of how people are, you might be more decisive or goal directed, you might have some good materiale to use for the PHD etc.

On a personal note I will tell you a little about my life. I recently quit a very well payed job in finance to write a book. I know I wont earn much doing so, but also that it somehow will get me in the direction that is best for me. Along the way I am learning poker from scratch. I played my first game ever about 2 months ago. My goal is to slowly build a bankroll and see how far I can get, and to me that is a fun challenge.

And I KNOW that it can be an advantage to play poker when aplying for a job - atleast in the private sector. I play a lot of backgammon, and although I never went pro I won some big tournaments, and went to the world championship. I wrote this on my CV, and it seemed so out of the ordinary and exciting that I believe many employers called me to interviews partly due to that fact.

I hope this helps you in your decision /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[J_V]

Getting a job as a trader is easy. I-banking is a different field and very different.

[Nate tha' Great]

Again, it depends on what sort of graduate program you're looking at.

I'd think that the 'gap' would be almost as devasting from the standpoint of a top-tier business school as for a top-tier employer. Perhaps even more so. Although frankly I think business school is fairly worthless and have had some Very Smart People who have been to some Very Good Business Schools tell me as much.

Law schools tend to be highly numbers and formula-oriented and if your LSATs and undergraduate credentials are good, I don't think you'd have too much trouble.

Masters programs are cash cows at most univerisities and will let you in if you're smart and can foot the bill.

PhD programs - I had a friend who was recently asked to join a very selective PhD track in spite of essentially having been a professional alcoholic for about seven years out of undergrad. Surely being a professional poker player isn't quite as bad as that. You do need to write/present well though in a wonky sort of way.

EDIT: I'm not any kind of career counselor, although I do happen to have an odd diversity of friends/acquaintences who have taken an oddly diverse array of career tracks. I've also been on both sides of the interviewee/interviewer process, the later half of which is extremely helpful.

[jason_t]

[ QUOTE ]
How could someone with an undergrad degree...IN THE STUDY OF MONEY, not be able to grasp the sheer lunacy of leaving a job to "give professional poker a whirl".

And seriously, can't you hold down a low paying job and play poker on the side? Don't you get weekends off?...although, from your only 110 posts in 8 months of membership, I can assume there's an outside chance, unlike others here, that you have a girlfriend.

I know you'll make the right decision, not that I could ever give a flying [censored].

-Matt

[/ QUOTE ]

http://koa.planetubh.com/threadpics/ezthug.jpg

Also, economics isn't the study of money.

[spider]

Hey man, I'm a marginal poker player but do know a little about the econ profession...

[ QUOTE ]
1) Will a 1 year gap in my resume actually matter when applying for a job 6-7 years from now (after grad school)?

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In general, 95% of what matters is your thesis and your advisor -- more specifically, the publishing prospects for your dissertation and your advisor's (and committee's) connections. And OK, it would be nice if you don't totally blow the interviews.

The thesis/advisor importance will be especially true if you go academic and still largely true for many private sector jobs. Honestly, you'll make it through the majority of inteveriews without any questions about what you did prior to grad school unless it involves a felony.

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2) Will playing poker for a year make it harder for me to get into Grad school?

3) Will I be able to get away with saying to a grad school admissions person (that's probably the technical term for it) that I played poker for a year?

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Similar answer as for #1. They are primarily looking at your GPA and standardized test scores. The dropout rate is fairly high for the first couple years of econ grad school (maybe around 50% for a typical top 50 school) -- this is a big difference compared to professional schools. So most of these places are happy to just bring in the smartest group of people they can and then let things sort themselves out later -- besides the fact that grad school is sometimes difficult for people who breezed through undergrad, a lot of people bail because they just don't enjoy academic econ.

[sfer]

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1) Will a 1 year gap in my resume actually matter when applying for a job 6-7 years from now (after grad school)?

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Dunno if this is mentioned but a nifty resume trick is quitting your job in January and starting your next job in December of the following year. You can list your tenure at each job in whole years and voila.