Austin Business Consulting

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

Goldman Sachs exemplifies the domination of the banks over government policy and both political parties. It has supplied the top personnel for government economic policy-making in the Democratic Clinton, Republican Bush and Democratic Obama administrations. Bush’s treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, formerly the CEO of Goldman, saw to it that the government bank bailout paid especially rich dividends to his former company. This included a bailout of AIG that allowed the company to pay off billions of dollars in derivatives debts to Goldman at 100 percent.

The list of former Goldman Sachs employees holding top positions in the Obama administration includes:

• Mark Patterson, a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist, who is the chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (himself the former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York).

• Reuben Jeffery III, former managing partner at Goldman Sachs, who holds the post of undersecretary of state for economic, business, and agricultural affairs.

• Neel Kashkari, former Goldman Sachs vice president, who is the assistant secretary of the treasury for financial stability, responsible for administering the TARP funds.

• Dianna Farrell, former financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, who serves as deputy director of the National Economic Council.

There is a word to describe this type of socio-economic order: Plutocracy, i.e., rule by the rich. This is the reality behind the increasingly thin veneer of democracy in America.

Http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jul2009/gold-j15.shtml

Greg Craig, Obama’s first White House counsel, has joined Goldman, we learned this week. He may not have too much pull in the West Wing, which drove him out for hewing too close to Obama’s campaign promises, but as a former insider he will provide valuable intelligence to the world’s largest investment bank.

Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, was paid $35,000 as a consultant to Goldman while also working as Bill Clinton’s top fundraiser. Obama’s fundraiser and economic adviser Warren Buffett is very long on Goldman, having bet on them in 2008 in the expectation of a bailout. Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, was a Goldman Sachs lobbyist until months before joining Team Obama.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Is-Goldman-Obamas-Enron-No-its-worse-91613449.html#ixzz0mK4XsrQp
Complete list
http://the-classic-liberal.com/white-goldman-sachs-house/

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

There are several distinguished universities that now offer a selection of online courses for free to the general public. No college credit is earned from them, but they are excellent for enrichment. In your case, the class would be a good primer. The professor you might be referring to could be Anant Agarwal, the director of MIT’s Computer Science and AI Laboratory, and the president of Edx.org. Edx.org is an organization established by MIT and Harvard to develop an open-source technology platform for free online courses, and they currently offer nine courses. Unfortunately, none of them are in or directly related to elementary statistics, so I’m not sure how beneficial they would be for you at this time. Carnegie Mellon also has an online learning program that includes statistics, so check with them.

Last Sunday the Los Angeles Times had an article about some of the best public online courses, and I’m copying and pasting it below. It’s also on my blog, and includes live links to each program there. My blog is listed on my profile here. For some reason (which Y!A says is odd) I’ve encountered problems with posting it in my answers, so I’ll just let you pull it up if you wish.

• Coursera.org: Thirty-three universities, including Stanford, Caltech, Princeton and Duke, have joined together to offer more than 200 courses. Among them are 21 classes in economics and finance, 13 in business and management, and 20 in artificial intelligence and robotics. Courses typically include video instruction and weekly assignments, and may include a final exam.

• Edx.org: This site offers nine classes, mostly in computer science, from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and UC Berkeley. Expect to spend 10 to 20 hours each week on courses that run from six weeks to six months. Courses from the University of Texas and Wellesley College are to be added next year.

• Udacity.com: This site founded by Sebastian Thrun, the Stanford robotics professor who helped build Google’s driverless car, offers 16 classes, mostly in computer science and mathematics. Instructors include professors from the University of Virginia, Rutgers and Stanford, as well as experts from Google.

• Oli.cmu.edu: Carnegie-Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative, a private Pittsburgh university, offers 16 free online courses, including French, anatomy, psychology, biology, chemistry and statistics. The classes include practice activities, self-assessments and graded exercises, and can be completed at your own pace.

• Udemy.com: This site offers hundreds of courses, including serious academic topics and lighter fare such as cake decorating and Ice Fishing Tips & Techniques. Instructors include college professors, business consultants, authors and self-described experts. Some classes require payment, but you can view free classes by using a filter on the Discover Courses page.

~ skylark : )

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

The short answer: If your current company is downsizing and you need to find a new position, this is probably a good move for you.

The longer answer: If this job sounds interesting to you, take it. You’ll be able to explain your career move very easily later: you can emphasize that the financial services industry was weak in the summer of 2008, and that you saw a great opportunity in the real estate world with this new firm. Talk about the skills you were able to develop there (you’re right: valuation, strategic planning and management are all excellent elements to play up) and talk about how you were able to approach financial challenges from a whole new perspective that has given you a more comprehensive way of viewing business issues.

You won’t be shooting yourself in the foot for future moves. Recruiters want to see a coherent story about each candidate. (They want to know things like: Why did you move from one position to another? Have you had an upward trajectory in your career moves?) If this is a promotion with additional responsibility, additional pay, and additional visibility, you don’t have to worry.

Depending on what you’re going for in the future, you could easily emphasize the real estate part of what the firm does as opposed to the gaming part of what they do. That would position you well for a job with a developer or a real estate investment firm or some of the other paths you’re considering. The bottom line: you get to define to a recruiter what you did. If you tell the recruiter you do gaming work, that’s how they’ll see you. If you say that you led financial modeling and investment decisions for broad range of clients from big name banks to government agencies, well, then they’ll see you that way.

Plus, if gaming turns out to be interesting to you then you’re in luck. It’s a booming business (especially abroad these days) and casinos tend to strongly prefer promoting people with previous gaming experience. This gives you a new set of options to potentially move up in a new industry. It sounds like the hotel and resort industry will also look very favorably on this experience if you choose to go in that direction.

A good financial consultant with strong client experience and a track record of building a book of business will always be valued in the marketplace. NYC is a hot spot for real estate, hotels, consulting, and financial services so it sounds like you’re in good shape. Go for it!

If you’d like more specific advice or help with future career decisions, please visit us at http://www.PrepSession.com/.

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

You have gotten into 2 excellent institutions in programs that clearly demonstrate you are one sharp cookie. You and your family must be delighted.
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This is what I understand:
You have been admitted to CGU’s FE pgm for a 1-year MS in FEM You have been admitted to Cornell’s Dept of Statistical Science for a 1-yr MPS in Applied Statistics. I don’t want to pretend I understand Cornell’s confusing organization structure; but, I am guessing this is a statistics dept that cuts across numerous divisions within the university. I am guessing it does not reside within the B-School or Ag/Life Sciences. I believe it is in the School of Industrial & Labor Relations. It looks like you can choose 1 of 2 options–statistical analysis or data centered statistics. There seems to be a comparable program to CGU/FE within the OR dept; but, I am not sure whether you have access to that in structuring your curriculum. You want a job where you will make extensive use of mathematics (and I will assume, statistics) Like many young professionals, you want to travel as part of your job “WHICH SCHOOL SHOULD I ATTEND FOR GRADUATE STUDY THAT WOULD BENEFIT ME MOST IN THE FINANCE INDUSTRY?” Let’s try to simplify this by “working backward from the answer”. You want a career that actively employs mathematical and statistical analysis and modeling. And, you want to travel.
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If you become a Wall Street rocket scientist for an investment bank or hedge fund, you are most likely going to be working in an office that might be in the NYC area. While you probably would travel to conferences, you would be less likely to travel than a client facing executive in your firm. These are fascinating and highly lucrative careers. Since you applied to CGU/FE you must be interested in it. The techniques used in this line of work are beyond me. But, I would imagine that they hinge on Black-Scholes partial differential equations and other mathematical modeling techniques.
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On the other hand, if you have what it takes to become an analytics/management consultant to the financial industry, you will likely travel and have a much more client facing role as you move up the ladder. These consulting firms hire PhDs in statistics to help manage the technical competency of the consulting staff. These firms also hire top students from college, B-School, and analytically oriented grad students to serve as analysts and consultants. Some firms train the junior staff in required statistics. Others bring them in with requisite know-how. Your statistics training at Cornell would prepare you well for this as well as other careers. Big recruiters of this kind of talent are not just investment banks, but also credit card issuers and mortgage banks. Applications could range from data- and statistics-driven marketing to credit and fraud risk management. Obviously, if you work for a bank, you will travel less than you would as a management consultant. I am guessing you will be using applied statistics far more than mathematical modeling. By the way, if your love is SAS programming which is the lifeblood of this business, be careful. Much of the SAS coding in this industry has been/is being shifted offshore to India, China, and Eastern Europe. Many of the US roles are the business/client-facing roles.
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So, digging beneath the surface, you have different career options–one of which will be in Finance employing mathematical modeling and the other of which could be in analytics/statistics consulting to finance/risk management or marketing within a financial institution. Subtle differences, but distinct differences.
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Which do you want to do? Answer that and you will know where to go to school.
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If you don’t know the answer yet, I suggest you network your way into both of these industries and ask 2 executives/industry for their counsel. If you don’t know anyone in these fields, get the names of graduates of these 2 programs and call them up at their places of employ. They’ll be biased; but, if you ask them clever questions you can decide whether you would be happy/successful in their shoes.
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Good luck! You are in the envious position of having 2 outstanding options to choose from.
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PS-Business travel is overrated. I recommend taking a great job that builds toward a rewarding career. You’ll make boatloads of money and can then travel anywhere you want in the world on vacation.

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

Austin was recently designated as one of the best cities in the US for single people:

http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/DatingCities.aspx

By the way, most of the information you are looking for can be found if you browse the bestplaces website under Austin, TX.

Http://www.bestplaces.net

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

I know several good mechanics around the Austin area … I just wish you had listed what make, model, and year your bike was ??? And / or whether a dirt bike or street bike.

If you have the lowering links, those are usually a very simple process to do yourself with standard simple tools!!! I have installed several on bikes for my daughter.

Anyway, I would highly recommend
TJs Cycles
6208 North Lamar
Austin, TX 78752
512-453-6255 – 800-570-4079

http://www.tjs-cycle.com/

Kasson Yamaha
2603 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704-5410
Phone: (512) 444-7482

Motorcycle Parts LTD Inc. (off hwy 71 east)
Bill Deck
113 Blue Grass Cove
Cedar Creek,TX. 78612
(512) 303-2472

http://www.mcpltdinc.com/

any of those should be able to get you fixed up. There are a few other private shop owners in the area too.

Don Lackey
Nameless Road (close to 1431)
Cedar Park (or might be considered Leander)
512-586-9222

Willis Race Shop
Austin, TX 512 299-4330

hope that helps and good luck!

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

It’s awesome. I moved here last August and love it. People who live here love it and don’t want to leave. It’s a growing area with a lot of tech jobs. It’s young, educated, active, well paid, safe, liberal, and eclectic.

On the downside it’s not cheap by Texas standards, and the property taxes are nearly at the rates I saw in the northeast. The traffic can be heavy, and the public schools are very weak compared to the schools my kids were in back in the northeast. It’s also in the middle of nowhere, with a three hour drive to Dallas and Houston (which, if I’m being honest, are pretty dreadful cities compared to pretty much every other city I’ve ever been to) and 1.5 hours to San Antonio, which is pretty lame outside of the Riverwalk area (which is very cool). Fortunately, there is so much to do in Austin that I don’t mind being stuck in this little oasis.

It’s truly one of the coolest cities I’ve ever lived in or been to.

AustinBusinessConsulting answers:

Yes, there are online registries, but most of them are national. He could also check out local school district web sites and he might find a few job postings.

BUT the best way to do it is to call the schools directly. Many districts don’t advertise all available positions. If they have many candidates’ paperwork on file, oftentimes they don’t advertise openings at all.

If he calls the schools directly he can ask if there are any openings. Also, if possible, he should send a letter of interest directly to the principals of schools in addition to human resources.

There’s a helpful eBook about finding teaching jobs– http://www.iwantateachingjob.com . It has information about applying for teaching jobs, finding jobs, interview tips, etc.

Good luck.