Imagine you've gone to school for years, your only goal to break into the world of finance. And it happens. You get an interview and land the job of your dreams.
Then your company goes bust and markets across the globe tank. That's exactly what happened for some of the youngest workers at these "Banks Gone Bust." CNN's Christine Romans report.
One year ago, a whole crop of young investment bankers and analysts packed their boxes and left their dreams of big Wall Street careers behind them.
Avi Yashchin, who had spent long hours trading credit default swaps for Lehman Brothers, says he initially felt lost.
“I immediately started calling my friends trying to find out what the next big thing is. And everyone said the same thing – ‘green.’ You have to get into the green industry.”
Yashchin founded CleanEdison, a company that provides training and education to help people find opportunities in the new green economy.
Mimi Connery found an unusual opportunity when she teamed up with the lead singer Stephan Jenkins of the rock band Third Eye Blind. The former Lehman Brothers analyst is now the director of True Meaning, a nonprofit organization working to educate the public about tools designed to combat worldwide poverty.
“The whole financial collapse kind of gave me a ‘get out of jail free’ card to do what I want to do. ... When you go to work you should actually be passionate about what you’re doing.”
Her bonus at this job: Connery gets to go on tour with the band.
Ryan Stroker, a former Merrill Lynch subprime mortgage trader, says the past year has given him perspective.
“The golden handcuffs existed because people weren’t stepping back and looking at what they could do with less money and more time.”
Stroker’s new business venture updates a classic. He has relaunched a colorful line of BluBlocker sunglasses. These days he’s banking on a sunny future.