GUEST COMMENT: How to make your first million (now that this will no longer happen in a bank)

The City is no longer the quickest way to make a first million, or even a fast buck. It used to be; several people I graduated alongside are now set for life. The pressure's off - they're done.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, the chances of making retirement money from banking are now lower than they've ever been. The author of this recent article knew this and quit.

Regulation and the recession aren't the only obstacles. If you work in markets you'll face the inevitable end to the quantitative easing party at some point. Trading will no longer be a license to print money; it'll have a knock-on effect through IT and through the back- and middle-offices too.

Meanwhile, M&A volumes are already depressed and the animal spirits which could revive them are conspicuous by their absence.

So how should you use it to make that first million that your city job has failed to produce?

Here are my top three suggestions:

1) Set up a financial services business

From offering project management software, risk management or trading data (a la Markit Partners) to providing niche investment research, there are opportunities everywhere for services which are more cost-effective if provided externally.

Not everyone's able to be their own boss and manage themselves efficiently. You'll make this adjustment best if you're trying to do something you already understand. If your job benefits from the rising tide of regulation in the City, you should be able to stand outside of Bank tube station, throw a stone and hit the first big contract.

2) The real-world start-up

There are many examples of household name brands, like Paul and Innocent Smoothies set up by former financiers, which have nothing to do with the financial sector.

You'll be using things you take for granted: the ability to work hard and around the clock and the high standards expected in the City. You'll also be doing what you enjoy. However, you will need the entrepreneurial idea in the first place.

3) Write a book about your experiences

The City is a surreal place and the rest of the world is fascinated by what goes on in the board rooms and bars of the Square Mile.

Write what you know, so they say. Love or hate City Boy, Geraint Anderson has proved this point. Lucy Kellaway's FT column and books are massively popular for the same reason.

Writing is not for everyone: As Kellaway herself recently said: "the sort of women who write this sort of book don't work in offices." You'll need to be an extroverted type who finds it easy to get gossip and insight about what's really going on at work.

Sales people & marketers are already good at telling a story. Remember, Michael Lewis was a salesman once.

The writer is a private equity professional who formerly worked in a well known investment bank.