"I left my London hedge fund job and moved in with my parents aged 40"

21 May 2025

2 minute read

It's been two years. After graduating from a top UK university and working in financial services for over a decade, I'm unemployed. I've applied for hundreds of jobs and have had no response. Most of the time I'm just firing applications into the ether.

Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.

I'm 40 years old and back at home, living with my parents. I spent the first year of unemployment living off my savings in my own flat in West London, until I couldn't pay the bills. Now I'm renting it out to pay the mortgage.

It's not easy. My parents are supporting me while I work out what I want to do. There's no feedback from all the job applications I make, and it's incredibly frustrating as I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Their house isn't really big enough for the three of us, and they want to downsize, which would be problematic for me.

I'm still trying to work out what to do next. I've been considering becoming a paramedic like Nick Bushrod, but I need to earn money to support myself, and I'm not sure that I would earn enough. My previous job paid multiples of a paramedic's salary, but I had no real sense of fulfilment. - I was effectively just helping already rich portfolio managers to become even richer.

What next, then? For the moment, I'm just sending endless applications and trying to stay healthy. I spend a lot of time exercising. I probably need to arrange more coffee chats, but it's difficult to persuade people to make the time. Everyone who has a job either seems to be working or on holiday.

Nyla Brown is a pseudonym

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, WhatsApp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libellous (in which case it won’t.)

Photo by Elizabeth Lev on Unsplash

AUTHORNyla Brown

Insider Comment

Th
The Red Pill
22 May 2025
Emigrate? Many countries have open borders these days.
Reply
IN
INTL DEV
21 May 2025
Have you considered working in social finance? There's a quite a few organisations around doing this. There is also innovative financing models in International Devlopment i.e. UBS Optimus Foundation, Save the Children Global Venture Fund, Education Outcomes Fund. It would be good way to find a job with a purpose with your existing skill set. You can also look into working at social enterprises or B Corp companies.
Reply
HJ
HJB
21 May 2025
It's really tough at the moment. In the past when I've looked I've found applying directly is a complete waste of time. Your CV goes into a sludgepile and never comes out (unless you know someone already working there who can help chivvy it along). Coffee chats are good - but as you say quite time wasteful on your part. Maybe finding a cheap coworking space/library/barbican and having an office day once a week could help. Finally... many agents are useless but a good one is worth their weight in gold. They can help with hassling employers etc. Many are quite shortsighted and not interested in talking to people who aren't currently working, but there are ones who are better.
Reply
Ba
Babayaga
21 May 2025
I feel you. Just to say that you are not alone. I am also in the same situation, 40 with a solid financial experience and many applications gone nowhere. Probably not reassuring anyway
Reply
An
Anon123654
21 May 2025
How about you spend more of your time learning something instead of just going to the gym ? If you went to a top UK university, you must have the ability to absorb new skills. There's plenty of websites that will let you learn all kinds of things interactively for modest money. Even to work as a paramedic, you still need to learn the basics of medicine.
Reply