I think it is highly unlikely that those people truly at the top of
this industry don’t bother to spend much time in a forum like
this.  I know this is a broad generalization, but I am beginning
to feel exactly like you do.  There are some good people on here
willing to share their knowledge, but by and large it does seem to be a
forum to air dirty laundry.

Good for you.  I agree they are a bunch of winers.  This is the best job I have ever had.  I love my job, my company and my clients.

There are a bunch of lazy rich kids here who want everything handed to them.

They should go to WV and work in a coal mine for just one day.

[quote=kerho]

Because I have never been on a board with so many miserable and angry people before.  Most of you are so mad you don't even remember what made you mad in the first place.  I know I know, it was EJ ML AGE (insert name here) complain complain complain.

Being an outsider I see anger but no facts to back it up.  Nothing to justify the anger other than 4 subsequent posts that share your anger, all giving no facts or specifics.  It's really weird, makes me wonder if I even want to get involved in this industry.

Are the people at EJ who are happy the ones on "koolaid"? or are they just mentally stable without severe anger management problems?   I've spoke with nothing but happy people at EJ, I have my first face to face this week and we'll see if this person is happy as well.  Then I'll drop in on 5-6 more IR's in the area to see how they are.   We'll see I guess.   

And any positive words are bombed with angry posts that make no sense to anyone other than those who share the anger.  It's weird guys and gals, it really is.

[/quote]

And you have some jerks here (no names mentioned but maybe JODDABROKER!) that somehow seem to have influence with the moderators to get others banned.  FREE Speech?  yeah right.

I can’t seem to get my head around the idea that people have time to post all

through the work day.



I guess I’m just slow, but my work seems to occupy my time at the office.

(Sometimes at home, too!)

some who post alot add value much of the time and the board in an odd way needs those people to perpetuate discussions. pay attention to a few who are factual, insightful and sometimes amusing.

I know what you mean.

Kerho, I tend to agree with you. For some people on this forum

(including myself), it is a way to get some ideas, and also a bit of

entertainment .



But, you are correct about the EJ thing. Nearly every EJ advisor I have met

is happy with the firm, whether they are just starting out, or 10 years in.

Most of the complaining I hear is from people on this forum.

[quote=4luvofmoneytwo]And you have some jerks here (no names mentioned but maybe JODDABROKER!) that somehow seem to have influence with the moderators to get others banned.  FREE Speech?  yeah right.[/quote]

Get a clue, spammer.

[quote=kerho]

Because I have never been on a board with so many miserable and angry people before.  Most of you are so mad you don't even remember what made you mad in the first place.  I know I know, it was EJ ML AGE (insert name here) complain complain complain.

Being an outsider I see anger but no facts to back it up.  Nothing to justify the anger other than 4 subsequent posts that share your anger, all giving no facts or specifics.  It's really weird, makes me wonder if I even want to get involved in this industry.

Are the people at EJ who are happy the ones on "koolaid"? or are they just mentally stable without severe anger management problems?   I've spoke with nothing but happy people at EJ, I have my first face to face this week and we'll see if this person is happy as well.  Then I'll drop in on 5-6 more IR's in the area to see how they are.   We'll see I guess.   

And any positive words are bombed with angry posts that make no sense to anyone other than those who share the anger.  It's weird guys and gals, it really is.

[/quote]

If you're an outsider, go away. This forum is for registered reps only.

[quote=Broker24]Kerho, I tend to agree with you. For some people on this forum

(including myself), it is a way to get some ideas, and also a bit of

entertainment .



But, you are correct about the EJ thing. Nearly every EJ advisor I have met

is happy with the firm, whether they are just starting out, or 10 years in.

Most of the complaining I hear is from people on this forum. [/quote]

Logically, isn’t that somewhat of a self-fulfilling phenomenon, because if someone is happy they are not likely to leave.  EdJ has  strong culture, like it or not.  Those who like it stay.

Those who don’t like it leave to go indy and then lob hand grenades at the most obvious kool aid drinkers on the RR board.

[quote=4luvofmoneytwo][quote=kerho]

Because I have never been on a board with so many miserable and angry people before.  Most of you are so mad you don't even remember what made you mad in the first place.  I know I know, it was EJ ML AGE (insert name here) complain complain complain.

Being an outsider I see anger but no facts to back it up.  Nothing to justify the anger other than 4 subsequent posts that share your anger, all giving no facts or specifics.  It's really weird, makes me wonder if I even want to get involved in this industry.

Are the people at EJ who are happy the ones on "koolaid"? or are they just mentally stable without severe anger management problems?   I've spoke with nothing but happy people at EJ, I have my first face to face this week and we'll see if this person is happy as well.  Then I'll drop in on 5-6 more IR's in the area to see how they are.   We'll see I guess.   

And any positive words are bombed with angry posts that make no sense to anyone other than those who share the anger.  It's weird guys and gals, it really is.

[/quote]

And you have some jerks here (no names mentioned but maybe JODDABROKER!) that somehow seem to have influence with the moderators to get others banned.  FREE Speech?  yeah right.

[quote=Bobby Hull]If you're an outsider, go away. This forum is for registered reps only. [/quote]

Some spammers aren't getting this message...

Kerho,

Heck no, it is one of the most rewarding careers.  Phone interview today??

[quote=kerho]

Because I have never been on a board with so many miserable and angry people before. You haven't been to many boards! This on is tame and well behaved versus others on the web. The other day when I heard that Richard Jenni had shot himself (I still haven't verified it) I looked for him on Google and one of the first sites was something about Hack Comics. THERE is one bitter bunch! And they're not even nearly the worst. Most of you are so mad you don't even remember what made you mad in the first place. Generalize much? I know I know, it was EJ ML AGE (insert name here) complain complain complain. See this is the problem with coming from a small town in "Real America" you have no idea how big the world really is. (Before you start telling me about how worldly you are, save it, I don't care if Henry Kissinger envy’s your frequent flier miles, you've exhibited a very small universality about yourself) You've been here what a week? And in that time you've been dismissive of all advice that wasn't a reaffirmation of what you said when you first got here. AND you are constantly in the thick of fights you have zero first hand knowledge of. You think you know us. That might work in Left Overshoe, Nebraska but not here on the world wide web.

Being an outsider I see anger but no facts to back it up. As with most people of a narrow focus you see only what you want to see and you assign value only to things that validate your desires. Nothing to justify the anger other than 4 subsequent posts that share your anger, all giving no facts or specifics. It's really weird, makes me wonder if I even want to get involved in this industry.

Are the people at EJ who are happy the ones on "koolaid"? or are they just mentally stable without severe anger management problems? There's an old joke (it's actually a Jim Jones joke...Q. Why are there no Edward Jones Jokes? A. The punchlines are too long! I've spoke with nothing but happy people at EJ, I have my first face to face this week and we'll see if this person is happy as well. My brother is a Moonie, there's not a single one of his friends that I ever met that didn't think that the Reverend Moon is THE Messiah, he's perfect, even divorcing his wife, who is also perfect, is perfect. What does his happiness prove? Then I'll drop in on 5-6 more IR's in the area to see how they are. We'll see I guess. I can guess what you'll see right now, lot's of people who want to tell you how great it is to be just like them!

And any positive words are bombed with angry posts that make no sense to anyone other than those who share the anger. It's weird guys and gals, it really is. What you ought to understand is that each firm grows their own culture. (When I say you ought to I mean, don't you already know this? What's the matter with you?) They each have their own creation mythology, their own ethos their own heroes. Every day each man Jack of them wake up, look into the mirror and ask themselves, "Why am I better than the guy who works at____?" And then they tell themselves the story of their firms once again. It's the power of positive affirmation. Jones brokers can't tell themselves that they are the Spartan Warriors like the guys at Lehman Brothers can! Their corporate ethos is different from the hard driving, cold calling commandos at Lehman. What Jones brokers tell themselves is 'that WE are "real America" We stand for traditional old time values in investing. Jones is the company that trains non brokers to be brokers, and we do it better than any other firm on the street." There are truths in there to be sure but, just like all the other firms, there's a whole lot more jingoistic propaganda in there than anything else. Nobody wakes up and says "I'm a second class citizen, and that's the best I'll ever be."

You've been given a lot of good information in these forums, a whole lot more than most of the guys that are signing up at firms across the country. That you have chosen to be belligerent about your original position is obvious in the way of your putting it to any good use.

Chances are that you'll join Jones and that you'll love it even though all those years of learning how to have done this business will have been for naught, because Jones will not let you do those things anyway (neither would any other firm). You'll wake up in the morning and say to the man in the mirror that you work at the firm that does it the rightest. Won't be true, but you'll believe it anyway. Just like when my brother and his family (who visit often) takes the family off to pray for guidance from their perfect messiah.

"Chances are that you'll join Jones and that you'll love it even though all those years of learning how to have done this business will have been for naught, because Jones will not let you do those things anyway (neither would any other firm). "

We still need kerho to get through the phone interview this week.  We all wish him the best of luck.

" And any positive words are bombed with angry posts that make no sense to anyone other than those who share the anger.  It's weird guys and gals, it really is. "

I think your observation is valid and to the point. People can get burned out doing anything, it is not easy to remake yourself. In all of my jobs, the positive people often moved on, and sometimes the negative folks were able to reinvent themselves. Vacations can help!

Speaking for myself, I am very happy in my career.  I am an independent advisor. This means that my interactions with other professionals in the industry are through telephone contacts, internet training sessions and the occasional group meeting for compliance or office inspections.  I look on this board as a sort of virtual watercooler where we can bitch, moan, laugh and hopefully share some ideas.

Because it is the internet and we have recently been inundated with trolls and idiots who are not in the industry who want to wrestle every thread to be about themselves, we are understandably testy.

Every new person who posts is suspected of being an alter ego of the psychotic and persistent posters who are constantly being banned.

If you are serious, just hang in there.

Hear bab’s words.  If you are for real you will be welcomed and amongst the puerile humor and threads complaining about EdJones or others you will pick up lots of useful info, especially as the regulars on the board get to know you.

We’ve had quite a few annoying trolls here monopolizing many threads for no good end.  So you’ll forgive us-including myself-if we’re a little suspicious from time to time.  Look at some of the threads over the last three months and you’ll see what I mean.

Okay, I will quit saying EDJ SUCKS!  Sorry to hurt the fragile feelings of the new hires.  I'm sitting here today, wishing I could remember the slicksters name who trolled southern Missouri or Illinois in a van selling stocks and bonds. Now thats culture!!!  When I left my old, rundown Jones office, I forgot to bring along the portfolio tapes...you know..who was that guy?  He put me to sleep many nights!!