u/Maleficent_Story_156

All, I am looking to transition my credit background into the early-stage startup ecosystem and support what you are building.

I have a Master's degree in finance and spent the last few years as a credit risk associate at a global bulge-bracket bank, following an earlier background in Big 4 risk advisory. My day-to-day experience is focused on underwriting and structuring complex corporate facilities, including broadly syndicated loans, high-yield issuances, asset-backed finance (ABF/ABS), and sponsor-backed LBO financing. I regularly validate integrated financial models through downside stress testing, analyze loan tapes across granular asset portfolios, and manage legal loan documentation like credit agreements and derivative/trading structures. I want to bring this institutional toolkit to a growing fintech or B2B team where I can help build financial frameworks, manage credit risk, and learn the business from the ground up. If there is any way my background can pitch in and help your team right now, I would love to be of use.

Alternatively, if you aren’t looking for this skill set at the moment but know someone in your network who is, I would be incredibly grateful for an introduction.

All, I am looking to transition my credit background into the early-stage startup ecosystem and support what you are building.

I have a Master's degree in finance and spent the last few years as a credit risk associate at a global bulge-bracket bank, following an earlier background in Big 4 risk advisory. My day-to-day experience is focused on underwriting and structuring complex corporate facilities, including broadly syndicated loans, high-yield issuances, asset-backed finance (ABF/ABS), and sponsor-backed LBO financing. I regularly validate integrated financial models through extreme downside stress testing, analyze loan tapes across granular asset portfolios, and manage legal loan documentation like credit agreements and derivative/trading structures. I want to bring this institutional toolkit to a growing fintech or B2B team where I can help build financial frameworks, manage credit risk, and learn the business from the ground up. If there is any way my background can pitch in and help your team right now, I would love to be of use.

Alternatively, if you aren’t looking for this skill set at the moment but know someone in your network who is, I would be incredibly grateful for an introduction.

Question for anyone who’s experienced a layoff at GS

Not looking to stir anything up just genuinely interested in how it was processed and got moved past it.

For anyone who felt unfairly treated during a layoff, how did you deal with seeing former coworkers and whats being talked about on the street given its a small world ? How did you eventually stop caring and move forward?

I’ve been doing shadow work and realized I seem to live by a few deeply ingrained rules:

• Other people’s discomfort feels like danger. - hence I keep everyone on a pedestal and keep shrinking and this increased recently after a super toxic job despite doing the best and being impacted as manager didnt like me. He couldnt stand me.
• I over-explain instead of simply deciding. - becuase I was gaslight in childhood and hence feel i wont be understood exactly how i want to.
• I confuse kindness with tolerance and stay too long in situations that already feel wrong.
• I monitor everyone else’s reactions more than my own needs. This is too much for me - reading everyone's reactions, brow lift or smirk anything, though it amazes me that the intention behind that is super true and real always right. For instance a manager in company gave me a very sly smile like he knew something instead of greeting when passing me by, i definitely felt that manager knows something and it hit internally that my days the job are numbered and exactly that happened.
• I wait for certainty or validation before trusting my judgment. this is the thing dont feel safe, a therapist told that I never knew how or what safety is within oneself.
• I fear retaliation, so I soften myself and avoid conflict. this is the biggest thing holding me back. I am terrified of people playing dirty, not that they already do but the fear.
• I understand these patterns intellectually, but that hasn’t automatically changed the behavior.

For anyone who genuinely used to function like this and changed: what actually worked?

Really want to navigate this and currently i am at a standstill in life (36F) and dont know where to go and how to start making progress. I feel I have become all by myself seeing how even my family neglects and friends so called were only for some emotional access but nothing else

I’ve been doing shadow work and realized I seem to live by a few deeply ingrained rules:

• Other people’s discomfort feels like danger. - hence I keep everyone on a pedestal and keep shrinking and this increased recently after a super toxic job despite doing the best and being impacted as manager didnt like me. He couldnt stand me.
• I over-explain instead of simply deciding. - becuase I was gaslight in childhood and hence feel i wont be understood exactly how i want to.
• I confuse kindness with tolerance and stay too long in situations that already feel wrong.
• I monitor everyone else’s reactions more than my own needs. This is too much for me - reading everyone's reactions, brow lift or smirk anything, though it amazes me that the intention behind that is super true and real always right. For instance a manager in company gave me a very sly smile like he knew something instead of greeting when passing me by, i definitely felt that manager knows something and it hit internally that my days the job are numbered and exactly that happened.
• I wait for certainty or validation before trusting my judgment. this is the thing dont feel safe, a therapist told that I never knew how or what safety is within oneself.
• I fear retaliation, so I soften myself and avoid conflict. this is the biggest thing holding me back. I am terrified of people playing dirty, not that they already do but the fear.
• I understand these patterns intellectually, but that hasn’t automatically changed the behavior.

For anyone who genuinely used to function like this and changed: what actually worked?

Therapy? DBT/CBT/schema/EMDR/IFS? Exposure to conflict? Boundary practice? Books? Something else?

Really want to navigate this and currently i am at a standstill in life (36F) and dont know where to go and how to start making progress. I feel I have become all by myself seeing how even my family neglects and friends so called were only for some emotional access but nothing else

I’ve been doing shadow work and realized I seem to live by a few deeply ingrained rules:

• Other people’s discomfort feels like danger. - hence I keep everyone on a pedestal and keep shrinking and this increased recently after a super toxic job despite doing the best and being impacted as manager didnt like me. He couldnt stand me.
• I over-explain instead of simply deciding. - becuase I was gaslight in childhood and hence feel i wont be understood exactly how i want to.
• I confuse kindness with tolerance and stay too long in situations that already feel wrong.
• I monitor everyone else’s reactions more than my own needs. This is too much for me - reading everyone's reactions, brow lift or smirk anything, though it amazes me that the intention behind that is super true and real always right. For instance a manager in company gave me a very sly smile like he knew something instead of greeting when passing me by, i definitely felt that manager knows something and it hit internally that my days the job are numbered and exactly that happened.
• I wait for certainty or validation before trusting my judgment. this is the thing dont feel safe, a therapist told that I never knew how or what safety is within oneself.
• I fear retaliation, so I soften myself and avoid conflict. this is the biggest thing holding me back. I am terrified of people playing dirty, not that they already do but the fear.
• I understand these patterns intellectually, but that hasn’t automatically changed the behavior.

For anyone who genuinely used to function like this and changed: what actually worked?

Therapy? DBT/CBT/schema/EMDR/IFS? Exposure to conflict? Boundary practice? Books? Something else?

Really want to navigate this and currently i am at a standstill in life (36F) and dont know where to go and how to start making progress. I feel I have become all by myself seeing how even my family neglects and friends so called were only for some emotional access but nothing else

am currently in my 60-day H1B grace period. I told the company I am on an H1B, but I did not explicitly mention the layoff during the initial stages. Now that I am at the final interview/offer stage, I need to disclose my grace period status so they can initiate the transfer.
I have a few questions for anyone who has been through this:
How to disclose? When they start processing the official offer, how exactly did you share the news that you are currently in your grace period?
Handling recruiter pushback: If the recruiter asks why I didn't mention the layoff earlier, what is the best, most professional way to answer without hurting my offer or losing leverage?
Joining timeline & gap: If there is a minor time lag or gap between the end of my 60-day grace period and the actual joining date (due to LCA/filing delays), how did you handle that legally?

I'm moving and need to ship about 8–10 boxes within the U.S. Most are 18×18×18, and 2–3 boxes are 22×13×15(weights will vary, likely under 50 lbs each).

Has anyone compared Pirate Ship vs. LugLess for something like this?

I'm mainly looking for:

• Lowest overall cost
• Reliability (lost/damaged packages?)
• Ease of shipping multiple boxes
• Any hidden fees or things to watch out for

If you've used either service for a move, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience. Thanks! and if they are safe? Please share the process and also need pickup

Hey everyone, I need a quick sanity check on my timeline and strategy:

My Situation: Laid off recently 60-day H-1B grace period ends soon.

I am look to understand if one can do DBA/Doctoral program to file an in-country Change of Status (COS) to F-1 before my grace period expires to protect my stay.

My Questions:

• If I receive a job offer after my F-1 COS is already pending, can the new employer file an H-1B transfer as a "bridge" petition?
• If yes, do they have to premium process both the pending F-1 and the new H-1B to avoid a processing bottleneck?
• Are there any intent or RFE risks with this approach if I don't have an approved I-140 yet?

Hi,

I come from a Financial Sponsors and FIG investment banking background, specializing in institutional private credit, specialty finance, and asset-backed finance (ABF).

My background:

• Sponsors, FIG, & ABF: Executed transactions and managed mid-market and institutional portfolios across ABF, BDC structures, NBFIs, mREITs, Specialty Finance, and bank counterparties.
• Asset-Level Tape Analysis: Deep due diligence on raw consumer retail, student loan, and multifamily/hospitality portfolios. Analysing loan tape , evalating FICO distributions, geographic concentration, and weighted average coupons (WAC).
• Underwriting & Deal Structuring: Built independent 3-statement corporate models, LBO models, and asset-level sensitivity tools tracking prepayment speeds, macroeconomic pressures, and EBITDA add-backs. Authored final Investment Committee (IC) memos from scratch.
• Actively managed portfolio risk during the 2023 regional banking crisis and recent Office CRE downturn. Designed stress-test screens, modeled stock prices, and calculated collateral headroom break-points, maturity walls, and recovery scenarios to reduce unsecured and collateralized exposure on distressed bank portfolios. 
• Portfolio Risk Management: Monitored early-stage credit migration and underlying asset quality. Used covenant headroom analysis to implement structural pivots to protect principal and prepared screens for derivatives trading documents (ISDA/CSA/MSFTA/MRAs).
• Corporate Finance & Growth: Handled institutional financial planning, multi-year forecasting, budgeting, and corporate liquidity tracking. Managed business development, bid management, and RFP responses for global financial institutions and institutional clients.
• Risk Metrics & Modeling: Engineered Early Warning Signal (EWS) frameworks and credit scoring models from scratch to catch asset quality deterioration early.
• Structured Finance & Debt Structures: Warehouse credit facilities, asset-backed revolvers, and public/private bond placements. Underwrote CRE, residential, multifamily, hospitality, and mREIT portfolios. Evaluated agency/non-agency MBS and high-yield loan issuances

If your team is hiring, or if you are building a platform and need someone with similar experience, please send me a DM or leave a comment so we can connect.

Hi,

I come from a Financial Sponsors and FIG investment banking background, specializing in institutional private credit, specialty finance, and asset-backed finance (ABF).

My background:

• Sponsors, FIG, & ABF: Executed transactions and managed mid-market and institutional portfolios across ABF, BDC structures, NBFIs, mREITs, Specialty Finance, and bank counterparties.
• Asset-Level Tape Analysis: Deep due diligence on raw consumer retail, student loan, and multifamily/hospitality portfolios. Analysing loan tape , evalating FICO distributions, geographic concentration, and weighted average coupons (WAC).
• Underwriting & Deal Structuring: Built independent 3-statement corporate models, LBO models, and asset-level sensitivity tools tracking prepayment speeds, macroeconomic pressures, and EBITDA add-backs. Authored final Investment Committee (IC) memos from scratch.
• Actively managed portfolio risk during the 2023 regional banking crisis and recent Office CRE downturn. Designed stress-test screens, modeled stock prices, and calculated collateral headroom break-points, maturity walls, and recovery scenarios to reduce unsecured and collateralized exposure on distressed bank portfolios. 
• Portfolio Risk Management: Monitored early-stage credit migration and underlying asset quality. Used covenant headroom analysis to implement structural pivots to protect principal and prepared screens for derivatives trading documents (ISDA/CSA/MSFTA/MRAs).
• Corporate Finance & Growth: Handled institutional financial planning, multi-year forecasting, budgeting, and corporate liquidity tracking. Managed business development, bid management, and RFP responses for global financial institutions and institutional clients.
• Risk Metrics & Modeling: Engineered Early Warning Signal (EWS) frameworks and credit scoring models from scratch to catch asset quality deterioration early.
• Structured Finance & Debt Structures: Warehouse credit facilities, asset-backed revolvers, and public/private bond placements. Underwrote CRE, residential, multifamily, hospitality, and mREIT portfolios. Evaluated agency/non-agency MBS and high-yield loan issuances

If your team is hiring, or if you are building a platform and need someone with similar experience, please let me know.

Hi,

I come from a Financial Sponsors and FIG investment banking background, specializing in institutional private credit, specialty finance, and asset-backed finance (ABF).

My background:

• Sponsors, FIG, & ABF: Executed transactions and managed mid-market and institutional portfolios across ABF, BDC structures, NBFIs, mREITs, Specialty Finance, and bank counterparties.
• Asset-Level Tape Analysis: Deep due diligence on raw consumer retail, student loan, and multifamily/hospitality portfolios. Analysing loan tape , evalating FICO distributions, geographic concentration, and weighted average coupons (WAC).
• Underwriting & Deal Structuring: Built independent 3-statement corporate models, LBO models, and asset-level sensitivity tools tracking prepayment speeds, macroeconomic pressures, and EBITDA add-backs. Authored final Investment Committee (IC) memos from scratch.
• Actively managed portfolio risk during the 2023 regional banking crisis and recent Office CRE downturn. Designed stress-test screens, modeled stock prices, and calculated collateral headroom break-points, maturity walls, and recovery scenarios to reduce unsecured and collateralized exposure on distressed bank portfolios. 
• Portfolio Risk Management: Monitored early-stage credit migration and underlying asset quality. Used covenant headroom analysis to implement structural pivots to protect principal and prepared screens for derivatives trading documents (ISDA/CSA/MSFTA/MRAs).
• Corporate Finance & Growth: Handled institutional financial planning, multi-year forecasting, budgeting, and corporate liquidity tracking. Managed business development, bid management, and RFP responses for global financial institutions and institutional clients.
• Risk Metrics & Modeling: Engineered Early Warning Signal (EWS) frameworks and credit scoring models from scratch to catch asset quality deterioration early.
• Structured Finance & Debt Structures: Warehouse credit facilities, asset-backed revolvers, and public/private bond placements. Underwrote CRE, residential, multifamily, hospitality, and mREIT portfolios. Evaluated agency/non-agency MBS and high-yield loan issuances

If your team is hiring, or if you are building a platform and need someone with similar experience, please let me know.

Hi,

I come from a Financial Sponsors and FIG investment banking background, specializing in institutional private credit, specialty finance, and asset-backed finance (ABF).

My background:

• Sponsors, FIG, & ABF: Executed transactions and managed mid-market and institutional portfolios across ABF, BDC structures, NBFIs, mREITs, Specialty Finance, and bank counterparties.
• Asset-Level Tape Analysis: Deep due diligence on raw consumer retail, student loan, and multifamily/hospitality portfolios. Analysing loan tape , evalating FICO distributions, geographic concentration, and weighted average coupons (WAC).
• Underwriting & Deal Structuring: Built independent 3-statement corporate models, LBO models, and asset-level sensitivity tools tracking prepayment speeds, macroeconomic pressures, and EBITDA add-backs. Authored final Investment Committee (IC) memos from scratch.
• Actively managed portfolio risk during the 2023 regional banking crisis and recent Office CRE downturn. Designed stress-test screens, modeled stock prices, and calculated collateral headroom break-points, maturity walls, and recovery scenarios to reduce unsecured and collateralized exposure on distressed bank portfolios. 
• Portfolio Risk Management: Monitored early-stage credit migration and underlying asset quality. Used covenant headroom analysis to implement structural pivots to protect principal and prepared screens for derivatives trading documents (ISDA/CSA/MSFTA/MRAs).
• Corporate Finance & Growth: Handled institutional financial planning, multi-year forecasting, budgeting, and corporate liquidity tracking. Managed business development, bid management, and RFP responses for global financial institutions and institutional clients.
• Risk Metrics & Modeling: Engineered Early Warning Signal (EWS) frameworks and credit scoring models from scratch to catch asset quality deterioration early.
• Structured Finance & Debt Structures: Warehouse credit facilities, asset-backed revolvers, and public/private bond placements. Underwrote CRE, residential, multifamily, hospitality, and mREIT portfolios. Evaluated agency/non-agency MBS and high-yield loan issuances

If your team is hiring, or if you are building a platform and need someone with similar experience, please send me a DM or leave a comment so we can connect.

Hi,

I come from a Financial Sponsors and FIG investment banking background, specializing in institutional private credit, specialty finance, and asset-backed finance (ABF).

My background:

• Sponsors, FIG, & ABF: Executed transactions and managed mid-market and institutional portfolios across ABF, BDC structures, NBFIs, mREITs, Specialty Finance, and bank counterparties.
• Asset-Level Tape Analysis: Deep due diligence on raw consumer retail, student loan, and multifamily/hospitality portfolios. Analysing loan tape , evalating FICO distributions, geographic concentration, and weighted average coupons (WAC).
• Underwriting & Deal Structuring: Built independent 3-statement corporate models, LBO models, and asset-level sensitivity tools tracking prepayment speeds, macroeconomic pressures, and EBITDA add-backs. Authored final Investment Committee (IC) memos from scratch.
• Actively managed portfolio risk during the 2023 regional banking crisis and recent Office CRE downturn. Designed stress-test screens, modeled stock prices, and calculated collateral headroom break-points, maturity walls, and recovery scenarios to reduce unsecured and collateralized exposure on distressed bank portfolios. 
• Portfolio Risk Management: Monitored early-stage credit migration and underlying asset quality. Used covenant headroom analysis to implement structural pivots to protect principal and prepared screens for derivatives trading documents (ISDA/CSA/MSFTA/MRAs).
• Corporate Finance & Growth: Handled institutional financial planning, multi-year forecasting, budgeting, and corporate liquidity tracking. Managed business development, bid management, and RFP responses for global financial institutions and institutional clients.
• Risk Metrics & Modeling: Engineered Early Warning Signal (EWS) frameworks and credit scoring models from scratch to catch asset quality deterioration early.
• Structured Finance & Debt Structures: Warehouse credit facilities, asset-backed revolvers, and public/private bond placements. Underwrote CRE, residential, multifamily, hospitality, and mREIT portfolios. Evaluated agency/non-agency MBS and high-yield loan issuances

If your team is hiring, or if you are building a platform and need someone with similar experience, please send me a DM or leave a comment so we can connect.

Looking to hear from people in banking, capital markets, private credit, lending, risk, or similar finance roles who were laid off while on H-1B.
How did you navigate the 60-day grace period? Did you find another employer, change status, or enroll in a university? If you pursued F-1, which schools did you consider and what influenced your decision?
Any lessons learned or things you wish you’d known would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’m researching Change of Status from H-1B to F-1 and would appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through it.

Specifically:

* Which attorney did you use?any RFE?
* What documents did USCIS ask for?
* How long did the process take?
* If you later got another H-1B job, how did that transition work?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was recently impacted in a layoff in the U.S. after working in a BB financial institution.
I’m currently on H-1B and actively looking for my next opportunity while navigating the immigration timeline.
I wanted to ask those who’ve been through something similar:
Besides applying online, what actually worked for finding interviews?
Which recruiters or recruiting firms specialize in IB/ finance, or risk?
Are contract or temporary finance roles worth pursuing?
Are there industries outside investment banking that value this experience?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated aside to packup. Please.

I was recently impacted in a layoff in the U.S. after working in a BB financial institution.
I’m currently on H-1B and actively looking for my next opportunity while navigating the immigration timeline.
I wanted to ask those who’ve been through something similar:
Besides applying online, what actually worked for finding interviews?
Which recruiters or recruiting firms specialize in IB/ finance, or risk?
Are contract or temporary finance roles worth pursuing?
Are there industries outside investment banking that value this experience?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated aside to packup. Please.

I got impacted today and I have my three years of H1B and I don’t know what to do. I just it was such a shock and I’m still wrapping my head. I don’t think finding a job will be fruitful within grace period. What do you suggest if I already have a masters so and my three years of H1B still pending? I have a few questions:

If you changed from H-1B to F-1 after a layoff, which school did you choose?

Which affordable universities accepted you quickly?

Did you file the I-539 yourself or use an immigration attorney?

Which immigration lawyers do you recommend for H-1B → F-1 cases?

Did anyone use a "bridge" strategy because their school start date was after the H-1B grace period?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through this recently.
I understand my 60-day H-1B grace period has likely already started.

I'm trying to remain in the U.S. legally by changing to F-1 status.

3 years on H-1B working in finance/data analytics

PERM has been filed (priority date established)

I already have about $30k in student loans, so affordability is my biggest concern.

I'm looking for a master's that:

Costs around $15k–20k per year (or less if possible)

Is still accepting international students for Fall 2026

Is related to finance, financial risk management, business analytics, operations research, economics, or quantitative business (not necessarily computer science)

Ideally has a PhD pathway later.

Unfortunately I got impacted today and I have my three years of H1B and I don’t know what to do. I just it was such a shock and I’m still wrapping my head. I don’t think finding a job will be fruitful within grace period. What do you suggest if I already have a masters so and my three years of H1B still pending? I have a few questions:

If you changed from H-1B to F-1 after a layoff, which school did you choose?

Which affordable universities accepted you quickly?

Did you file the I-539 yourself or use an immigration attorney?

Which immigration lawyers do you recommend for H-1B → F-1 cases?

Did anyone use a "bridge" strategy because their school start date was after the H-1B grace period?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through this recently.
I understand my 60-day H-1B grace period has likely already started.

I'm trying to remain in the U.S. legally by changing to F-1 status.

3 years on H-1B working in finance/data analytics

PERM has been filed (priority date established)

I already have about $30k in student loans, so affordability is my biggest concern.

I'm looking for a master's that:

Costs around $15k–20k per year (or less if possible)

Is still accepting international students for Fall 2026

Is related to finance, financial risk management, business analytics, operations research, economics, or quantitative business (not necessarily computer science)

Ideally has a PhD pathway later.