Jade O'Brien: stock broker to teacher, reflections on finance and education, women in finance

Ben Yeoh Chats

Jade O’Brien was a stock broker (equity sales) for over 7 years. She then retrained as a teacher and has taught in both the state sector and the private sector in the UK.

Jade used to pitch me stock ideas and speak about the investment world. I was very curious on why she decided to change careers to become a teacher.

We chat about what drove Jade to the world of finance. What she viewed as the pros and cons, and what it is like as a woman in a male dominated world and advice she has.

Jade outlines her experience of finance which has many positives as well as challenges, and what might have changed over the decade.

(Ben) So what would you say to women wanting to make it in the city or in financial services?

Do it. Give it a go. I mean, I'm speaking for myself here and I have read that the imposter syndrome feeling is very common within women in finance. But then again, I think, well maybe that imposter syndrome is for everyone in finance but men can hide it better. So I would say do it. Everybody feels insecure and doesn't really know what's going on at times. To have the confidence to go for it and also to not necessarily feel like you need to follow my path of giving up finance and becoming a teacher. I don't think that's something you need to do if you are genuinely interested in finance and you want to get to the top. I think it's definitely possible.

We discuss the factors that made Jade change her jobs. How we might think about death and how she found teacher training.

We chat on how we might “value” teaching and why it’s hard to rate teachers. Why some people ask for more homework, and others ask for less homework and how both views can have merit.

We address:

• The importance of mentors
• the funding situation in UK state supported schools
• A glimpse of teacher training
• Differences between state and private schools in the UK
• Why she thinks teacher quality in both state and private settings are similar
• Why teaching class can feel private
• Views on SEN (special education) policy
• Streaming (where it might work, where it might fail and why she changed her mind)
• What Jade’s perfect class size is, and why
• Her views on uniforms
• School start times
• School food
• Exercise
• The importance of gratitude

This was an amazing long form conversation addressing many of the debates within education today.

Transcript and Video available here: https://www.thendobetter.com/arts/2023/2/2/jade-obrien-from-stockbroker-to-teacher-being-a-woman-in-finance-schools-and-teaching-podcast