Posted On: July 16, 2009, 2:51 pm CDT

Posted By: Second Generation

To "A Casualty of Excess",

I take offense to your "lessons". As a woman with a "daddy" in the industry, I had quite the opposite experience at the first company I worked for. I got my start as a broker for a company where yes, my father was a client. (I did not even want to interview there due to the family connection but they had an amazing training program that I could not pass up.) I felt like I had to work twice as hard as everyone else just to be taken seriously. My hard work was recognized by supporting team members in various offices across the country as well as with the clients I worked with. Internally, with my direct supervisors, however, was a completely different story. It went from bad to worse when the Sr. Exec on my dad's account left for a competitor. My bosses just assumed I would go with him so I could ride my father's coat tails and they treated me as such. Eventually, my lack of respect for the remainder of the senior management proved to be too much and I left the company. And I got the last laugh when I did. Despite their predictions, I accepted an underwriting position, not some cushy job with a competitor.

In the end I owe my father a lot for where I am today, but not because he gave me a free ride like you incorrectly assume all of us second generation professionals get. I found my niche while trying to get away from being associated with him and I could not be happier with my decision. Today, I am taken seriously, recognized for my hard work and I have some amazing mentors that I know I will be learning a lot from over the years. I also still have a working relationship with several of my former clients, albeit in a different capacity...I now hold the pen!!!

As for those individuals that doubted my commitment to this industry, they all now work for that competitor that I was allegedly supposed to end up at. How ironic...