A lot of Wall Street professionals if not all will have to cope with the changing landscape of their compensatory structures, shrinking bonuses and salaries, that is if they are still able to hold on to their jobs. Hopefully most of them have saved up enough with their high earnings to tide over this adversity.

Many of these professionals who suddenly see 30, 40 even 60% of their income getting slashed (for the lucky ones) and those that are left jobless, HAVE to RE-CALIBRATE and RE-CALIBRATE fast!!. This is not going to be just another job hunt. An entire profession, industry of investment banking is getting wiped before our very eyes. Those who are lucky enough to get absorbed by one of the remaining big banks will see steep declines in their bonus amounts. One of few options I have seen is people moving to other countries such as UAE Dubai, China and even Russia and Latin America to stay with the profession, but if you are an investment banker reading this today and you do want to stay put, READ THE WRITING ON THE WALL. Unless you have very deep pockets and indeed saved up enough for being close to retirement, this is not the time to be trying to push your luck by delaying making some serious changes to your lifestyle and spending budget.

It may be hard to give up the social status and let go of certain mindsets, but this is also a test of your skills in adaptability. Re-calibrate your mind and expectations about your earning potential in the next 2-3 years, be extra conservative and keep in mind that you may have to change your lifestyle around quite a bit. Get prepared mentally first, and then tackle your challenges. You may get lucky with a Corporate finance job or a business opportunity or getting a position with one of the big Management consulting firms without having to wait too long, but consider that as your BEST case scenario and that too only if you have something in the works already. Be prepared for the worst however.

The hardest thing you may have to swallow is getting out of a house or apartment condo which has very high monthly mortgage payments in a market where house prices have fallen drastically. But act fast accepting the fact that this is a time for losses. Cut it as short and quick as you can and get to the next slate of your new career or venture on a RE-CALIBRATED footing.