Yet, when I left my abusive ex-husband -- an Ivy League Wall Street trader who kept three loaded guns in our house -- I had no one to accompany me to family court to get my temporary restraining order made permanent, and no one to help me begin divorce proceedings.

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Day traders are as likely now to be exchange-floor veterans, career-switching professionals or Ivy Leaguers cutting their teeth on Wall Street.

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And there sat Whitney Johnson, a secretary on Wall Street with few connections, no Ivy League pedigree, and, low on confidence, watching the guys making and breaking the rules of the game.

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While Ivy League universities continue to churn out a steady stream of finance professionals, Wall Street is no longer the beacon of high pay and innovation it once was, thanks in part to a raft of new regulations, including those that curb compensation.

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