you’re right, of course. I was just fishing for info to see how bright the future is in regards to this career path.
My friends are not losers though. I don’t know what the proper comp package is for a good performer, but they’re all hard working and bright individuals who give it their all. But thanks anyways for the encouragement. Have fun with your millions, imagined or otherwise.
But you see that’s the funny thing. Or maybe not funny, but it’s still a thing. In IB people aren’t hired because they’re smart. I mean sure they might be or appear smart, but to get in the door going to the right college or fitting the mold is more important, IMO. In Houston, that means going to UT or A&M, and has a pretty high correlation to being a dopey looking white male.
I’ve dealt with IB guys as clients for the past 3-4 years. Directors and MDs are sharp as a tack. They have to be to deal with clients and they got there because they were the best of the large intake class. The job of an analyst is to grind out excel spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations. Some of them are smart, most aren’t, they’re just trying to figure out the easiest way to get done what their boss told them to do. They’re paid decent sums of money for what is entry level work because they work insane hours. One of my friends that’s in energy IB here, the only free time he knows he has is before 9 am each day for breakfast. Office every day until 9-10, Saturdays are usually in the office, and Sundays are spent cleaning up crap from the week that just ended. Good luck having a vacation or a life, but if all you care is that upward trajectory and absolute $$, then go for it.
I did some IB interviews last year but just didn’t bite when push came to shove. I interviewed with one of the top energy IB teams in Houston but they wanted to bring me in as an analyst despite having 3.5 yrs of experience and my CFA finished. I wasn’t interested. I’ll gross 6 figures (granted those 6 figures start with a 1) this year working 35-40 hrs a week and having 5 weeks of vacation. I’m not interested in grinding out 90 hr weeks every week except Christmas vacation. Yet conversely an ex-coworker of mine left a couple years ago to go do his MBA. He’s far from the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s a white guy who went to A&M and has an amazingly good head of hair. He’s joining that IB team I interviewed with as an Associate, and I ran circles around him when we worked together.
the tl;dr version of this is OP, you’re in college. You can read and believe all the WSO you want but things are different when you get into the real world, start interviewing, and your priorities may change. I mean you may not even get a full time offer for either IB or ER. Most people who apply for those jobs probably don’t even get interviews. And they probably all think they’re special too. You’re probably going to ignore my whole post anyway, but I’m also curious what some of the other people think.
Not to offend anyone in here but people who study finance in their undergrad are distorted anyway. 99% of them think they’ll be the next warren buffet or Lloyd Blankfein.They keep following stupid news about these hot shots making bank on wall street. If I have learned anything from my previous line of work (much more competitive than IBanking FYI ) is that being humble and always learning from your mistakes and having a knack for learning is what will get you ahead. Unfortunately, with the materialistic nature of finance as a major little is done to improve these aspects ,however in STEM majors people learn to be humble and learn due to the sheer difficulty of the material involved.Most STEM majors have to actually learn stuff and be open to new ideas which is essential for any kind of career.
I haven’t ignored it. I understand what you’re saying and to be honest it’s hard for it to register when everyone around you is a hotshot finance guy gunning for the same career choice as you.
As a life sciences major I definitely wouldn’t say that STEM fields are devoid of their share of uppity young students either. Many of the aspiring doctors I know are pretty arrogant when it comes to class work and are also in it for the money. When everyone is so money-focused and intent on earning enough to shower their aging parents and siblings with the luxuries that wealth can bring, it’s impossible to not give some focus on the all mighty dollar. I’m only a rising sophomore and people are already talking about how IBers make this much, ER guys make this much, traders make that much, doctors get this much, etc. etc. etc. My older classmates with FO offers are even starting to claim they plan on retiring on 50, 60, 70, 100 million and more.
But I do see your point. A career is a journey and no one starts off an expert. It’s best to make mistakes and learn as much as you can along the way while keeping your ego and optimism in check.
Thanks for the words and your advice. I’ll enjoy the ride and see what life has to offer.
No offense taken. I guess I came off as kind of a dick in the beginning.
Thanks for your input though.
planning to do something is not really much of an accomplishment, anyone here can plan to retire with 100 million or for that matter 100 trillion dollars, it’s not like it’s connected to reality.
also the only people that are impressed by how much you are going to make are other people that are trying to use money as a way to impress people. It’s not even really comparable, if you want to live on a few acres of land then it doesn’t matter how much that NYC job pays, you are going to be poorer, in terms of what you want, then someone who works at a big 4 in a more rural area.
edit-double post
Thats just puffery, of course they think that before they are in the field. Nothing wrong with it, just silly. The whole idea of “you keep moving up” is flawed, as there are only so many levels and each time people get weeded out. usually you either cap out at a certain level or leave the industry and take an easier job.
You’re a sophomore in college and this is the crap you’re worrying about?
Doing it so, so wrong.
^ agreed reality haymaker on the way…
Well Idk. I mean you’ve never folded under peer pressure and fallen to group-think? In my group of friends this is the crap they talk about.
If I hang out with the finance guys from my Econ major, they talk about IB and ER and the money they’ll make.
If I hang out with my aspiring doctor friends from my Bio major, they talk about how they’ll be going off to Harvard in a couple of years and they’re retirement funds.
Both groups are arrogant, bright, and some are well-connected.
The entire time I’m sitting there with my thumb up my ass trying to figure out a way to just compete with them. I mean my grades are fine and I’ve got EC’s, but it’s just nerve-wracking to think all of this stuff will happen in less than 3 years.
So yeah I’m a bit worried and scared I’ll get left behind.
Sounds like you hang out with a bunch of dbags. You might be better off getting “left behind”. Money (or projecting lifetime earnings) isn’t everything.
Your older classmates are all planning to retire with 100 million?? LOL sounds like a bunch of dbags. Unless they are already wealthy, less than 1 in 10,000 will make that.
Lol. I mean I make it sound as if they’re all a bunch of selfish bastards. Don’t get me wrong. I mean they’re all arrogant and think pretty highly of themselves. But I guess they have a right to be cocky: A few of them are juniors with internships at Bulge Brackets.
But overall they’ve treated me fairly. I just wonder what they’ll say if I’m not as successful as them, you know?
No need to worry… We’ll be there and waiting to crush their spirits.
I can’t wait till they get into the real world. They’ll be smacked down right fast. Trying to act like a big shot just screams out “I’m a colossal asshat”. And seriously they are just interns?? LOL
thats crazy you getting trolled for 2 pages already
I don’t know why I’m wasting keyboard strokes typing yet another reply but here I am. First off, they have no right to be cocky. They just are. And who gives a shit what they say? Once you’re out of college you’ll realize that what they think of you and vice versa means very little, if anything at all.
For what’s its worth here’s an article that compares ER and IB http://www.corporatefinanceinstitute.com/equity-research-investment-banking a lot of it comes down to personality, not just how much you want to earn… senior bankers have to be exceptional sales people, while ER not nearly as much… they don’t have to fight to win deals, but they do have to pump out a massive amount of analysis event at senior level (they can’t delegate the analysis down the same way bankers do).