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Wall Street Oasis » Blogs » atmosphere's blog
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From Dentistry to Investment Banking
 

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atmosphere's picture
atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 12/8/12 at 8:00pm
kid

Ever since I could remember, I’ve wanted to become a dental surgeon. Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, and Calculus were all my strongest subjects. I was one of those kids who studied half as much as others, but still got one of the highest grades in the class. For as long as I could remember I’ve had an incredible memory that borders pictographic memory. I read a long time ago that supposedly no one has complete pictographic memory, which I agree with. Regardless, I’ve been blessed with an above average memory which has saved me throughout my school years.

Fast forward to senior year, and I’ve received admissions offers from the 9 colleges I’ve applied to. I rather keep my identity a secret, but I went to a target school, which was subsequently my number one choice. During my college years, my mind was set on dentistry. Looking back, I have no idea why. I think I eliminated being a medical doctor because I didn’t want to get a random phone call at 2:00am for an emergency operation, and I didn’t want to be a pharmacist because most of my female friends were doing that and I wanted to one up them. Optometrist? Hell no. Male nurse? Good one. Dentistry fit the mold because it allowed me to 1.) Set up my own hours, 2.) Take vacations as needed without guilt, and 3.) Make bank sitting in a chair and basically chill all day. We’re talking about the most relaxing health occupation with a respectable pay, upwards of $100K per year, easily.

I went through it all. I took all the science classes, which were a pain in the ass, and attended 7pm labs. While my friends were out partying, I was stuck studying for multiple exams that just happened to be one after another, almost every week. Being a science major was no joke, and seriously required some depressing sacrifices and late night suicidal thoughts.

Then I took the DAT (official dental exam). I studied intensively for 3 months. My goal wasn’t just to get a good score, no…I wanted to fucking destroy that test. I got a 29AA, which translates to the top 0.1% of test takers (30AA = perfect score). I was on top of the world. I received offers from basically everywhere, including full rides to some of the best dental universities in the world.

Then something incredible happened. I did not want to go. I’ve never seen my parents so mad in my entire life. They called me an idiot and basically every other blasphemous word you can think of. Even my friends were confused. “Why aren’t you going to dental school?!”…”Are you dumb??” were the most popular responses I got.

What happened? I just wasted my entire college career and threw 4 years out the drain. Why did I change my mind, when I had a 99.9% guaranteed, secure future set in stone?

These are the 5 reasons why:

1. Security = Predictability = ?

Security represented a predictable path, which I absolutely loathed. I don’t know about you, but completely understanding my future and knowing what would happen drained the adventurous vibe from it. I’m a risk taker and I thrive off the unknown. After dental school, I would undergo residency, then open up my own practice, then continue until I retire. Sure, I’d be secure and never have to worry about money, but when I weighed the pros and cons – I chose happiness and excitement, rather than the boredom from security.

2. Alpha dogs must have competition!

Dentistry is not competitive! In fact, dentistry looks like child’s game compared with banking. You can open up or even share an office space with another joint dental practice and you’re essentially set. Health is recession proof and very stable. But deep inside, I want competition. I live off of competition. If I’m competing against others to be the best then something is missing. In dentistry the only bragging rights you can have are a better office, regular clientele, and the ability to fix teeth better. What the hell? Just thinking about that made me feel very depressed. I wanted to be the best deal maker; fight for more clients based on my personality, skills, and connections; and most of all, be part of an industry that’s going for the championship. Dentistry symbolized Little League….I wanted to be part of the World Series.

3. All eyes on you

Have you ever heard of a big time dentist? That’s what I thought. I’m not saying that I want to appear on the front page of the Wall Street Journal or be interviewed on CNN or MSNBC, but the prospect that you could be recognized for what you are doing had something to do with it. I like performing on the big stage and being clutch. Michael Jordan always did better in important playoff games when it mattered because he had the clutch gene and had something to prove…that he was the best. I wanted to feel big. Not like Jay-Z big, but I wanted to feel like a prominent person and feel that I deserved it because of the hard work that it took to get there.

4. Money makes the world go round.

If you got paid $30K a year to be in investment banking, would you still do it? Probably not. Most dentists reach their salary peak at around $200-250K, depending on how good you actually are. This is also assuming that you specialize…so most won’t ever reach that type of figure. I love the fact that banking, and finance in general, truly has an unlimited potential. It’s a twisted mixture of luck, skill, and timing. It’s almost like a professional poker player who enters the World Series of Poker. Chances are he won’t win, but he’ll be at the final table 9 times out of 10. I like the thrill of gambling with deals and being part of a market that not only welcomes skilled players, but also ruthlessly smashes you if you had a bad day. All dentists make around the same type of money based on years in practice, but bankers are truly defined by their ability to win. Bring it on.

5. The Managing Director I met changed my life.

I can’t state this enough. After college, I realized that I had no investment banking internships, let alone any financial internships at all. No bulge bracket would take me in. I didn’t even bother submitting my application to Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and all the other big dogs because they would just laugh and wipe their asses with it. I chose a different route. I completely hustled by connecting with my alumni database and asking around. I got in touch with one of them and we connected. He was very hesitant because he didn’t understand why I would leave dentistry and randomly go into investment banking at such a late-stage in my life.

Well, I gave him a deal that he couldn’t refuse. I offered to work for free for one month and then he could either kick me out or keep me, no questions asked. Let me tell you, this month of unpaid internship, or slavery, was brutal. He really tested me to see how badly I wanted it. At one point, I almost broke down and called it quits. But I had to make it through, because my pride was way too inflated to beat down. After the month, he called me into his office.

He handed me a yellow sticky note.

“2000”

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Stop eating McDonald’s and also go buy yourself some new dress shirts,” he said.

Turns out, it was the payment for my month of working roughly 80 hour weeks, for one month, unpaid. Well now, it was paid!

“Oh and one more thing…welcome to the team. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

I shook his hand, said “thanks” and walked out. The type of bliss you feel from achieving true success from painstaking hard work is very hard to describe. Once you reach that plateau, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. It's a natural high that makes everything seem perfect, for a brief amount...maybe minutes, maybe hours. Simply put, I was happy beyond all measure.

Today, I’m still working harder than ever in a middle market investment firm and learning as much as I can from the MD and the rest of the firm, who gave me a chance.

I hope those of you on the borderline of a career change are as sure as I was when I made the 180 degree turn from dentistry to banking. My advice is to weigh the pros and cons...imagine who you want to be, but more importantly what type of person you want to be 10 years down the road. That should help make your decision a little easier. It’ll be the toughest decision of your life, but as one saying goes, “the hardest part is the beginning.”

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Comments

DM123's picture

amazing story. well written.

DM123
      CF
 
(Baboon, 132
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 3:01pm

amazing story. well written.

See my other WSO blog posts

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holla_back's picture

OP -- you should become an

holla_back
      O
 
(King Kong, 1,194
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 3:05pm

OP -- you should become an orthodontist.

My old orthodontist is one of the most balling people I've ever known. He makes his own easy schedule, goes on vacation all the time, doesn't have to deal with emergency dental work, and makes a pretty ridiculous amount of money.

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In reply to holla_back
Heist's picture

holla_back: OP -- you should

Heist
      CO
 
(Baboon, 138
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 3:09pm
holla_back:

OP -- you should become an orthodontist.

My old orthodontist is one of the most balling people I've ever known. He makes his own easy schedule, goes on vacation all the time, doesn't have to deal with emergency dental work, and makes a pretty ridiculous amount of money.

I'll second that. Mine had tons of clients @ $5000 a pop plus incidentals and was away from the office half the time counting his money. A pretty genuine guy overall too.

Thank you for the story. I'm currently studying what I love (I think) and am in for the ride, whatever that may entail.

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Asatar's picture

Excellent read.

Asatar
      O
 
 
(Neanderthal, 2,113
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 3:29pm

Excellent read.

See my other WSO blog posts>

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atmosphere's picture

Thanks for the feedback.

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 3:33pm

Thanks for the feedback. Cheers DM123!

My uncle is actually an orthodontist. Without a doubt they make tons of money and have a very flexible and ideal lifestyle. However, I think I just wanted to transition out of the health industry and focus more on finance. I'm a mover and want to meet more people and explore..rather than explore their mouth. I'm loving what I do right now and don't regret it at all. Can't wait to look forward to what my future entails.

Good luck with your progress Heist...as long as you love what you do, you will go very very far.

See my other WSO Blog posts

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ivoteforthatguy's picture

you are getting into finance

ivoteforthatguy
      O
 
(Neanderthal, 2,210
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:01pm

you are getting into finance at a very shitty time though. so it looks like you didn't do your homework on the dental life, and you've not done your homework on the finance life either.

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Waymon3x6's picture

Awesome story, SB for you

Waymon3x6
      IB
 
(Senior Orangutan, 414
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:03pm

Awesome story, SB for you

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Tommy Too-toned's picture

you sound like a very humble

Tommy Too-toned
     
 
(Gorilla, 509
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:21pm

you sound like a very humble guy. keep truckin' there squirt

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Yekrut's picture

Great story and great read!

Yekrut
     
 
(Baboon, 107
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:24pm

Great story and great read! I've had a similar 180 degree switch situation. I was on track to get my PhD in Biochemistry but decided to call it quit's at the Master's level and try breaking in to consulting. So far I'm still on the grind, and your story has re-ignited my desire to get what I want and work hard to get there.

SB for you if I had one!

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CaR's picture

This was the best post I've

CaR
      O
 
 
(Gorilla, 687
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:27pm

This was the best post I've seen on this site in quite some time--wish I had a SB for you.

My dad was in the same boat. Top percent on his MCAT, then realized he didn't want to spend another minute studying medicine or biology. Does commercial litigation now, funny how that works.

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CaR's picture

Also, the picture for this

CaR
      O
 
 
(Gorilla, 687
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:28pm

Also, the picture for this thread is hilarious

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AndyLouis's picture

I wonder if there is a

AndyLouis
     
 
 
(Almost Human, 6,122
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:28pm

I wonder if there is a dentistoasis.com site out there with a post called "from investment banking to dentistry"...

WSO's COO (Chief Operating Orangutan) | My story | Connect with me on Linkedin.

2013 WSO Conference

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Drewbles's picture

Thanks for sharing your

Drewbles
      CF
 
(Senior Chimp, 22
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:38pm

Thanks for sharing your story. Way to make the most of your opportunity!! Keep up the good work.

CPA/investor/bballer

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asiamoney's picture

Awesome story, thanks for

asiamoney
     
 
(King Kong, 1,122
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:39pm

Awesome story, thanks for sharing.

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athcasi's picture

Great story. I'm not

athcasi
     
 
(Senior Chimp, 16
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:45pm

Great story. I'm not surprised at all by your success though; you're clearly incredibly intelligent and hard working. That combo never goes out of style.

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hopesanddreams's picture

After reading this I think I

hopesanddreams
     
 
(Orangutan, 330
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:52pm
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Imperialian's picture

when u get laid off by UBS,

Imperialian
      ST
 
(Baboon, 173
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 4:59pm
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BTbanker's picture

Holy shit. An actual good

BTbanker
      IB
 
(Senior Neanderthal, 5,340
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:03pm

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

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In reply to Imperialian
BTbanker's picture

Imperialian: when u get laid

BTbanker
      IB
 
(Senior Neanderthal, 5,340
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:05pm

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

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bananaman123's picture

Thanks for sharing

bananaman123
     
 
(Chimp, 15
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:08pm
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SanityCheck's picture

Great post and I wish you the

SanityCheck
      PE
 
 
(Gorilla, 651
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:08pm

See my WSO Blog

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BiotechBanker's picture

"Dentistry is not

BiotechBanker
     
 
(Monkey, 51
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:12pm

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever."

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mergersandacquisitions78's picture

Such short term perspectives

mergersandacqui...
     
 
(Monkey, 43
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:17pm
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Onetwobit's picture

Sounds like you've had it

Onetwobit
      CF
 
(Orangutan, 256
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:27pm
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John_McClane's picture

There is someone who went

John_McClane
      AM
 
(Monkey, 54
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 5:51pm
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In reply to BTbanker
AndyLouis's picture

BTbanker: Holy shit. An

AndyLouis
     
 
 
(Almost Human, 6,122
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 6:03pm

WSO's COO (Chief Operating Orangutan) | My story | Connect with me on Linkedin.

2013 WSO Conference

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In reply to AndyLouis
BTbanker's picture

AndyLouis: BTbanker: Holy

BTbanker
      IB
 
(Senior Neanderthal, 5,340
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 6:19pm

"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan

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In reply to Imperialian
Black Jack's picture

Imperialian: when u get laid

Black Jack
      IB
 
(King Kong, 1,180
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 6:42pm
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In reply to SanityCheck
atmosphere's picture

SanityCheck: Great post and I

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 7:04pm

See my other WSO Blog posts

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snakeplissken's picture

plus women don't wanna say "i

snakeplissken
      CF
 
 
(Orangutan, 339
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 7:15pm

Remember, once you're inside you're on your own.
Oh, you mean I can't count on you?
No.
Good!

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In reply to snakeplissken
atmosphere's picture

snakeplissken: plus women

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 7:26pm

See my other WSO Blog posts

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Going Concern's picture

The short story about the

Going Concern
     
 
 
(King Kong, 1,872
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 8:19pm

You have to play the game to find out why you're playing the game.

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In reply to Going Concern
atmosphere's picture

Going Concern: The short

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 9:15pm

See my other WSO Blog posts

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In reply to atmosphere
snakeplissken's picture

atmosphere: snakeplissken:

snakeplissken
      CF
 
 
(Orangutan, 339
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 9:28pm

Remember, once you're inside you're on your own.
Oh, you mean I can't count on you?
No.
Good!

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In reply to snakeplissken
atmosphere's picture

snakeplissken: atmosphere:

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 10:11pm

See my other WSO Blog posts

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In reply to atmosphere
snakeplissken's picture

atmosphere: snakeplissken:

snakeplissken
      CF
 
 
(Orangutan, 339
 
Points)
 on 11/16/12 at 10:30pm

Remember, once you're inside you're on your own.
Oh, you mean I can't count on you?
No.
Good!

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Win's picture

Absolutely loved your post.

Win
     
 
(Monkey, 40
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 3:49am
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madmoney15's picture

Well written. But I tend to

madmoney15
     
 
(Orangutan, 366
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 4:28am

See my WSO Blog

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In reply to madmoney15
atmosphere's picture

madmoney15: Well written. But

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 4:51am

See my other WSO Blog posts

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kshu's picture

Career switch not unseen. See

kshu
     
 
(Senior Chimp, 16
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 5:18am

When utility becomes concave
and outliers cease to be brave,
think of the CAPM twist:
that return grows as does risk.

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ParksAndRec's picture

Great story. Thanks for

ParksAndRec
      IB
 
(Senior Chimp, 20
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 12:24pm
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RunFarther's picture

Love the post atmosphere as I

RunFarther
     
 
(Chimp, 4
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 1:00pm
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In reply to ptnguye8
atmosphere's picture

ptnguye8: Love the post

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 1:24pm

See my other WSO Blog posts

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sandsurfngbomber's picture

+1 dawg Going from a neurobio

sandsurfngbomber
      IB
 
(Senior Baboon, 180
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 6:48pm
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In reply to atmosphere
madmoney15's picture

atmosphere: Definitely agree

madmoney15
     
 
(Orangutan, 366
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 10:36pm

See my WSO Blog

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In reply to madmoney15
atmosphere's picture

madmoney15: atmosphere:

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 10:44pm

See my other WSO Blog posts

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Febreeze's picture

Billy Beane joined MLB for

Febreeze
     
 
(King Kong, 1,158
 
Points)
 on 11/18/12 at 4:48pm
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StrongMan's picture

You do realize you could have

StrongMan
      VC
 
(Baboon, 143
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 1:38am

It is not about the title that you have, it is about how much money that you have.

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In reply to StrongMan
atmosphere's picture

StrongMan: You do realize you

atmosphere
      IB
 
(Baboon, 152
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 2:07am

See my other WSO Blog posts

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expenseaccounts's picture

So let me get this

expenseaccounts
     
 
(Baboon, 102
 
Points)
 on 11/19/12 at 10:10am
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The Company authorizes you to view and download a single copy of the material on www.WallStreetOasis.com (the "Web Site") solely for your personal, noncommercial use. By using the Web Site you are giving the Company the sole right to use any and all content you generate or publish on the site for commercial, non-commercial or promotional purposes. This includes any and all forum posts, comments, blog posts or any other material you generate on the Web Site.

The contents of this Web Site, such as text, graphics, images, logos, button icons, software and other items (collectively, "Material"), are protected under both United States and foreign copyright, trademark and other laws. All Material is the property of the Company or its content suppliers or clients. The compilation (meaning the collection, arrangement and assembly) of all content on this Web Site is the exclusive property of the Company and protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. Unauthorized use of the Material may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. You must retain all copyright, trademark, service-mark and other proprietary notices contained in the original Material on any copy you make of the Material. You may not sell or modify the Material or reproduce, display, publicly perform, distribute, or otherwise use the Material in any way for any public or commercial purpose. The use of the Material on any other web site or in a networked computer environment for any purpose is prohibited.

You shall not copy or adapt the HTML code that the Company creates to generate its pages. It is also protected by the Company?s copyright.

Acceptable Site Use.

General Rules: Users may not use the Web Site in order to transmit, distribute, store or destroy material (a) in violation of any applicable law or regulation, (b) in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of others or violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others, or (c) that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, abusive or hateful.

Web Site Security Rules. Users are prohibited from violating or attempting to violate the security of the Web Site, including, without limitation, (a) accessing data not intended for such user or logging into a server or account which the user is not authorized to access, (b) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization, (c) attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, via means of submitting a virus to the Web Site, overloading, "flooding", "spamming", "mailbombing" or "crashing", (d) sending unsolicited e-mail, including promotions and/or advertising of products or services, or (e) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. The Company will investigate occurrences which may involve such violations and may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who are involved in such violations.

Specific Prohibited Uses.

The Company specifically prohibits any use of the Web Site, and all users agree not to use the Web Site, for any of the following:

  • Posting any incomplete, false or inaccurate biographical information or information which is not your own accurate resume
  • Using any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of this Web Site or any activity being conducted on this site.
  • Taking any action which imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on this Web Site?s infrastructure.
  • If you have a password allowing access to a non-public area of this Web Site, disclosing to or sharing your password with any third parties or using your password for any unauthorized purpose.
  • Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, using or attempting to use any engine, software, tool, agent or other device or mechanism (including without limitation browsers, spiders, robots, avatars or intelligent agents) to navigate or search this Web Site other than the search engine and search agents available from the Company on this Web Site and other than generally available third party web browsers (e.g., Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Explorer).
  • Attempting to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Web Site.
  • Aggregating, copying or duplicating in any manner any of the materials or information available from the Web Site.
  • Framing of or linking to any of the materials or information available from the Web Site.

User Information.

When you register for the Web Site, you will be asked to provide the Company with certain information including, without limitation, a valid email address (your "Information"). In addition to the terms and conditions that may be set forth in any privacy policy on this Web Site, you understand and agree that the Company may disclose to third parties, on an anonymous basis, certain aggregate information contained in your registration application. The Company reserves the right to offer third party services and products to you based on the preferences that you identify in your registration and at any time thereafter; such offers may be made by the Company or by third parties. Please see the Company's Privacy Policy below for further details regarding your Information.

Registration and Password.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your information and password. You shall be responsible for all uses of your registration, whether or not authorized by you. You agree to immediately notify the Company of any unauthorized use of your registration or password.

The Company's Liability.

As a condition to your use of this site, you release the Company (and our agents and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential, direct and indirect) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code d1542, which says: "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor."

We are under no legal obligation to, and generally do not, control the information provided by other users which is made available through the Web Site. By its very nature, other people?s information may be offensive, harmful or inaccurate, and in some cases will be mislabeled or deceptively labeled. We expect that you will use caution and common sense when using this Web Site.

The Material may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors. The Company makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the Web Site or the Material. The use of the Web Site and the Material is at your own risk. Changes are periodically made to the Web Site and may be made at any time.

You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for the content and accuracy of any resume or material contained therein placed by you on the Web Site and you agree to let any users that are identified as recruiters (designated in the sole discretion of the Company) to have access to your resume.

The Company is not to be considered to be an employer with respect to your use of the Web Site and the Company shall not be responsible for any employment decisions, for whatever reason made, made by any entity posting jobs on the Web Site.

THE COMPANY DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEB SITE WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR THAT THE WEB SITE AND ITS SERVER ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL MECHANISMS. IF YOUR USE OF THE WEB SITE OR THE MATERIAL RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, THE COMPANY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS.

THE WEB SITE AND MATERIAL ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. THE COMPANY, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE COMPANY MAKES NO WARRANTIES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, OR TIMELINESS OF THE MATERIAL, SERVICES, SOFTWARE, TEXT, GRAPHICS, AND LINKS.

Disclaimer of Consequential Damages.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COMPANY, ITS SUPPLIERS, OR ANY THIRD PARTIES MENTIONED ON THE WEB SITE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INCIDENTAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOST DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEB SITE AND THE MATERIAL, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPANY IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Links to Other Sites.

The Web Site may contain links to third party web sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by the Company of the contents on such third-party Web sites. The Company is not responsible for the content of linked third-party sites and does not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of materials on such third party Web sites. If you decide to access linked third party Web sites, you do so at your own risk.

No Resale or Unauthorized Commercial Use.

You agree not to resell or assign your rights or obligations under these Term of Use. You also agree not to make any unauthorized commercial use of the Web Site.

Limitation of Liability.

The aggregate liability for the Company to you for all claims arising from the use of the Materials is limited to $1.

Termination.

The Company reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to pursue all of its legal remedies, including but not limited to immediate termination of your registration with or ability to access the Web Site and/or any other service provided to you by the Company, upon any breach by you of these Terms and Conditions or if the Company is unable to verify or authenticate any information you submit to the Web Site registration with or ability to access the Web Site.

Indemnity.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company, its officers, directors, employees and agents, from and against any claims, actions or demands, including without limitation reasonable legal and accounting fees, alleging or resulting from your use of the Material or your breach of the terms of these Terms and Conditions. The Company shall provide notice to you promptly of any such claim, suit, or proceeding and shall assist you, at your expense, in defending any such claim, suit or proceeding.

General.

The Company makes no claims that the Materials may be lawfully viewed or downloaded outside of the United States. Access to the Materials may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Web Site from outside of the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction. These Terms and conditions are governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of New York, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. Jurisdiction for any claims arising under this agreement shall lie exclusively with the state or federal courts within New York, New York. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions are found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these Terms and Conditions, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any term of these Terms and Conditions shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term. Except as expressly provided in additional terms of use for areas of the Web Site a particular "Legal Notice," or Software License or Material on particular Web pages, these Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company with respect to the use of Web Site. No changes to these Terms and Conditions shall be made except by a revised posting on this page.

PRIVACY POLICY

The Company recognizes that you are concerned about privacy. We are committed to preserving your privacy and safeguarding your sensitive information. The following statement describes the general information-gathering and usage practices of our sites.

Our staff, contractors, Internet service providers and others involved in this site follow this policy or similarly strict policies regarding your Information.

Disclosure

The Company is committed to fully disclosing our policies regarding the collection, use, maintenance, disclosure and security of personal information obtained from users of our site. The term "personal information" includes a name, address, email address, or any other information which could be used to contact you directly or to identify you personally.

Use and Disclosure Limitations

The Company only uses personal information about its Web site users for specific purposes. We do not share user information with third parties except when we have told users about the disclosures, when we have prior consent, or when required by law.

Use Policy: When the Company gathers personal information from users, we ask for permission first. We also disclose, at the time of collection, how the information will be used by us. Personal information is used for activities such as auto-completion of commonly-used forms and helping us contact you when you solicit information from us.

Disclosure Policy: We do not normally disclose personal information to anyone outside of the Company unless we have previously informed users about the disclosures. However, some data may be used from time to time by outside contractors, including auditors or consultants, to assist us in carrying out necessary financial or operational activities. These uses will be consistent with this privacy policy and all contractors using this potential personal information must agree to safeguard it, to use it only for the authorized purpose, and to return it or destroy it upon completion of the activity.

The Company might be required to disclose personal information in response to a valid legal process such as a subpoena, search warrant or court order.

Although unlikely, it is possible that we may have to make certain disclosures to ensure the security of our Web site, to protect its integrity, or to take precautions against potential liability. In any of these situations, we will take any reasonable steps to limit the scope of the data disclosed.

Web Logs: The Company maintains standard Web logs that record basic information about visitors to our Web site. These logs contain: * The Internet domain from which you came to our Web site. * Your IP address. An IP address is a series of numbers which uniquely identifies your connection to the Internet. Although it is possible in some instances, certain types of IP addresses may be used by interested persons to identify users but we do not attempt to identify users in this way. * The type of browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape) and operating system (e.g., Windows 98) you use. * The date and time you visited the site, and the pages you saw.

We use Web log information to design our Web site, identify popular features, and in similar ways. We do not try to identify individuals from Web logs or to link Web logs to other user information. However, if someone tries to damage our Web site or use it in an unauthorized or illegal way, we may share Web log information with law enforcement agencies. The Company may provide aggregate information such as the number of users who visit particular pages of the site, or the number of people who link to certain external sites from our site, to other parties.

Changes to Privacy Policy

The Company's features and services will change over time and our information-gathering practices and policies may also change.

While our philosophy of protecting user information from inappropriate uses and disclosures will not change, this policy will be updated occasionally to include any change that materially affects the collection, maintenance, use, or disclosure of personal information.

Forum Topics

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  • Hello everyone, I am a 2013 grad who is trying to learn more about the financial industry and how my skills may help me find a suitable niche. The reason I am so late to the game is that I initially had a different career path in mind throughout school and am looking to change direction. I am a...
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    Anyone Else Feel Broke?
  • Im currently six months in a division/sector fldp. A role has opened up within corporate for financial reporting (think quarterly 10-qs, annual 10-k construction). I want to end up in corp fp&a not necessarily division fp&a. Should I make the jump to corporate? Is this financial reporting...
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  • Well monkeys, it sure was fun not worrying about the CFA exam for a couple weeks. But, I'm sure that like me, you all got that special email last night telling everyone to restart their freak out until July 23rd. Thanks, CFA Institute, that's just what my summer needs. I remember...
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  • I'm trying to get to understand a few industries outside of my own world, just for general knowledge. And I just learned that WSO used to have a huge bank of industry primers - but it was closed last year. Since I'm late to the game I guess I'll have to re-invent the wheel. Would...
    Primers anyone? Open to trade!
  • I just finished my freshman year of college and I am starting an internship at a boutique IB next week. Its a really flexible program to an extent and I know that I will be learning a lot about modeling through their training program. They make us use "deal maven", i was just wondering is...
    Pre IB Internship Prep
  • Hi all, Just wondering what your favorite pokemon/moveset is. It's good to relive our childhoods once in a while, and why not today on the anniversary of Pokemon B/W 2 (give or take a week). From traditional red/blue/yellow, definitely Machamp or Hypno. You could plow through basically...
    Favorite Pokemon/Move?
  • Hi everyone, Graduating soon, and was able to score an interview with the Finance and Performance Management arm of Deloitte. I know its not full-scale strategy like consulting with MBB. Does anyone know what kind of exit opps exist for this...
    Deloitte Consulting (Finance and Performance Management) exit opps
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    Gruppo Levey & Co.
  • From Quora, the OP asked the following question: [quote] I'm new to LBOs, just looking into them. I just wanted to ask: do LBO investors look to actually increase the value of the businesses that they acquire, or do they simply look to pay off all of the debt used to finance the...
    Do LBO investors aim to create value or simply pay off debt?
  • So after seeing numerous discussions on what seems to be the horrific cost of living in NYC, I wanted to look into the subject a little further. Obviously, average cost of living data can be found everywhere on the internet (seems like it's on Yahoo! front page every other week). The more...
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<em>Mod note: make sure to see the great comment below by CompBanker</em> I come from a small town where nobody had ever heard of consulting or IB. I was fortunate enough to attend a top target college (a good Ivy) and land a gig in IB at a BB/EB. I'm starting full time this...
Finance Culture - Personalities
<strong>Background</strong> I randomly discovered WSO nearly seven years ago just weeks after I secured a FT MM IB position. The website was extremely nascent at the time with only a few thousand registered users. The majority of the users were college students with only a handful...
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<em>Mod note: <strong><a href="http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/faq/what-are-the-best-qa-threads-and-interviews-with-top-finance-professionals-on-wso ">Click here</a></strong> to see all of our q&a's and interviews</em><P> I figured I...
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After over one year in the making, the <strong><a href="http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/2013-wso-compensation-report-full">2013 WSO Compensation Report</a></strong> is here! Access to the FULL 108 page 2013 WSO Compensation Report is <strong>100%...
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Where do i even start..I learned so much from this forum. The brutally honest opinions, sincere willingness to help, the technical information and random tips on everything has been absolutely crucial for me landing this offer. Coming from a non-target I didnt get that 3rd year SA position at...
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When I first started as a PE analyst, I constantly struggled with judging the amount of time I should spend on reviewing sourced deals. How much time is enough to really get a handle on the company’s revenue streams? How granular do I need my analysis to be on industry threats? With this...
Misguided Efforts: A Cautionary Tale
Fellow Primates, We are looking for 1-2 students on each campus to help WSO in its sales efforts to student clubs/career centers, and overall promotion at your school both online and on the ground. Below is a description of the position and benefits...thanks in advance for your help! <a...
WSO is Looking for Campus Reps For Summer/Fall 2013 (and beyond)
Many of the questions that have come in surround recruiting for front office Wall Street careers from a non-target so we’ll start with some ideas for recruiting, move on to interviewing, preparing for the job and finally long-term career management advice. Before we begin, it has been...
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<img src="//img.pandawhale.com/48721-Sexually-Oblivious-Female-Meme-Ze2w.png" alt="Sexually Oblivious Female Meme - Favorite Position? I would like to be a CEO.">
If you could be the richest person in the world with your dream job only as a public virgin forever would you do it?
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