Can an incredibly shy/socially awkward person become a successful investment banker?
So, throughout my life I've been a very shy person. And I mean really shy. I've never had friends in my life. I'm always the quiet guy at a party. I have difficulty holding a conversation with others. I'm wondering if it's possible for shy people to succeed in banking, or if this is a rarity?
I'm a fairly intelligent, hard-working person and graduated valedictorian of my high school class. Most of my success stems from the fact that I have no social life so had plenty of time to study, though.
My parents and all of their friends (most of whom are physicians) have encouraged me to pursue a career in medicine. For example, I could strive to become an anesthesiologist or a radiologist. Such a career would offer a high income but doesn't require the same social skills of the corporate world. But, I'm not really interested in anatomy or medicine and can't imagine putting myself through years of med-school for any reason other than attaining a high salary.
So, yeah, is there any hope for me?
nah
You could work as a quant.
You could probably be a fine analyst and maybe even associate, but after that you would simply fail. Banking at the senior levels is a sales job.
You need to start working on your confidence and force yourself into uncomfortable social interactions until you can interact like a human being. It isn't just important for banking but for any job (not to mention it will drastically improve your chances of procreating at some point in your life).
There are a lot of awkward high school kids. Through the booze and drugs, college generally teaches you social skills.
yup. just don't be that freshman who blacks out and does heinously retarded things and you'll probably be just another normal bro halfway through sophomore year.
Chalk this up as a kid who googled highest starting salaries and saw anesthesiologist. A bit of advice: go on a path where you find the work interesting and can stand it. No med student knows until either late undergrad or med school what their specialty is going to be...so I find it hard to believe that you're choosing Anesthesiologist in high school.
Anybody can succeed at anything if they work hard enough at it. But you cannot be shy and succeed in banking. To succeed at banking you must work on your social skills. For you, you may have t work on your social skills for years.
Having said that, I don't think you should try to be a banker if its not a good fit for you or at least something that excites you (especially if you're already in college). Also, this could just be me, but I wouldn't get too caught up in how much money people make in various careers. When I was in high school, I used to think money was the be all and end all (the ultimate scorecard). Now I'm in the real world and I've realized moneys only good for buying things ... and I don't buy that many things
Isn't that all investment banks hire now a days ? The loser / nerds from target schools? You'll be fine
you dont need social skills. most people are just so damn tired anyways to really give a shit. do your job and be a nice person. those two things will get you through, but mess one or both of them up and you're done.
When you say that you're the quiet guy at a party, I'm assuming that's not a figure of speech and that you've actually been invited to parties at points in your life (and I'm talking about actual parties not birthday parties or things that your school sets up where everyone's invited). If you're social enough to at least have a group to go out with there's still hope for you to break into the analyst level probably.
What you might want to try is forcing yourself to be social. Go up to talk to people at parties, before class, or when hanging out in groups. Keep conversations to mundane bullshit at first (weather, class difficulty, etc) and you'll find yourself building up your confidence and ability to hold a conversation. Maintain these conversations and see if you can actually try to develop rapports with people you see repeatedly so you can continue conversations past the mundane.
If you really have never had friends and our as unsocial as you say you are, you have work to do. Think of it like training for a sport, it's gonna suck at first but you'll get the hang of it as you persist. I think the greatest issue awkward people have is they underestimate how interesting they can be for someone else to talk to. Regardless, social skills are necessary in every career, even in non-salesy roles. Work on this.
I second duffmt6's comment. I am not what you say as extremely sociable or an extrovert but I can blend in alright. Even then, I am hesitant to go into IB just because of I know I can't make it past the associate stage. If your passion is truly IB, then go ahead but know that you'll be swimming against the tide. Ps. just a college student here so take it with a grain of salt.
OP -- You have two choices:
Everybody has strengths and weaknesses, most people who are successful work in an area where their strengths are important to the job. Those who struggle are always trying to overcome their weaknesses. Find a career that plays to your strengths.
Why don't you go work in something markets based? I remember reading a comment somewhere in an interview or news article that suggested that when you interact with David Einhorn - he is easily the smartest guy in the room and everyone can tell. But the person made a note of saying that his incredible focus/intelligence tends to turn off people and he comes off as very stand offish and awkward.
You can be introverted and shy, but in a markets based role your performance determines your success and not how sociable you are with others. You have to be assertive in some instances (say activism), but being assertive can be learned much more easily than being sociable with everyone else.
My advice - put in your two years at an analyst program cutting your teeth: here your buckle down, shy, quiet focused demeanor will help. Then move and exit to an HF where your research and analytical skills will play more an importance than your sociability does.
I think one of the writers in Inside the House of Money put it best:
"One of the beauties of the investment community is that it is very simple. It is not like working for a big company like General Motors where you go to work every day, wear the right suits, say the right things, and join the right clubs. There, you either make it or you don’t make it, but you never know why. The investment community is like the track and field people. If your stocks go up, they went up, period. It does not matter whether you went to high school, wear the right suit, or play golf well. It is the same way with the 100-meter dash. If you run it faster than anybody else, no one cares anything about you except that you ran it faster than everyone else"
Who knows if you do well as an analyst/associate it may give you confidence and you'll do just fine at the higher levels. Are you shy with everything or could you talk to someone for days about your favorite World of Warcraft class?
The better question is why you would WANT to be an investment banker if you're painfully shy. What exactly appeals to you about working 90 hours a week through your 20s so you can spend your 30s and 40s schmoozing with clients?
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