Is Banking/Finance the only road to IB?
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Nobody has said that Banking/Finance is the only way to make it (especially nobody here).
Do what you like to do, have the passion for it and if you work hard you can make it in any industry. This can be medicine, music/entertainment, industrial/manufacturing, law, telecoms or anything else!
If you really like Finance/Banking as a subject matter you will have no problem putting in the effort and hours. If you only do it because of the paycheck then you might end up being miserable.
^that
Also, there is a huge amount of variation of how much financiers make. Salary increases exponentially as opposed to linearly as you move up in ranks.
You are looking at entry level salaries (and you IBD data is old...base went up to 70k a few years back).
Out of undegrad, the engineer probably wins on a cash-flow basis (Mountain View is cheaper than NYC), but the rate of salary growth is much slower. His salary will top out at 200k to 250k after around 15 years. You make that after 3 years in IB. If you stuck around in IB for that long (god bless you masochistic soul...) you would be a MD pulling in $2 million plus.
If you exit, you would probably be a partner (or close to it) in a PE firm. Even a middle market firm will have you breaking $1 million, with more reasonable hours.
Of course, these are assuming you stay in finance, and the engineer remains an engineer.
Nobody is calling first year analysts "fat cats"...they live in crappy studios or share apartments. The anger is at the executives, who got paid very well while the public thought they nearly blew up the economy.
Also, if you think SEC/SOXregulations are bad wait untill you have to deal with internal controles as a software engineer.
I don't really understand why people think it really matters what you are making as a 1st or 2nd year analyst.
no matter what your first job is you will be working over 40 hours this is the new america
Oh Google? Because ANYBODY can get a job there.
350k for a VP? There are people who make that as pre-MBA chimps.
You have to work long hours and work hard in any field if you want to make a higher than average income. I know electricians that are making more money then IB associates, but they are working from 6am until 10-11pm at night and that is physical labor
Depends as a Banker you have limitations of where you can live, when you can spend your money and where (shops on way to work not outlet stores 1 hour a way) you can spend your money. As a student you know tricks to save money, but just dont have the time to do that when working double time.
So alot of your salary is wiped out by lifestyle limitations
Everyone shut up about software vs. banking.
If you want to find the highest paying job with the most control over your free time, start your own successful business.
I didn't wanna chime in, but I'm bored at work, so I'll say this.
Find me the engineer with the same amount of experience as me that is doing the following compared to me:
1) Working less hours 2) Making more money 3) Not wearing toolish short-sleeve button downs 4) Is less of a bitch to the "corporate world" 5) Is ... "happier"
OccupySiliconValleyDeleted
Funny you say that because I actually have a friend who's a petroleum engineer and he does a lot of work with the big drilling and exploration companies. I had no idea until recently, but dude makes BANK, so good call on that one haha.
Because banking is the easiest (ie: lowest risk) way to make 500k/year - bar none.
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