I'm a senior in HS and got accepted into NYU Stern but I'm still not sure if I want a career in finance. I've always like the idea of IB and HF, but I want a career in which I love. I'm just not sure how I'll know if I will love finance. Is there any qualities that people in finance normally have? Any tips or suggestions. Thanks.
| +164 | How to stop feeling like shit for not making it in IB? | 60 | 1h | |
| +120 | If Tik Tok is forced to sell, what banks do you think would be involved in the deal? | 59 | 4h | |
| +85 | Updated LA Banking Scene (2024) | 61 | 1h | |
| +39 | Ranking banks that went under | 24 | 2h | |
| +38 | Burnt Out M&A ASO | 20 | 1h | |
| +36 | Relevance of A-Levels for U.K. London recruiting | 25 | 13m | |
| +32 | A strategy for SA applicants late to the game like myself | 16 | 1s | |
| +27 | Series 79 Help / Tips to Pass The First Attempt | 11 | 2d | |
| +27 | Intern Ettiquette | 4 | 1d | |
| +23 | What are hours like at BBs in London? | 47 | 1d |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
Not that I have a ton of experience to run off of here as I am a sophomore in college. But even just after a year of school and after doing a few internships I have learned that there are so many careers in finance that aren't just Investment banking. There's lots of great options out there in the business world.
Thanks for your input! Do you realize that your starting to enjoy finance more than you used too?
I've always been obsessed with it. But that's not always the case. Some people begin developing their interest as they start learning more about it
Sure. By a textbook on finance, any engineering disciplines you find interesting and computer science. Set-up some informational interviews at different companies to see what a day in the life looks like, how the offices and people are, what their advice to prepare while in college etc. Figure out which best fits you. Keep in mind, the learning curves on any of those subjects can be steep but having an understanding of what you are going to actually be doing and to what end is greatly beneficial.
Do NOT go off to college with some half baked idea of what you want to do. Goals and priorities change but when you go you should be on a mission for success. If you really don't know what you want to do and money is an issue, enlist in the armed services, you'll basically have a free ride anywhere when you get out (PM me if you want to discuss how best to maximize those benefits), more discipline and a pretty damn good idea of what you want to do. Plus you'll be ahead of everyone else in terms of landing critical internships.
Ultimately you have three chances to really set your course, school you go to, major you choose and first job offer you accept. Of course there are people who come and go from all over the map but that doesn't mean you should squander those three chances because someone else has some crazy story of success off the beaten path.
Edit: It also helps to pick something you think you would be really good at, even if the field doesn't sound too interesting. Success and all the rewards that come along with it can really make you love something.
Thanks, that's great advice. Money and all the luxury that comes with it is obviously an interest of mine. But is there any way to tell if you'll be good at finance? I've never been amazing at math, but a smart person and good with computers and technology, also good with people.
Simple, you need to explore tech, though you'd need to work on your math skills as it can be a quantitative field if you ended up on the development side. You can make as much (especially relative to the cost of living) in tech as you can in banking. Being good with people is a huge advantage, and often times engineers and techies are NOT which means you'd have an innate advantage. Don't get the wrong idea, work is work, so to a degree it all fucking sucks in some aspect no matter what you do.
Finance is not about money, luxury, lifestyle, hours worked, models, bottles, etc etc. These are all distractions and misconceptions. If the only reason you are interested in finance is because you want to get rich, quit wasting your time, it will not work out for you.
You are not going to know what you want to do in high school or even college. Take as many internships as you can, work during the academic year, shadow professionals, join clubs, network/ask questions but end of the day be prepared to change your mind a few times.
truthfully you'll be shaped by your peers - aka 99% asian, all IBD-focused, which is what you'll be applying for as well even if you don't even remotely want to do it/have the qualities
if you land anything other than IBD you'll get (privately) laughed at and mocked
sounds like any undergrad b-school thoo
Most ugrad B-school grads have no way of breaking into IBD, so I'd say this is only a thing at top-tier business schools. Either way I would recommend that you pick something that is going to keep a lot of doors open: NYU Stern is going to do that more than any state school.
^^This is such pie in the sky bullshit.
Figure out if you're interested in finance by reading about it, e.g. WSJ, bloomberg, this site, whatever and take some courses in fin/econ. I agree with Archer in that work is work and it sucks sometimes no matter what you choose to do. At least in finance you get compensated handsomely.
Aut deserunt quidem et rem. Vero aut voluptas quidem. Porro voluptates dolorem recusandae fugit sed. In fugit recusandae asperiores tempora ratione. Sed architecto neque error accusamus totam dolores.
Velit ut veritatis exercitationem delectus impedit tempore ut. Sit quae pariatur excepturi rem beatae. Quo voluptatem nostrum omnis quam ea eos.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...