Careers That Hollywood Over-Hypes (IB #1?)
I saw this article "Careers That Hollywood Over-Hypes" on Yahoo earlier today and wanted to know how my fellow Monkeys felt about the description of being and investment banker.
Over-Hyped Career #1: Investment Banker
Remember Gordon Gekko from "Wall Street" and his "Greed is good" mantra? Well, it certainly was for Wall Street giant Gekko, who wheels around in limos, watches South Hampton sunrises, buys and sells precious art pieces like trading cards, and makes more money in a day than most of us see in a lifetime.
Back to Reality: First, we should note that Gekko does end up in jail. So there's that. And according to the U.S. Department of Labor, most investment bankers enjoy less South Hampton sunrises than long days in the office, since according to the U.S. Department of Labor, they work long hours.
The Department of Labor also says these people travel extensively, especially to other countries. All that for an average annual salary, according to the Department of Labor, of $72,060 - slightly less than Mr. Gekko.
But if we haven't scared you away yet, here's what you'll need to do to start prepping for this type of work. Aside from needing a bachelor's degree, per the Department, investment bankers must also pass a series of exams to obtain a license with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).






I feel like the author of
I feel like the author of this article is trying to make his/herself feel better. Like really? Don't be a lawyer, that sucks -- you should be the lawyer's paralegal. Waste of time.
"They are all former investment bankers that were laid off in the economic collapse that Nancy Pelosi caused. They have no marketable skills, but by God they work hard."
It's absolutely true. It's
It's absolutely true. It's long hours of boring work. There aren't many careers as hyped up as ibanking. The main reason people do it, is to get out of it in 2 years.
And for the #5 on the list -
And for the #5 on the list - what the hell is the difference between a Broker and a Personal Financial Advisor
"Well that's even more than less than unhelpful." - Jack Sparrow
MFFL: And for the #5 on the
And for the #5 on the list - what the hell is the difference between a Broker and a Personal Financial Advisor
Lol... I was thinking the same thing.
1/2 of the WSO Bash Brothers
"Licensed to Ill It"
We all know Bro J did it...
They fail to take into
They fail to take into account the fact that many of the people that go into investment banking are not looking to make a career out of IB specifically and are looking to use the experience to leverage into other opportunities. The other opportunities on the list are generally jobs you remain in for a long period of time. However the job description is mostly accurate im sure
I help people with the tough situation of not knowing how to respond to emails.
Don't know where they are
Don't know where they are getting those salary numbers from. 70k is base at almost every bank. Maybe they are looking at all series 7 license holders, which would include a ton of brokerage / PWM guys?
The average starting lawyer salary is ~$76k, I believe. But 160k is the standard starting salary in BigLaw. How is that possible? Skewed (actually bimodal) salary distributions. Those average salary statistics are almost meaningless.
I don't think this was meant
I don't think this was meant to take a jab at IBD. The person pretty much just listed a number of prestigious careers and listed an alternative.
Wouldn't have been surprised to see Doctor as overhyped and Physicians Assistant as underhyped. Same idea
"Well that's even more than less than unhelpful." - Jack Sparrow
West Coast rainmaker: Don't
Don't know where they are getting those salary numbers from. 70k is base at almost every bank. Maybe they are looking at all series 7 license holders, which would include a ton of brokerage / PWM guys?
The average starting lawyer salary is ~$76k, I believe. But 160k is the standard starting salary in BigLaw. How is that possible? Skewed (actually bimodal) salary distributions. Those average salary statistics are almost meaningless.
Lol I'm a stats major, and in my first stats class my freshman year, the first thing my professor said was the quote:'there's lies, damn lies, and statistics.'
Actually, I don't think I
Actually, I don't think I have ever seen an actual M&A banker in a movie outside of American Psycho. So how is it "hyped" at all?
Gekko was some sort of corporate raider, and Bud Fox was a broker. I don't like talking about Wall Street 2, but Le Boeuf was a HF guy there. Boiler Room was trading. Arbitrage was a hedge fund. Trading Spaces was commodities trading. Margin Call was (mostly) trading.
Oh, I forgot this was Hollywood. Anyone who works in finance is a "banker", including your financial advisor at MSSB.
West Coast
Actually, I don't think I have ever seen an actual M&A banker in a movie outside of American Psycho. So how is it "hyped" at all?
Gekko was some sort of corporate raider, and Bud Fox was a broker. I don't like talking about Wall Street 2, but Le Boeuf was a HF guy there. Boiler Room was trading. Arbitrage was a hedge fund. Trading Spaces was commodities trading. Margin Call was (mostly) trading.
Oh, I forgot this was Hollywood. Anyone who works in finance is a "banker", including your financial advisor at MSSB.
Boiler Room was brokers... penny stock hawkers really...
1/2 of the WSO Bash Brothers
"Licensed to Ill It"
We all know Bro J did it...
rufiolove: West Coast
Actually, I don't think I have ever seen an actual M&A banker in a movie outside of American Psycho. So how is it "hyped" at all?
Gekko was some sort of corporate raider, and Bud Fox was a broker. I don't like talking about Wall Street 2, but Le Boeuf was a HF guy there. Boiler Room was trading. Arbitrage was a hedge fund. Trading Spaces was commodities trading. Margin Call was (mostly) trading.
Oh, I forgot this was Hollywood. Anyone who works in finance is a "banker", including your financial advisor at MSSB.
Boiler Room was brokers... penny stock hawkers really...
Ah, my mistake. I somehow mixed up the title with a different movie. I shall repent by going to the Yahoo Finance board of an American Exchange-listed 20m market cap stock, and create a thread asking why it's a buy. Might as well make life easy for them.
Gordon Gekko was not a
Gordon Gekko was not a banker, but a corporate raider like Boesky, Icahn, etc. If only they made a movie about iBankers. But then again who wants to watch MSFT Excel for 2 1/2 hours? And yea Bud Fox was a nothing who was not gonna move up anywhere, most PWM guys don't unless they're interns. Seriously, Wall Street sucks at PR.
Im actually pretty surprised
Im actually pretty surprised that no one has tried to make a comedy or drama based on Monkey Business.
The number one
The number one hyped-by-hollywood career isn't i-banking; I can hardly think of any movies where i-bankers are (actually) portrayed.
The most hyped career by hollywood is, by far, any police/detective work position. Much respect to our civil servants, but this portrayal of cops and detectives as 24-hour badasses kicking down doors and solving crimes by looking at shreds of clothing under a magnifying glass is total BS. The Wire got pretty close to showing how it really is by mentioning the bureaucracy and paperwork they have to deal with, but there still was a lot of unrealistic showboating.
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RodneyBro20: Gordon Gekko was
GG works in PE... as in Gekko
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
West Coast
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
BTbanker: West Coast
Read this "article" today.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."- Benjamin Franklin
West Coast
EtherBinge: West Coast
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
http://www.businessinsider.co
EtherBinge: West Coast
If you have a goal in life, think to yourself each day - "What did I do today to help me reach my goal?"
StryfeDSP: What would Zachary
The only movie I can think of
There was Sigourney Weaver in
Nobody mentioned Michael
In a lot of films, being an
What did Jason Bateman do in
"Well that's even more than less than unhelpful." - Jack Sparrow
StryfeDSP: EtherBinge: We
MFFL: What did Jason Bateman
Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
rufiolove: MFFL: And for
buy it. ride it. sell it.
Oh no! You have to pass exams
Re: Jason Bateman in Horrible
"It doesn't matter where you are or where you came from: it's about where you're going."
How about Richard Gere in
EtherBinge: West Coast
A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.
The guy in Dinner for
"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." --Abraham Lincoln
Bobb: StryfeDSP: EtherBin
If you have a goal in life, think to yourself each day - "What did I do today to help me reach my goal?"
Yeah Dinner for Schmucks was
That's what I thought too
Personally, I think Hollywood
Most over hyped on tv: cops,
Turbo leverage for capital explosion -- BD Capital
My WSO Blog
meabric: That's what I
1/2 of the WSO Bash Brothers
"Licensed to Ill It"
We all know Bro J did it...
SirTradesaLot: Most over
1/2 of the WSO Bash Brothers
"Licensed to Ill It"
We all know Bro J did it...
SilvioBerlusconi: The number
^ It's Harold in H&K. Most
StupidIBMonkey: ^ It's Harold
Hahaha how could I forget