Why Investment Banking? - No contribution to society
Honestly i really cannot see the appeal in this field. Lets say you do make it through the ropes of finance, you work your ass off for 20 years, retire at around 40, but then what? Go to your vacation home in the Caribbean and just sit there with your trophy wife. Not to mention, the job itself will be extremely boring for 99% of you. I'm sure when you guys were little kids/teenagers, you didn't imagine yourself working in such a boring field that has no contribution to society.
You are a moron. One vote for ban.
All present say aye?
Aye! Ban the Troll!
Alright Obama
"I wanna Thank the Good Lord for Making me a Capitalist"
It is clear through the way you try to pathetically argue your points that you have no chance whatsoever of making it in this industry even if you tried. Is this your attempt of making yourself feel better? Boring field? what a joker! Ban this fool immediately!
Someone didn't get a SA offer...
some of the work is actually fairly interesting and being part of live deals is awesome...I assume your comments are based on no first hand experience
needless to say, the contacts that you will make in banking/PE/HF etc. often lead to other opps down the road. Also, guys who do well in finance arent the types to sit around and retire at 40..many of us are intrinsically motivated to perform and do well in all aspects of our lives so we cant sit still anyway
good luck to you
tmi
One guy I know did very well for himself in PE and more-or-less retired around 40. He seems quite content with not really having to work.
Admittedly, I don't have the first-hand experience yet, but given my interest in some deals and their effect on the industries' landscape, I fail to see how banking "has no contribution to society".
I don't see OP's point, sorry.
As a teenager I, like Kramer always dreamed of becoming a banker. So your point about not growing up dreaming of becoming a banker is false.
Who is Kramer? If you are talking about Jim Cramer of Mad Money, he was a socialist left-winger during his early life and college days.
He's talking about Cosmos Kramer from Seinfeld. Except in that episode he aspired to be a "banker" as in a bank teller
Ah, got it, thanks. Reminds me, I should watch more Seinfeld.
People do enjoy it actually, very much so. People don't work extremely hard their whole lives just to get locked into something you hate, or shouldn't at least. Working in IB is not like selling phones at the Sprint store or marketing for an insurance company, its not just a job. There is a process involved that separate's it from "grind jobs"
I agree this guy is trying to cause drama on here and is just being a jerk. However, he raises a good point.
When I went through the summer interview process last year (associate level) the answer to "why banking" was a little easier to sell than it is now. Now, there are just too many ways for the interviewer to shoot a hole in any answer you develop to this question with ways this job has been awful lately.
What is the correct answer to this question in an interview? I don't know anymore. The old answer of "because I thrive in a challenging environmnet as demonstrated in my past experience and I have been drawn to the financing aspect of projects I have worked on in the past make me think that banking is a good fit for me" probably doesn't come close to cutting it anymore. Honestly, that was a lame canned answer to begin with but you could have skated by with that a year or two ago.
Ignoring the "correct answer" approach, what is the real reason why I want to do banking? Honestly I don't know. Here is what I've told myself most recently. The street has become much less populated and having IB experience on your resume especially having come through the process during this down market and made it onto the street will look great on the resume as the economy recovers and hedge funds/PE shops are looking to hire experienced bankers from ranks that have been severely thinned. Also, I come from a non-finance background and having this experience helps me solidify that transition and helps me stay in the finance world once banking has run its course for me. I also think I will learn a good deal about how finance works and I will grow a rather strong network. I hope that on top of that I am able to make some money when banks start paying bonuses again. However, the real value-add for me personally is the skill set, network, and resume building that I will do over the next year (barring layoffs on day 1 after I start full time).
I was going to be kind, but after re-reading what you posted, you sir are an idiot. Bankers contribute immensely to society. In short, your comment is an idiotic rant that is just not true.
Additionally, if becoming what you imagined you might be when you were a kid is any sort of metric as to whether or not you could be happy as an adult there would be only be like six different occupations in the entire world (cowboys, astronauts, firefighters, princesses, ballerinas, and veterinarians). Sounds like a fun AND productive world!!
Rigggghtttt...next time you turn on your PC, look for a location on Google Maps, or play with your beloved iPhone...everything you've takend GRANTED in life, remember that they were made possible by bankers like us who worked 100+ hours week to raise capital / advise mergers so that these companies will have the capital necessary to scale, develop new products, mass produce and provide these products to you at affordable prices just so you can have a better & more interesting life.
investment banking gives recent college grads the best training for careers in finance, but associates and up should definitely consider their options
Yeah, IB sucks!
What do you actually get out of investment banking? (Originally Posted: 05/15/2014)
From what I see: -exit opp -decent salary even after taxes and COL -name recognition on resume -network
But in terms of learning I'm not seeing it. The work is extremely mind numbing like reformatting ppts and xls.
At least in my SA, I learned a bunch of skills (modeling, how to comb through 10Ks and credit docs, etc.) and a lot about different industries
bump. curious too. wanna know if it's worth it. srsly considering dropping outta school and becoming a housewife at this point. my school sucks monkey balls right now.
What do you get? All the things you said my friend as well as a healthy dose of brain damage and a real lesson in how to deal with shit from all different directions and of all different shapes and sizes.
In the first half year, if you haven't already, you learn the other "skills" - how to model, how to do fundamental valuation, how to read filings, how to think about financial structures and consequences, industries, companies, etc. etc.
Past the half year / first full year mark you reach the point where you either love the advisory / company side of it and being on that next big deal makes you wet (1%) or you become a caffeinated grind machine watching the clock ready to gtfo (other 99%)
1) You learn basic finance grunt work skills (not important)
2) By successfully navigating through a top IBD firm and expressing the strong desire to continue recruiting you're signaling to other firm that you a) like or can tolerate finance b) are competent c) have some intellectual rigor d) can take chit/crazy hours (VERY important)
so basically 90% of IB is to end up in PE?
That's my goal.
A lot of money for interesting work.
(context: director, not a grunt, get out of the office by 7pm most days, have minions to do grunt work for me)
sounds retarded. i'm just gonna be a housewife instead. school sucks.
$0 student loans and the envy of non targets everywhere.
yeah but apparently i'd be better off as a trophy wife. don't think i'm cut out for IB anymore.
Unless you went to a non-target and start in the bullpen right next to the target-school kids...
Serious question -
What do you think you get out of any job?
Here's my take for an answer on what you get out of banking:
--Modeling is a very small part, basically anyone with a brain can learn to do it and anyone with a work ethic will do it well
--Same with making CIMs and PPTs presentations, small part, but good analysts make way better ones than bad ones. And, to be clear, part of the job is explaining ideas to people that don't necessarily have a finance background. You can do it in very rote and mechanical ways, or you can be creative and deliver interesting documents that make a difference
--To expound on that point, when I was in PE, it became very clear who wrote a good CIM and who wrote shitty ones
--Understanding how companies function and what the value drivers are of different types of businesses (revenue drivers, cost structures, etc.)
--How to sell things (IB is a sales job, you just sell complex products (companies or debt instruments, for example)
--How to work under extreme duress with tight timelines while still delivering high quality work for highly accomplished professionals
--If you're good, you'll learn to figure things out on your own when you face challenges (i.e. you don't need hand holding, you figure out ways to solve problems and get shit done)
--If you do 2 - 3 years at a solid firm and get good experience, people, especially those outside of finance, will respect your work ethic. And, as I've seen, you'll view others very differently when they don't have nearly the same standards as you do
That's just a start. But, I think there is a lot to be said for the sales aspect and the ability to deliver high quality work for high level people while working on top priority issues.
The idea that it's just monkey work is a very simplistic view. Yes, there is lots of it, and yes, you will want to dive out a window from time to time, but it builds a good base of skills and knowledge. And, perhaps most importantly, a level of belief in one's self.
+9000
MoneyPenny2.0
45 minutes? I'm impressed with your stamina.
omg can't believe you went there. jeezus.
Higher education just doesn't agree with everybody I guess.
ummm whoaaa who came in with the MS. please don't. being serious.
From what I understand SA aren't meant to "get anything" out of it, it's entirely for putting the experience on your resume. FT two year analyst stints start off the same way, but eventually you're there long enough where SA's come in and are below you, and then after your first year the new incoming first year's are below you, and so you gain some more seniority and a bit more rewarding experience through your second year.
I've never gone through it though so IDK
Charlotte & Vikrum seem like a match made in heaven. Enjoy the honeymoon at monkey shit island guys..
Charlotte:MissMoneyPenny::Vikrum:Beny23
to be honest, its really all about the exit opps, in my opinion.
I thought being a house wife just happens. It's not like a goal that someone has in life to become?
Because from what you're saying is you want to go being a prospective IB candidate to gold digger, not housewife.
It's probably a viable choice for most semi-attractive, unremarkably intelligent girls who decided to forgo developing a work ethic.
I can almost always tell if someone has worked at least a couple years in IB when working with them. They are typically better at communication, timely responses, being self-sufficient, etc.
This thread has deviated off tangent from its original message. What can you actually get out of IB?
I myself, am very interested because I am interviewing and would like to know how people who have gone through the different stages of investment banking and what they really got out of it. Would love to hear experienced professionals.
Cheers
I'm not trolling. I'm extremely upset that I logged onto WSO and found my MS had doubled. Guess I have people trying to kick me off again because they're angry that I'm airing my school's dirty laundry on the internet. And that I should be writing a long-ass report for the school instead of dicking around on WSO. My school can fuck off. I'm not writing the report. I'll wait until somebody replies to my emails. Thank you.
Being 100% serious.
Again? It's not us Charlotte, it's you.
well i just wasted 5 minutes of my life because this thread is worse than reading youtube comments.
Agreed, this site is turning into mongoloid central
GREAT, and I mean great read. Thanks guys.
Legendary troll here. Way to keep em coming
Charlotte York is a troll account; a shit-sponge account, if you will, set up to soak up monkey shit throws by pandering to our prejudices about how damnable some stereotypes are. The more "she" denies it, the more it evidences it's a shit-sponge account.
Investment Banking Moral Question (Originally Posted: 10/30/2007)
Whenever I explain to people what I want to do for a living the usual response is, "Oh, so you're gonna sit around, make money, and not give anything back to the society?" Just wanted some input for responses to this question.
"Yeah, pretty much" is a fitting response. Any more words is a waste of time.
I would respond that 99% of jobs fit this description.
Tell them to screw off. Unless the person asking you is in the peace corps, teach for america, or the like, then they're doing their job in self interest as well.
Besides, who knows how you spend your money? Yeah, you might pull in $120k your first year as an analyst, but how do they know you don't donate a big chunk of your bonus to charity?
Don't difnify it with a response. You can say, "Some people can give their time to help soceity, and some will fund charities"
Seriously, I give a good deal of money to charity organizations every year. Find one that you like and contribute until you feel it.
"Unless the person asking you is in the peace corps, teach for america, or the like, then they're doing their job in self interest as well."
From my interaction with those types, they are just as self interested as any one else (think med/law school, chushy NGO jobs, consulting, etc.)
Three possible responses:
I can't help the poor if I'm one of you.
Yea,pretty much. I also aspire to own a sweatshop.
Fuck you.
Someone posted results from a study a while back indicating that for every new job created on Wall Street, 3 or 4 other new jobs are created.
What's the moral question?
You could just tell them to stop being jealous...... to which they will probably say blah blah blah i dont wanna work those hours..... all in all it comes down to people hearing you make a lot of money your first year and they wished they made that much.... But yea I agree with the prior responses... theres a lot of moral good that investment banks provide.... all you have to do is look to Ayn Rand who spent her entire life trying to get people to understand that capitalism in itself is not immoral.... it seems worse to oppose capitalism which is commonly the situation.... but yea i think alot of the prior responses were very true
Have a witty or snide remark...you should never feel bad about making money...
And if you really want to quiet them, explain to them the immense economic impact of Wall Street.
There is no nobility in poverty.
Tell them you do give back to society by paying taxes.
Comeon, even if you friend is like a teacher, they do it for money or self-fufillment. If you think about it the more money you make the more you give back to the government (in turn the community) and have more money to give to charity than the teachers.
"Yea, pretty much. What do you do, cure cancer?"
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