Will joining the Airforce after graduation hinder my ability to get interviews later on?
I'm currently in college and am almost done. I've always wanted to serve in the Airforce, but want to do IB as well. So the question is, would joining the military effect my ability to work in IBD? Would I have to go to graduate school after my 4 years in the AF in order to be able to get interviews again? Also, I would be around 28 by the time I got out and finished grad school. Would that be considered too old to enter as an associate?
I think the Air Force would make you a much more competitive applicant, not only for an IB position but for any and all subsequent opportunities throughout your career.
Be sure to watch your six o'clock
As someone still in college, speaking from only observations and conversations with people, it seems like a career in the armed forces opens a lot of doors once you leave, especially in finance. The way I think about it is, when I'm freaking out over my first fire drill, the guy who has literally been shot at is not going to feel a lick of pressure.
As someone still in college, speaking from only observations and conversations with people, it seems like a career in the armed forces opens a lot of doors once you leave, especially in finance. The way I think about it is, when I'm freaking out over my first fire drill, the guy who has literally been shot at is not going to feel a lick of pressure.
Do it, seriously. While I can't speak directly on finance like others here I can speak on other professions and those with previous military experience on applications always got some of the strongest consideration. You will develop a strong network for life out of the armed services and will have a discipline instilled that some professionals do not possess. Honestly it's win/win, there is no lose here.
Good luck!
Joining the military will be absolutely beneficial to your professional career, as well as other aspects of your life. Let me try and list some benefits. This is coming from a military veteran, so I feel like I can shed some life on this. The business world greatly values the skills that are possessed by military veterans.
Free school in the future. If you get the GI Bill, you will be able to get your MBA (if that is a route you one day wish to pursue) either completely debt free, or damn near it. One of the nicest benefits of the GI bill that many do not realize is that aside from paying for school, it also gives you a monthly housing allowance based on the zip code of the school you attend. If you went to Columbia for your MBA, on top of having tuition covered, you would be given $3700 a month to find a place to live/ do whatever with you want.
VA home loans. In the future you have access to VA homeloans, which are federally insured mortgages, allowing you to purchase a home with no down payment, without having to pay PMI. The allowance for the mortgage also changes depending on the location in the country, so more expensive areas have higher limits. This will be an awesome benefit in the future when you are looking to settle down somewhere.
Flexibility. The military is one of the only career paths that offers almost complete flexibility for career changers. Barring PE, there are virtually no fields that you cannot enter with a military background. Consulting, Ibanking, Google, corporate finance, even Asset Management gigs at places like PIMCO etc are open to veterans. Some career fields are much harder to break into if you don't come from the right background, but the military is one of the few where almost all are willing to pull from.
Military alumni network. You will be hardpressed to find a more reliable network than military veterans. It does not matter what branch you have served in, they will all get back to you. Furthermore, there is no ambiguity when dealing with them that I head people having with school alumni looking for referrals to HR. I would estimate that I have networked with over 50 veterans over the past 4-5 months. I would also estimate that I have send out cold emails to roughly 55 veterans. Basically, almost every single person I have reached out to has got back to me and helped me out along the way. Every one I have asked to refer me to HR has been absolutely willing to do it, and have even followed up on my behalf to make sure I get invited to superdays etc. I go to an Ivy, and haven't even bothered reaching out to alumni at my school because I have found that the military network has been so robust.
Another interesting side note to that to consider the fact that not many people are interested in Ibanking post MBA. Because PE jobs aren't open to vets, most who are interested in finance end up in Ibanking. Someone told me that the most recent associate class at Credit Suisse comprised of something like 25% former military. It is pretty similar across most of the big banks. Goldman, JP, and MS have huge military networks. Banking is always going to be a lucrative career, and given the smaller interest and the high influx of veterans, I would not be surprised to see a very powerful military group forming across the street as all of these veterans who have transitioned in the past 5 or so years really start to move up the ranks at their respective banks. That though is more along the lines of interesting speculation, but definitely something to consider.
Veteran integration programs. Some of the top BB's have programs specifically to integrate military veterans directly into their banks. Goldman Sachs has the Veterans Integration Program, which allows veterans to complete an 8 week internship and either join the firm immediately, or get their MBA, with a guaranteed summer associate slot lined up before they even start school. JP Morgan has an almost identical program as well. I know of two veterans who are working in GS TMT who went directly to that group from the Veteran Integration Program.
Do something that matters. This might sound kind of cheesy or whatever, but most importantly, you get a chance to participate in something much bigger than yourself, and have pride in doing something that really matters. I will always be proud of my military service, and I believe it is one of the absolute best foundations anyone can have if they want to make a transition into the corporate world. You develop real leadership skills, learn to work under incredible pressure, and make important decisions with limited information. When asked in interviews to tell a time about having to work under pressure, you will be able to give real, meaningful answers that your interviewers will value.
No matter what I might accomplish in the future in business, I doubt it will ever be able to give me the same sense of pride as when I served in the military, or graduating from Ranger School, or making sure all of my guys made it home safe once again from Afghanistan.
So basically, joining the Air Force just might be one of the best decisions of your life, and I couldn't recommend it enough.
Cayo, thank you very much for your service, and thanks a lot for the insight, reading all that was eye opening. I was planning on going for my MBA if I took the military route, and knowing that it would be practically payed for is a really nice incentive. That being said, I have also always wanted to serve my country and would regret it if I didn't take the chance to join up. As far as careers go in the AF, I was considering TACP or STO. Would you recommend special operations, or should I go for something like finance? Lastly, what do you mean when you say private equity jobs are not available for veterans? Thanks again.
PE. The only reason I say it is not open to veterans is that you really do need a strong finance background to break into it. Generally most veterans aren't applicable because when they separate from the military they go straight into an MBA program. However, if a veteran is willing to start as an analyst at a bank, then they can definitely get into PE. You don't see this happen too often though because generally it would put vets in their late 20's when they start as an analyst at a bank, and that isn't usually a route many want to pursue. So it is possible for vets to break into PE, they just generally don't do it because of logistical/age reasons.
Air Force Jobs. I always looked at going into the military as an opportunity to go do something I would never have the chance to do the rest of my life. With that in mind, I elected to jump out of planes and run around in the woods at night and all that stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed my military time, even if there were parts of it that I absolutely hated. And trust me, when you are in the military, there will be tons of it that you absolutely hate. The finance you would do in the military wouldn't be much more than dealing with pay issues of soldiers and financial shit for battalions or bases. To me that sounds absolutely miserable, but if it is what floats your boat then get after it.
TACP's are pretty cool, and if you hang in the air force long enough to be a JTAC then that is when the real fun starts. The airforce JTAC's we had assigned to us loved working with us because we had authorization to drop the biggest, baddest weapon systems around. My buddy used to joke about his 07 summer deployment in Baghdad saying he got so sick of seeing Spectre Gun runs every night. Being able to have access to Spectres whenever would be a JTAC's wet dream.
You might also consider looking into SOWT teams in the Air Force if you are seriously considering special operations. The name and description might sound sort of goof y when you looked it up, but the guys we had attached to us had some of the best equipment and had the time of their lives. They were really chill dudes.
Either way, pursue something awesome that you would probably regret not trying to do 10 or 20 years from now. No point looking back on your life and wondering what could have been. If you have any other questions shoot me a PM and we can talk in a less public setting.
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