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prestige
 

The Ivy League

jimbob6's picture
IB
(Monkey, 32
 
Points)
 on 3/18/13 at 8:57pm

This post is mostly for those of you that attend Ivy League schools, or are seriously in debt.

If you had the opportunity to attend HYP, would you take on $100k in debt just to say, "I went to HYP" even if you only make 50k/yr for the next 10 years?

This probably isn't the best place to ask this question, since most of you guys out of school are raking in the cheese, but I just wanted to get an idea for how far the prestige of HYP goes for someone who doesn't make a lot of money.

Catholic Church's Orders

cruel3a's picture
CF
(Orangutan, 287
 
Points)
 on 2/15/13 at 11:23am

So, Ernst von Freyberg, MD at DC Advisory Partners and a member of the sovereign military order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, has just been appointed as Chairman at IOR (Vatican Bank).
I was wondering how prestigious this position is and, considering than also Emilio Botin (Santander) is linked to Opus Dei, what is the influence of these Catholic orders in the financial world.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ed7e80c-7766-11e2-9ebc-...

Most "Status" oriented cities (Where to get a job?)

ResidentPatient's picture
(Monkey, 60
 
Points)
 on 1/16/13 at 5:55pm

I read the forums on different cities in the US and the "feel" of them, but I'd like to know which are very focused on "status" and "prestige"

My take:

1. New York City-very hierarchical, most chicks looking for older guys with a penthouse and prestigious job. Which building you live on the Upper East or West side, what firm you work at, etc. You can hardly get into a conversation with a girl that doesn't involve your job. One of the only cities where it is commonplace to wear business casual to a bar. People don't care about what car you drive because you probably don't have one.

Something To Think About

xhongxkongx's picture
(Monkey, 52
 
Points)
 on 11/17/12 at 12:25pm
The other road

I recently came across this video and until now I decided to share it with you guys. It has really made me think about the things I do, why I do them, whether or not I really should be doing these things that I am doing and to what extent to they matter to me and to the ones around me.

Below is the youtube video of Dr. Richard Teo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umLkfADe17s

NYT Global Employability Ranking 2012

eldiablo4857's picture
O
(Baboon, 114
 
Points)
 on 11/13/12 at 1:00am
employability.jpg

Finally a ranking that matters...

SOURCE: Emerging

METHODOLOGY: Between May 18 and June 7 of 2012, more than 2,500 recruiters and 2,200 international chief executives and business managers were asked to select their top universities. The countries represented were Australia, Brazil, Britain, China, Germany, France, Italy, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

For All You Prestige Whores

CallThatBond's picture
(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 10/7/12 at 8:52pm

TPG is now recruiting undergrads for analyst positions in their PE arm. I don't know how many schools they are reaching out to, but they are recruiting at my non-Harvard/Wharton target.

My Biggest Career Mistake to Date: Prestige

bankerella's picture
IB
(King Kong, 1,863
 
Points)
 on 10/2/12 at 5:30am
intro1.jpg

I occasionally get PMed by people at colleges I’ve never heard of before, asking if they have a shot at IBD.

Folks, why IBD? The finance world is broad and varied, and there are a million ways to make a buck. Why pick the one that’s going to be hardest for you in your situation? There are mutual fund companies, asset management companies all over the damn place. Hedge funds. Auxiliary businesses. Those folks will look beyond the name of your institution and your GPA in the hunt for quality. Why knock on the door of the one section of the industry that has built a massive recruiting machine designed to keep you out?

Time for me to share what is potentially the biggest career mistake of my life.

Prestigious Pete

Prestigious Pete's picture
 
Points)
 on 9/28/12 at 4:30am
prestigous pete.jpg

I would like to extend a warm welcome to myself, Prestigious Pete. I am a jealousy amalgam, created from combining all the conceited, self-assured finance super douches into one man called Prestigious Pete.

After finishing up at Andover, I went on to attend Yale University, where I majored in Sociology, played Varsity Golf, and was president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. I then marched over to Blackstone M&A upon graduating, because Goldman Sachs was not prestigious enough. After my brief stint at Blackstone, I went swiftly to Harvard Business School, where I spent two years going to costume parties, travelling the world, and adding hundreds of notches to my bedpost. After graduating from HBS, I now work at a private equity megafund. At the tender age of 25, I make 450K base, wear a $40,000 watch, and have outsourced the tying of my shoelaces in the morning to some nice Puerto Rican chaps.

Feel free to ask me anything, and make sure to nod silently in genuine admiration of my achievements, greatness, wealth, and prestige.

IBD Group Rankings

bananawhore's picture
(Monkey, 52
 
Points)
 on 9/7/12 at 3:30am

.

Ugrad Vs. Grad - Prestige

Husky32's picture
(Gorilla, 589
 
Points)
 on 8/11/12 at 10:30pm
prestige.png

What do you feel is more prestigious, a top undergrad with a second tier graduate school or a second tier undergrad with a top tier grad school? I've noticed this recently with people I've spoken to. Guys going from HYP undergrad to state school for law degrees and state school kids getting a harvard MBA for example.

The essence of the question is really, whether you feel as if undergrad name > grad name in terms of prestige or grad name > undergrad name.

I have my own opinion, but hearing others thoughts might help a few of the hs/college kids on this forum out as I was one of the ones who bought into the whole college confidential bs of going to a much lower ranked cheaper undergrad and then going to a ivy grad school.

Money, prestige, and values

Arbitrage1980's picture
 
Points)
 on 7/5/12 at 6:30pm
money.jpg

I think it's fair to say that most of us in finance are motivated in large part by money. One of the reasons why people on WSO care so much about working at certain firms is the lure of the bonuses as well as exit opportunities for jobs that pay even more.

There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to make lots of money. As long as you're not hurting others, this is not a moral issue in my opinion. However, the older I get, the more fascinated I am by what truly drives us to work so hard. Is it just the comfort and freedom that money brings, or is it the social prestige and respect that often come with having "made" it?

America's Most Prestigious Suburbs

Investment Fratting's picture
(Monkey, 62
 
Points)
 on 6/28/12 at 12:12am

Since everyone loves debating the prestige of each bank, why not debate the prestige of all the affluent suburbs around the country that many of us have either lived in or are working hard towards moving to one day.

When evaluating an area's prestige, I feel like you should consider more than just towns' with the most expensive real estate and median household income. You should also factor in the area's history, location, cost of living, education/prep schools, and household's net worth ("old money").

Another Take on Target Schools: Representation at America's Elite B-Schools

eldiablo4857's picture
O
(Baboon, 114
 
Points)
 on 6/8/12 at 1:00pm
mba.jpg

People discuss target schools and rankings all the time but usually people just toss out anecdotes with no facts to back up their statements. One way to gauge how strong of a target school a certain college is to see how many alums end up at elite business schools (M7) since it goes to follow that in order to get admitted into an elite MBA program you need to have a prestigious job and in order to land that prestigious job, you need to go to a highly regarded school.

So, without further a due, here at the top feeder colleges to the M7 minus MIT and Kellogg plus Tuck.

perceived value of an MBA in the long run

keensetofpeepers's picture
(Baboon, 147
 
Points)
 on 5/26/12 at 12:33am

I had a sidebar conversation with Betsy Massar and thought I'd repost the gist here for anyone who's interested. Basically I posed the question what is really the value of an MBA in the long run? As someone interested in working in Asia, I was curious as to what they perceive as being a top brand MBA and which schools had stronger networks. her response was:

quick answer: both Columbia business school and Wharton are fine in Asia. Chinese people will tell you Wharton, because they are more by-the-book about prestige. I personally don't think it makes that much of a difference because of your second comment. Which I believe is right on.

Be a WSO Troll

Boreed's picture
PE
 
Points)
 on 5/4/12 at 8:54am
tumblr_lk635wuTmO1qgtmejo1_500.jpg

Interested in being a WSO Troll? let me know. PM or email me at [email protected]

We don't expect you to put in much more addt'l time than you already spend on WSO, just that you help keep an eye out for opportunities to troll while you are on the site and either take action yourself, or email swagon, ToiletPaper or one of our assistants.

Guidelines specific to WSO:

#1 they have to have been a member for over 1 minute.
#2 they must have at least a 1:5 ratio of SB to MS (with a min of 20 MSs)
#3 they must have over 1 banana points
#4 they must get involved in trolling activites, and if they do, they have to be very disrespectful
#5 argumentative, and power hungry
Some of the responsibilities included:
• troll
• troll
• troll
• troll

Life after Investment Banking

anonymousman's picture
IB
 
Points)
 on 9/9/12 at 12:00pm
Stephen Ridley plays at a school

Like a majority of people who are on this website, I used to come on here and write bullshit about a life partly my own, partly fantasy. I'm now going to uncloak the anonymous man and tell you my story.

My name is Stephen Ridley. I graduated from a top tier British University with a First Class Honours Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics in 2010 and went straight into IBD at a top tier European Investment Bank, after interning there in 2009. I worked in the top team (on a revenue basis) for 16 months, before quitting in October 2011. I want to tell you about that experience, and about what has happened since then, about how I left the green to chase my dream. This will be blunt and honest. I do not mean to offend, quite the opposite, I hope to inspire! Again, this isn't an attack on those who choose to be bankers, it's just me sharing my experience together with the lessons I've learnt, and hopefully it speaks to a few people. If you look at the picture above you'll see a picture of what I do now. It's a little different from where I was 6 months ago!

Banking is fucking brutal. I knew this after my internship, but I didn't care. I wanted money. I wanted respect. I wanted to be a somebody in the eyes of myself and others. But most of all, I wanted money. Why? Because money is freedom. Money means I can wear what I want, live where I want, go where I want, eat what I want, be who I want. Money would make me happy. Right? Well... not exactly I'm afraid. In fact, money didn't seem to make any of the bankers happy. Not one person in the roughly 200 I got to know in banking were happy. Yet all earned multiples of the national average salary.

Lucite at the bar

adapt or die's picture
(King Kong, 1,231
 
Points)
 on 1/25/12 at 3:51pm
Oil-Barrel lucite.jpg

How common is it for you to bring your first lucite to the bar and pop bottles? I know at my firm it's standard for analysts but I wanted to see if it's the same around the Street. I was sorta embarrassed when I showed mine off at the club because it was in energy and not TMT.

Corp Fin Brand Name (SBs for good posts!)

sayandarula's picture
O
(King Kong, 1,812
 
Points)
 on 1/17/12 at 11:40pm
rebecca and fiona

I'm thinking of making a career transition, and WSO has always given me good advice. I'm willing to bust out the Silver Bananas for your help!

I am am a corporate finance analyst (FP&A) at a large software company that you HAVE heard of, but is not really on the cutting edge. Think:

Intuit
Adobe
Electronic Arts
Symantec

I have been here for almost 2 years, have a good relationship with my boss and good reviews, but due to some restructuring within the company, I may have to move to a less desirable geographic location, and I DON'T want to make the move. Naturally, I've been looking into some other technology companies, and may have an opportunity at a smaller company that has been making headlines. Think:

Zynga
Linkedin
Salesforce.com
Groupon

Sales vs Research

paolo.p's picture
(Chimp, 2
 
Points)
 on 12/6/11 at 2:30pm

Hey guys, a quick question:
currently holding offers from a BB for both fixed income sales and rates strategy grad position and finding it difficult to decide.

have you guys got infos re: advantages/drawbacks of each in terms of actual work, workload etc. and could you also comment on what exit opportunities either offers and how the pay compares in the first 2 years?
thank you guys!

MM vs. Large/Mega - Differences?

dondestanlaschicas's picture
CO
(Monkey, 34
 
Points)
 on 11/30/11 at 4:32am
MM vs. Large/Mega

Hey All,

I was wondering if you all could shed some light on the core/main differences between MM and Large Cap PE firms? Such as general investment strategy, targets, lifestyle/hours, compensation/salary, prestige, team sizes, deal flow?

I'll be going into one of MBB so a focus geared more towards a move to PE from consulting would be appreciated.

Gracias, Monkeys.

MS group ranking

IBN's picture
IB
(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 11/23/11 at 5:13pm

What are the top 6 groups at MS I-Banking.

No bonuses at Goldman?

JeffSkilling's picture
(King Kong, 1,911
 
Points)
 on 10/3/11 at 7:38pm

Why is this not being discussed?

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/financial...

More prestigious? HBS vs HLS?

pawsoffmymoney's picture
IB
(Baboon, 104
 
Points)
 on 9/6/11 at 1:34pm

usually in society, which one "sounds" more prestigious?

i know all the bankers from HBS make a shitload more money, but then again, money doesn't always equal "prestige". There are car salesmen who make $3 Million and restaurant owners with no degrees making $5 Million but that isn't "prestigious".

so, put on your best elitist/snobbish hats and tell me, which one is generally regarded as more prestigious?

Staples v Binder Clips

deal_mkr's picture
IB
 
Points)
 on 8/3/11 at 10:19pm

which is more prestigious?

Lazard DC Office got info anyone??

DreamMonkey's picture
 
Points)
 on 7/29/11 at 11:12pm

Anybody know anyone/got info about Lazard's DC office? I just know that they do M&A in defense/aerospace. Anybody know about the dealflow / pay / pe placement / hours / culture / anything? thanks!!

Does Bank/Group Matter Post-MBA?

wannabe2013's picture
 
Points)
 on 6/28/11 at 10:06am

So, I'm just wondering...we often hear many debates on group selection, and exit opps: Citi vs CS vs Moelis vs Greenhill....M&A vs TMT vs LevFin etc.

But what about those coming in as post-mba associates? Does group/firm even matter anymore? obviously your pay is correlated with dealflow, but is this the only deciding factor? Do associates even want M&A anymore?

Who cares if its Jefferies or RBC or GS, if pay isn't too variable, and you plan on staying anyway?

Thoughts?

Do back office people know they are back office?

WellsFargoBaker's picture
 
Points)
 on 6/26/11 at 9:07pm

So there's this group called Securities and Fund Services at Citi. From reading the website it sounds like ops to me. Would this be BO/MO?

http://www.citigroup.com/transactionservices/home/...

Furthermore, do the people that work there know that? It seems like they strut around thinking they are bankers.

Does prestige have intrinsic value to you?

bIastoise's picture
 
Points)
 on 6/20/11 at 10:08am

Interested in your thoughts. Outside of the doors and earning potential that "prestigious" schools or firms open for you do you care about prestige by itself? Or is prestige only valuable to the extent that it'll help you get to where you want easier?

This forum places a high premium on prestige (justified or not) so it'll be cool to get the reasoning behind it

How many people who intend to break into PE actually do?

DreamMonkey's picture
 
Points)
 on 5/16/11 at 11:45pm

It seems that every couple posts or so it's about analysts grinding it out for 2 yrs to then break into PE (Or Corporate Development or VC, but let's keep this topic on PE only for now). How many actually succeed in breaking into PE? How difficult is it? For those who've done it, can you describe your experiences? Has it been "worth it?" Please describe pay, lifestyle, culture, and etc in better detail. There are some awesome articles on M&I about this, but wanted to hear it from people on WSO. Thanks!

McDonald's: Harder Than Harvard

Midas Mulligan Magoo's picture
 
Points)
 on 5/3/11 at 12:00pm
mcd

Good news prospective monkeys! Your prayers have been answered. You do not need to worry about your future. Talks of America's demise have been greatly exaggerated and overblown. Apparently, it is now easier to get into Harvard, than it is to get a job at McDonald's.

Now for all of you linear drones: yes, I am joking, but with tongue firmly planted in cheek. There is something very disturbing in this story that I cannot answer or identify in a single word, sentence or paragraph. Therefore, I would like to play a little game today. I am going to set up this scenario as a simplified case study and see if anyone can come up with an economically or financially viable answer...

Who knows...maybe this one makes it to HBS someday: