Bankers with traditional paths: Views/Opinions on bankers with non-trad bankers?

I would particularly love to hear from the senior staff on WSO (Partners, Senior Associates, MDs, etc.) as I find your perspective to be more mature, composed, and less arrogant.

By traditional path, I mean something akin to: 1. Attendance of Target School specifically to get into Finance. 2. High GPA + relevant ECs (Funds, Leadership, etc) 3. Summer Analyst positions 4. Return FT offer 5. Either having attended, or aiming to attend a T15 business school

Non-traditional bankers include those with these experiences: - Mature college students (ex-Army, gap years, etc.) - Non-finance majors (engineers, science majors, etc.) - Non-target schools - Career conversions - Mature applicants (took extra time to improve grades, change majors, worked their way from FT work positions to breakthrough into banking)

I'd love your opinions, insights, and perspectives: - Is there a common behavior that you've noticed? Was it a positive trait (chip on shoulder, stronger work ethic, more gratitude for the position, etc?) Or was it a negative trait (stronger desire for work life balance, weaker technical abilities, less ambitions/hunger for promotion, etc.)? - Do you find that there is a deviation from the average quality of work? Is it one of above-average quality? Lower quality? Why is that? - What is your personal opinion on them (as civil as possible)? Do you admire the hustle? Do you think they simply lucked out? Are their numbers shrinking? Growing? - How is their career progression (anonymity to be maintained, as expected)? Do they tend to rise up faster? Slower? Is the burnout rate higher?

Anything is appreciated! Remember to educate rather than belittle!

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