Incoming FT analyst at a solid BB and still deciding whether I want to stay in banking or make the switch to the buyside. Do these analyst programs really determine that heavily where you end up 10-15 years down the line? Feel like all the talk is always Goldman Goldman Goldman or Centerview or the likes? Not necessarily interested in MF but more broadly
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It can be helpful or not helpful. Some folks will get into a top group and either realize they hate it or will just squander the opportunity. Others won't even start in banking and find their way (through luck, hardwork, etc.) in PE or something they want to do.
It definitely helps to have a great start, but that's all it is, just a start.
This forum can make it seem like if you start at GS TMT you’re guaranteed to print money and if you’re anywhere else you’re cooked. Reality is way less deterministic.
Your first seat absolutely affects early opportunities and who calls you for the first few years. After that, performance, judgment, relationships, and a bit of luck matter a lot more. Plenty of people from elite groups stall out, and plenty from less flashy platforms build great careers.
You’re choosing a starting point at 22, not locking in your outcome at 40. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Agreed and would liken it to college admissions. Plenty of smart, driven people wont get into an Ivy or something like Stanford or MIT, but life isn't over if you're attending a state school. Plenty of the 2nd group will outearn HYPSM students in the long term, the same way someone who starts their career at citi or barc may end up in a better long term position than the GS TMT kid. Just requires some more effort on their parta.
This forum is filled with very young people who have been giving the same advice to each other in an echo chamber for years. Just because there is a paved path to success doesn't mean that you have to follow that path exactly step-for-step or you'll fail. I know and have worked with people who were enlisted in the military, went to an average state school for an MBA, and are now working in PE and IB. I know people who started in marketing, got placed in a real estate corporate role, and ended up finding their way to the head of the Corp Dev for a large public company. I personally went to a tiny private university and went from small family CRE development office to PE to Corp Dev. Don't think that you have to follow one specific path in life to get to where you want to go.
There are proven paths to success and there are ones that are more unconventional, choose whichever works for you.
It’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish. It’s not about where you’ve been or where you are. It’s about where you’re going.
Whether you go to the best high school, or the worst high school, if you end up at a strong university what difference does it make?
Whether you go to the best university, or the worst university, if you end up at the same career or firm or making the same pay what difference does it make?
Whether you start at the best firm, or the worst firm, if you end up being a senior professional making a million a year or a successful entrepreneur or hell a regular ass guy with a happy family, what difference does it make?
I’m not saying don’t have pride in your accomplishments. Be proud of every single thing you’ve done, because it all counts, because it was all a result of you spending your precious limited time on a goal. I’m just saying don’t be ashamed because you’re not at the perceived best starting point or perceived best firm or whatever. Don’t let it hold you back. You’re gonna get older and realize all that time and energy you spent comparing or feeling down was a waste.
The Weeknd was homeless in 2011. He was performing at the Super Bowl half time show in 2021. Imagine if he held himself back because he didn’t have the best vocal coach in high school or he didn’t attend the best music academy for university. Imagine some guy today thinking he’s better than The Weeknd because he started at Julliard in 2011 while Abel was still stealing shoes.
Alexa play The Morning.
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