Fast Food Prestige Rankings

As the high school class of '23 prepares to apply to highly selective student organizations such as "The Cornell Hedge Fund" and IU Kelly's elite "Investment Banking Workshop", I think it's only right to rank these high school jobs so prospects know which to highlight on their resume and which to avoid like the plague.

Tier 1A (the pinnacle of fast-food prestige)
Starbucks, Chick-fil-A

Tier 1B (respected name brands with strong exits)
Chipotle, Panera Bread, In-n-Out Burger

Tier 2 (strong names, above shops will take you as a lateral)
Panda Express, Jimmy John's, Five Guys

Tier 3 (try hard to lateral to a better shop)
Raising Cane's, Domino's, Dunkin, Wendy's, Jersey Mike's

Tier 4 (leave off the resume)
Subway, Popeye's, Little Caesar's, McDonald's, KFC

Tier 5 (worse than NW Mutual)
Taco Bell, Whataburger, Burger King, Arby's

Comments (51)

  • Analyst 1 in IB-M&A
4d 

Taco Bell is tier 2 nothing hits better than being black out drunk and having a steak quesadilla

  • 2
4d 
corrido, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Taco Bell's food is tier 3, tier 2 if you've had several negronis, but is an auto ding on a resume for any prestigious undergraduate investment management society

4d 
Premia, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Taco Bell is Tier 3 at least

Array
4d 
Corporate-Slave, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Chipotle is 1A especially since its the only fast food that can give you actual good macros for gainz

  • 9
  • 1
4d 
money_is_good, what's your opinion? Comment below:

The joy a Big Mac can bring you is unparalleled

4d 
aw.ib, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Where does Dos Toros & Shake Shack fall on this list? Has to be 1A or 1B as an elite boutique institution. Could be controversial, but McDonalds has to move up the list – historic heritage and brand name with first mover advantage, despite some degradation in past years, recent revamp and rollout of new buns could be a massive opportunity. 

3d 
corrido, what's your opinion? Comment below:

This guy gets it

  • Intern in IB - Cov
4d 

Canes needs to be bumped to 1B or 2. Congrats on Panera

  • 3
  • Incoming Analyst in IB - Gen
4d 

Jimmy John's ahead of Jersey Mikes? Absolutely criminal.

  • 6
4d 
Comp1ex, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Thoughts on boutique fast food shops for placing into prestigious undergraduate investment clubs?

3d 
corrido, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Strong groups at local taco stands and coffee shops place well, otherwise pretty shit

  • Associate 1 in IB - Cov
4d 

Starbucks food is absolute bottom tier dogshit and Popeyes is tier 1A quality.

For a QSR that treats its customers worse than Guantanamo Bay advanced interrogators treat detainees, there is a reason that establishment is still in business.

4d 
wsomaster, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Fixed it for you…

Tier 1A (the pinnacle of fast-food prestige)Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, ChipotleTier

1B (respected name brands with strong exits)Panera Bread, In-n-Out Burger

Tier 2 (strong names, above shops will take you as a lateral)Wendy's, Jimmy John's, Five Guys, Taco Bell, Subway, Pret a Manger, Shake Shack

Tier 3 (try hard to lateral to a better shop)Domino's, Dunkin, Jersey Mike's, Papa John's , Sonic, Panda Express, Culver's, Wingstop, Zaxby's, Firehouse

Tier 4 (leave off the resume)Popeye's, Little Caesar's, McDonald's, KFC, Raising Cane's, Pizza Hut, Whataburger, Hardee's/Carls Jr, Del Taco, Coffee Bean

Tier 5 (worse than NW Mutual)Jack in the Box, Burger King, Arby's, Dairy Queen, White Castle

  • 4
  • Intern in IB - Cov
3d 

congrats on wendy's

  • 1
3d 
Corporate-Slave, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Firehouse has the best subs. Also founded by firefighters

  • Manager in CorpStrat
3d 

How is Five Guys not the most prestigious when it's like $25 per person? Eating there is a flex relative to other fast food

  • 1
  • Trading Assistant in S&T - Comm
3d 

O'tacos has the scent of European aristocracy 

  • Intern in IB - Cov
3d 

was it fun selling life insurance to your friends and family?

  • 2
  • Associate 2 in CorpFin
3d 

Lmao NW mutual only gives out offers to candidates who literally give them 100 contacts from their phone in the interview for leads, then ask you to make an intro so it's not a cold lead.

3d 
Tim Horton, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Have you eaten at a Harvey's or Boston Pizza? 

3d 
rf949, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Whataburger to Tier 3

Little Caesar's to bottom Tier

3d 
PumpkinSpiceBaton, what's your opinion? Comment below:

TACO BELL AT LAST TIER? They have very high value, lots of exposure at a great price!

3d 
crazylifechoices, what's your opinion? Comment below:

Ngl my Chick Fil A experience was asked about during my internship interviews, so there's something to this list. They didn't ask about my Dairy Queen experience lol.

  • 1
1d 
Arroz con Pollo, what's your opinion? Comment below:

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