Going from I-banking to an executive for a tech company
Hey guys, new WSO user here.
I'm a high school senior who was accepted to USC Marshall with a half-tuition scholarship, so I'll most likely be heading there this fall.
I hope to get involved in investment banking (and would not mind working at a bank in SF if that's my best offer) or even consulting if the former path does not work out. My overall goals, however, are in one day joining the business side of a major tech company (think Apple, Google, Amazon, etc). While I realize there are fairly traditional paths into banking and consulting, the same does not appear to apply to executives for tech companies. That being said, I'm wondering if my plan to go from investment banking to business in the tech world is reasonable/viable. If not, is there a more reasonable path? What would you guys recommend? Finally, if you are familiar with the job security-salary prospects of these types of jobs (I'm sure it depends on a lot of factors but still), I would appreciate any insight.
I'm trying to get the best idea possible before college because I want to pursue internships that are most helpful in terms of landing me in my desired field. I realize there isn't a linear path into this and it depends a lot on luck and how well I perform at what I do but I want to be best prepared for the chance so that I don't miss a narrow window into my future dreams. Thanks in advance!
If you specifically want to be head of a tech company, major in engineering or CS -> Apply for product management roles -> join a high visibility product/segment -> upper management
That definitely sounds like a decent path but my worry is that I might be stuck in product management roles whereas with investment banking (or maybe consulting) I can be confident that even if I don't get my desired role as an executive in a tech company I'll still have a job that I'll be content with (ib or consulting) so I won't be as unhappy as if I get stuck in product management.
Dude are you in undergrad really trying to map this all out? Life is not this clear and cut start out doing something you enjoy and go from there.
Quaneaser is correct. The executives at all the top Tech firms come from engineering or CS backgrounds. I think you should major in one of the above as a start. Those backgrounds are also fairly well regarded for MBB/IB jobs if you can also add on a business minor in the near future.
First of all, if you are in high school then you should just stop reading this forum. Go out there and live your life a little, find out what you want to do, and get an entry level job in a few years - you are way too young to be writing posts like this.
But to answer your question, this is a common misconception (delusion) a lot of bankers have about moving into the tech space. They think because they have worked hard in IB and have PE/HF offers that it would be equally easy to move into a startup/established tech company and be given the same level of responsibility, pay, and respect. Well, maybe not the same pay but surely they will more make up for the pay gap with the massive amount of equity they will request. This is factually incorrect as wall street and silicon valley are completely different arenas and your skillset will not be valued much if at all, especially at a startup. Wall street firms like experienced candidates that went to good schools, worked hard in IB, and have generally followed the rules and "system" their entire life. Silicon Valley likes quirky college dropouts that have technical backgrounds and have been building things since they were 16, are obsessed with tech and code.
Don't try to plan 100 steps ahead my friend. You can explore what you want to do in the first half of college and go from there.
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