How Come People On here Make fun of Certain firms?
Why do people on here scoff at those who work in firms like BMO or RBC?
Isn't doing Front office work there still an incredible job for a 22 year old?
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Just students. Ones you are Analyst you don’t care anymore
This is an industry that thrives on rent-seeking and eating the biggest slice of the pie. It's always nice to reassure yourself that others are getting smaller slices than you.
The answer to your question is that, yes, a front office role at many of the firms discussed on this forum should be considered a professionally impressive achievement for new graduates. Hell, a front office role at many of these firms is impressive regardless of one's age.
Assuming most members are forthright in their placement and advice, you must remember that this forum is a vacuum. The professional experiences of this forum's members stand in stark contrast to the realities of many Americans. As to the endless ranking threads, I assume this is a result of insecurity, boredom, and sought after validation. The behavior on these threads mirrors a lot of the behavior that I noticed during my undergraduate years when fraternity and sorority rankings were constantly debated, argued, and scrutinized.
When you find that the absurdity of some of these topics is unbearable, make sure to scroll through the thread and take count of the number of verified users engaging in the conversation.
LMAO straight facts, WSO is slowly turning into the finance version of GreekRank
I think there's a degree of self-selection among people choosing to pursue the IB -- there's generally a big focus on getting onto the best "path," with "best" being driven largely by the names on your resume. We spend a LOT of time on here talking about which target schools to go to, and then which top BB / EB to get a job at, and then which MF to exit to, and then which M7 business school to attend. The problem with focusing on things like these is that you end up deriving a lot of your self-worth from the names on your resume rather than your experience at those places, so people with "good" names tend to look down upon those with "bad" names in order to justify the fact that they're actually miserable in their job
It's human nature to some extent. * FO vs. BO * MBB versus "Tier 2" consulting firms * "Big 4" vs. other accounting firms and even then, D vs. EY vs. PwC vs. KPMG memes * Military branch rivalries: Marines "eating crayons" vs. "Chair Force," lower PT requirements in certain forces, lower ASVAB requirements in others * "FAANG" "MAFAANG" or whatever the acronym is now
Because a lot of people place unnecessary importance on achieving a linear path at a "prestigious" bank and then PE firm for their first few years out of college without actually thinking about their long term goals and passions. If you look at the most legendary investors, most don't have these linear backgrounds out of college. Their success stems from taking healthy risks during their career, being incredibly talented + driven and having a small bit of luck. The only thing that really matters to getting to the top of front office finance in a simplified sense is bringing in clients and/or being a talented investor. If you get your foot in the door and then build a track record of doing that, no gives a remote fuck about where you spent the first 4yrs of your career.
An interesting personal story is that my dad worked for maybe 2yrs at a boutique bankruptcy law firm in the '80s shortly after law school. He was a jr. person there at the same time as Marc Lasry who went on to found the premier distressed HF and PE firm out there and become a billionaire. My dad went on to have a solo legal practice in something totally not lucrative or corporate related and just make solid, stable income for his family. His friend at the firm went on to become a very good litigator in the restructuring area but was never a partner at a top law firm. A girl at the firm went on to be a distressed debt trader at Bear Sterns. All of these people started out in the same place, at the same time. I think the main thing you should think about in college is figuring out what you're passionate about and the level you want your career to be a part of your day to day life. From there, it's just trying to start out in a role that can bring you closer to whatever goal you've come up with. I can't find a reason to stress out beyond that.