“IB seems pointless” 19yo making 30k/m after dropping out
Title is correct, I am in the social media space and work with the biggest “internet money” guys on instagram, and honestly will probably get to 50k/m before 2026.
Just a couple months ago I was a student at IU Kelley and was well on my way to a good IB job out of college (family ties not ashamed to admit). My whole life I’ve been super entrepreneurial and was making 15k+/m during college while also pledging. Despite this I was never fully confident I’d be able to keep it up, and figured I’d end up being successful in finance.
With all of this being said… why the fuck are all of you guys doing this? From what I’ve seen on this forum getting into finance seems like by far the worst life choice I could imagine. On top of this, EVERY SINGLE kid I knew at school with a solid head on their shoulders planned on IB. it seems like at this point the industry is getting too competitive compared to the actual upside it can provide. Most you guys are likely multiples smarter than I am, but for whatever reason refuse to bet on yourself in an era where a retard like me can make double an analysts salary.
“Well the long term money is really good ☝️”is it? After 8 years of above and beyond work, and very little opportunity to actually live, is it a real accomplishment to be making 50k/m?
My favorite delusion I see on this site is everyone thinking they will just keep getting promoted forever. There’s too many geniuses in IB for all of you to think you will really climb the ladder.
In short, if your still in college or even highschool and don’t know what to do, just know IB isn’t the end all be all. I know multiple kids my age doing 200k/m, and one doing 1.5m/m. In no way am I saying there’s no point, but unless you already have it all planned out you’re probably better off in a less ridiculously competitive field.
Because we think this is the best risk-adjusted returning career and don't want to take any risk. Good for you but it's luck-driven to get rich quick. Also, I need a job that seems decently smart than an influencer to inherit my parents' money which is good enough.
Last parts valid but just to clarify I’d title myself as a personal brand manager. You wouldn’t find anything if u looked up my name and that’s on purpose
Same shit unless you make it into a unicorn biz
Can you explain what it is you do?
In short I scale peoples social medias by both providing high performing original content made from available raw footage they have, and coaching them on everything from the tone they use when they talk in their videos, their overall messaging, to even who they follow. Really an in depth offer that is at some level applicable to anyone who sees value in their socials
Are your clients all rich sorority girls and dudes trying to flex a lambo they rented in Miami for a weekend?
No, I charge way too much for lambo renters, and would get too nervous ever talking to a girl
How did you become qualified enough to charge serious $$? Not hating genuinely curious
im sorry i had to sign in and post this comment: " ahh so you are partly the reason my IG feed is going from bad to worse with all content creators saying the same shit in the same tone with the same visuals"
good on you making bucks, but dang it you could be doing better things!
Hey, kind oof curious about what exactly you do in the social media space seems like its working well for you
Basically every job is pointless, why don't every nurse, pilot, shop assistant, bus driver, lawyer just "scale peoples social medias"? Everyone on the planet will be scaling peoples social media and then we will be all watching other social media. That is fucking money glitch.
Same thing with investment banking. I bet 80% of people who go into IB hate IB
How do you scale from around 150k to I would assume 10M at least to be able to project 50M for 2026? How do you suddenly take on so many influencers and have them pay such large contracts?
Bro I wish haha, was saying 50,000 not million
lol this was my bad had a late night and def was reading the units wrong haha
The dumb fucks here will tell you that IB is better long term and more safe. These are the same retards that have never tried “internet money” in their lives. Yes bro, what you’re doing is 100x more noble, entrepreneurial, and interesting than IB.
I mean facts I am happy for OP that he gets to live how he wants.
You on the other hand are shitting on a lot of hard working people just because you couldn't break in HAHA
Honestly, I'm with you. I'm also very entrepreneurial and try to get more people on this site to think about it seriously. But it's the risk averse option and I understand people who do it.
Anything social media related is a lot less stable, and your avenues for revenue generation could be gone just like that. If this is true, then you got really lucky and should ride it out as long as possible. You say that IB folk can’t expect promotions, but there’s still a ton of stability with being able to move around with transferrable skills. In the case of social media, there are millions of others trying to do the same “get rich” scheme using influencer momentum, and the internet is extremely fickle in who gets to share the lime light for a limited time.
Also, this might sound pretentious, but I believe a lot truly aren’t in IB ONLY for the money. Of course it’s a big factor, but I think many including myself appreciate the fact that you can take an investor seat afterwards, which would be both interesting and intellectually stimulating. I’d assume most wouldn’t exactly find that doing social media with shallow Miami influencers. I do agree with you on the fact that IB isn’t the only way to make real money, since being good in any field would bring you rewards. It’s just that it’s more risk-adjusted, and you could possibly build generational wealth if you do your best to stick it out in high finance.
Feel free to correct me - those Miami influencers are usually 1) in good shape and in good spirits 2) are with other young people doing young ppl things 3) have an air of independence around them 4) have personal branding 5) make more money than analysts/most associated in IB. Yeah, not exactly Einsteins over there, but I would say if you aren’t a prestige whore or academic type, Miami wins
This might sound like a stereotype, but it really isn't when I saw that most of the influencers trying to make it big are extremely self-centered (you kinda have to be) and fake in portraying what they want to show about their lives. I'm from LA, which is like a much less extreme version of Miami, so I'd assume it's way worse there.
I think Miami only wins if you really want to party your entire youth and be an extroverted socialite. Even if you aren't prestige/academic-oriented, this really only appeals to an extreme archetype of a fratstar imo lol. Also, a lot of people who choose to drop everything for social media may not even have a college degree (not a bad thing, but it shows how different mentality is).
Not hating on influencers or entrepreneurs but realize you have to be in the top1% genetic lottery to really make it as an plain vanilla "Miami influencer"
I did the same thing for a while in high school, but decided to pivot to business because ultimately it's not stable; you're one algorithm change away from ruin. A mid-level meta software engineer decides to change a few lines of code to "combat fraud," and now you're buying ramen for dinner. The "internet money" space is so short-term focused, grifty, feels like it moves at breakneck speed now with AI and whatnot, and honestly, barriers to entry are low; your competitor is a Brazilian 14-year-old who posts IShowSpeed internet shorts.
I think the play is to do this for a few years, while building up a portfolio you can use to get a job doing digital or "growth" marketing for a start-up, which will allow you to waltz into a nice, cushy 6-figure career doing cool stuff.
Lets see those receipts
Oh no, someone got more luck than brain and now tries to play sper-smart.
In the market, there has always been entrepreneurs that see fast ways. Brand marketing will die, but meme coins will be born. Meme coins will die, but drop shipping will be born. X will die, but Y will be born.
Sincere kudos to you and in your situation you should totally keep running with this as long as you can but missing the point a bit. People go into IB or similar fields to build their professional brand, get widely applicable work experience, and earn a very solid income for someone in early/mid 20s. Your thing works now (which is awesome - not trying to downplay it) but doesn't really accomplish the above three stated goals of going into such industry in first place, so not really apples to apples. Everyone would go do some niche social media consulting if they knew they could clear $500k a year doing it in early 20s. By same logic why even enroll in college - just go start a company right away. But yes I agree with over arching point of your post - that the vast majority of people in able to make it in finance could be successful entrepreneurs if they tried (and would prefer this path) but never have the balls to make the plunge.
No people don’t do social media stuff because it’s unlikely that they’ll make money. They don’t do it because they have been convinced of that. All these people are trying to break into MFs, well a lot of these mfs won’t.
Internet money isn’t just one thing - which is the beauty of it. Internet money measures a persons ability to understand patterns and requires a quickness to execute. Even if this social media racket dies, OP’s insight into supply and demand will allow him to successfully pivot into other internet money methods.
Good for you man, but the chances of being that successful on social media for the average college student are probably a lot lower than their chances of breaking into high finance
Bump
It’s usually the people that grew up without knowing what hunger feels like or seeing their parents stressed out about bills that post drivel like this.
I would say that I started multiple businesses in high school not because I wasn’t hungry lol. “Hungry to be mildly successful in finance” is a worse mindset than “fuck it I want a lambo at 21”
I’m talking about actual malnourishment and you’re over here talking about motivation lol🤣🤣🤣
a simultaneous craving for both wealth and stability often roots itself in a history of financial insecurity and instability. I'll sacrifice missed potential returns of pursuing the highest potential ROI venture I could over the security and brand that I'm building with IB... at least until I build a certain net for myself. I don't have rich parents to fall back on in case my dubious social media MLM business goes bust.
yeah complete opposite. most kids in the info space grew up poor and are motivated hustlers. cope harder
Lmao exactly. You think kids who grew up poor are talking about IB and being risk averse. Or they’re talking about drop shipping and crypto trying to get rich fast so they can get out
Exact opposite
pm me need you on my offer
Was your success at all connected to the money or connections your family had?
Being completely honest, the only real “leg up” one could argue I had was seeing both my parents “win corporate” (about a mil a year combined), and still stressed in their 50s. At no point was I ever given $ from them or anything like that. Made 5k in a summer caddying in 7th grade, starting reselling sneakers, and then from there was able to get into the multiple businesses that led me to where I am now
You grew up in the top 1% of American household income.
Rich kids and flipping sneakers, like pb&j’s.
My parents had a ~120k combined HHI in their late 40s while they were getting me through HS and financially supporting my extended family. You don't realize that you've been born in financial security and stability, with a world of connections, good schools, good neighborhoods, probably tutoring on standardized testing, college apps, and school. The dividends of those early investments probably still pay off for you in the form of HS connections and alumni, internship opportunities and job help from family connections, and a safety net to fall back on if all of this implodes. You don't know how much time, energy and emotional capacity is spent when you're dealing with financial turbulence since you wouldn't have experienced it.
What you had, wasn't just a leg up. Dude, you had a nice sailboat when everybody else out there is on a dinghy or a little life jacket. It's okay to be privileged bro, I hope to raise my children in a world of privilege and abundance, unlike what I had (and what I had wasn't even that bad, I was raised middle class there's so many out there who are so much worse off). But don't be detached and insensitive about it. Be humble and know that you have had a leg up, and not everybody around you is an inopportunistic schmuck for seeking a high paying, low risk, predictable career path.
how many 7th graders do you think get the opportunity to make 5k in a summer while wearing polos? Opportunity isn't in the money your parents put in your pocket, it's engrained in the longer term decisions they make.
Wow 30K? I was doing 200k/mo at 19. You need to raise your ambitions my friend
Congrats! Carry on with measuring each other's dicks :)
Are they doing the same thing as you?
While I agree that probably anything "entrpreneurial" is probably more interesting - a (high) finance job still offers the best expected salary over the long term, especially for people (including me) with no connections, no family money, who are not too creative and simply would not know what kind of own hustle to pursue. As timple as that.
the faster they rise, the quicker they fall
You said you’re 2 months in, is that right?
Bro I am Grammy Award winning singer Post Malone and I make wayyyyy more than 30k a month- everyone striving for IB is pathetic. Why can't they just become a grammy award winning singer like me?
In all seriousness- you got a great outcome but have to realize that:
1) not everyone can become an entrepreneur. It is mathematically impossible
2) Some people just don't come across business ideas
3) Your parents "winning at corporate" provided a safety net for you, whether you realized it or not. I don't hate on this- it is great and I plan on providing a safety net for my kids so they can take on some risk. However- I grew up with very little, had to pick a school based on scholarships, took on student loans, etc. Was in high school during the GFC- believe me, no one was hiring anywhere. When I did get highschool jobs, all the money I made went to pay for college. Not trying to say "woe is me" or give some woke "check your privilege" nonsense- just explaining why some people can't afford to take risks. My goal is to be similar to your parents- able to provide a safety net for my kids so they can take some moonshots.
I dropped out and was making good money by my early 20s - much much more than you.
People want different risk/reward levels and lifestyles.
Being an entrepreneur sucks unless you are unemployable and someone who can only get motivated to work on something when it's yours.
I have watched friends along the way go from making $30m - $50m+ PER YEAR down to LOSING a ton of money and eventually BK.
Vice versa too.
A lot of people are not ok with that kind of swing. Some people are. To each their own.
Nothing is wrong.
I like hiring ex-IB kids bc they are smart, and do what they are told. They are like a very good gun. You have to point the gun, but they will kill whatever you shoot them at. :)
Minima excepturi consequatur dolorem vel. Laudantium saepe optio totam.
Ut est quisquam ad itaque quis autem qui. Placeat magni praesentium est est. Provident sunt officia consequatur sed nisi optio voluptatem illum. Dignissimos consectetur natus ut aspernatur. Sit et suscipit aliquam rerum molestiae necessitatibus ut. Aliquid perferendis sapiente nobis laudantium aut aliquam.
Vel nulla architecto soluta dolores quo enim. Rerum culpa ipsa incidunt alias quidem quas nesciunt. Asperiores esse veniam ut omnis facere. Esse recusandae velit illum eum enim ipsa aspernatur.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Non natus voluptas hic commodi soluta. Officiis maxime deleniti enim soluta architecto molestias. Quis nisi facilis laborum vitae. Illo architecto exercitationem cupiditate est impedit.
Voluptatem rem doloremque consequuntur quisquam. Est veritatis perspiciatis asperiores dolorem possimus impedit. Iste eum quidem veritatis ut facere vel. Voluptatibus unde repellat soluta non sunt.
Nihil non voluptates eum quo dolor est. At earum eum mollitia et. Quam nemo rerum adipisci illum corporis.
Fugit aliquid mollitia et minus temporibus. Et consequatur culpa id quisquam nobis. Earum excepturi sunt minus ea. Itaque est quia aperiam eum et deleniti. Ipsam ut quis cupiditate nemo dolorem voluptatem porro. Ut sunt et officia optio sequi blanditiis. Vitae quo molestiae sequi aspernatur voluptate.
Non aut quam at rerum. Voluptas adipisci perspiciatis quisquam. Iure nemo dolorum ducimus facere.