Keeping up with the Joneses in Finance?

One of the reasons why I want to pursue a high finance job is so that I can save a good amount (10M+) and hopefully retire early. However, I read that “keeping up with the joneses” is a big deal in IB/PE etc. Is it really true that your career as a banker can be impacted if you don’t have the “right” answer to questions like “where are you vacationing?” I don’t mind spending money for an education for my kids, donating, etc but it seems wasteful to buy a new car every year just to compare. Can anyone offer any insights into this?

7 Comments
 

You shouldn't give a fuck. That mentality will change once the old folks get out of there

 

You shouldn't give a fuck. That mentality will change once the old folks get out of there

 

I mean these things already seem to exist among college finance circles. Was catching up with some guys and all everyone was talking about was their spring break trips to wherever and plans for future trips and stuff.

I don’t think it’s so much about having the right answer, but if you can’t participate in the convo, I can imagine how people won’t remember you.

 

Don’t want to steer the convo away from the topic, but can opting out of keeping up with the Joneses hurt your career? I’ve read that part of being able to associate in a circle of influence needed to be a successful senior banker requires you to “play the part.” I just don’t want to fall into that trap of always wanting bigger and better things just to conform to the expectations of my colleagues and friends.

 
Most Helpful

No one cares.

The area where I’ve noticed it is less around vacationing in the “right” place and more around getting invited to do things. It isn’t that people expect you to do it, but two things happen:

1) much easier to network if you are at the events 2) some of the stuff is fun

Examples are: fancy meals, fancy wine events ($1-2k for the event), trips with friends (had one time where it was Friday afternoon and by 7 pm we were on a flight to Vegas).

Won’t hurt your career not to do these things, sometimes you just end up tagging along because you actually start enjoying some of this stuff.

 

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