LAZ NY v. TFA
Genuine interest in TFA, but unsure about the career implications of a 2 year delay. Also, no deferral for LAZ, so I could miss out on a great opportunity if I am not as fortunate in recruiting next time around. If I were to take TFA, i would be going in with the intentions of going to banking after and following the PE/HF route.
Thoughts?
If you think you'd go to banking anyway, why spend the two years? If you feel like saving the world, donate your first bonus to education or something. But the opportunity costs of walking away from LAZ NY are astronomical.
Yeah go with LAZ. Perhaps you could do TFA later on or something- not familiar enough with it to know exactly how it works.
If you really want to do banking, just take LAZ. I know GS and JPM are partnered with TFA and you might gain an opportunity because of that. But, no reason to turn down your current opportunity if that is really what you want to do.
Laz NY for sure since OP wants to do PE/HF in the future.
how has lazard placed recently? are they as strong as they used to be?
You can apply a few years out of college, but it is a more difficult process, especially if you turned it down the first time.
Do you think TFA would open more doors career wise? (in finance and out)
Look, I admit this is a tough decision. This is one of those life decisions that other people can't make for you.
I can help you with some of the analytics and some of the wisdom a 28 year old can offer.
1.) You lose noticeable energy for staying up late between age 22 and 24. It's hard enough to be an associate at 24; now imagine having to keep up with people 2-3 years younger than you. 2.) Your younger years should be used for gaining experience and working hard. That may involve giving back via TFA. That may involve IBD. 3.) Money makes life more fun and interesting. Unfortunately, you can't spend money you haven't yet earned, but fortunately, you can spend money you've saved. 4.) Being a teacher would be more fun if you had money saved up from banking.
The only piece of advice I am going to offer here is that if I had to spend two years doing teaching and two years doing banking, but I could choose which order, I'd do banking for two years first, then teaching. If I wanted back into finance, but couldn't get in, I'd do an MBA, which I would be eminently qualified for at that point.
If you want to do finance anyway, spending two years teaching when you have an offer from a good bank makes no sense.
Yeah another vote for this.
I knew two people who went to S&T after a year or two in TFA, but this was pre-2008. I can't imagine it being easy to get back into a high quality shop like Lazard out of school. You'd essentially be competing against seniors in undergrad that have a formal recruiting program whereas you have to convince them to look at your profile on your own.
Also, while TFA is a very noble and respected role, I can't help but think that some people will wonder (if you tell them you had an offer before) "if this kid really wanted to do banking and his career goals are finance related, why didn't he just take the offer before instead?"
Are there ways to get involved in teaching through volunteering? Maybe you can look into the different volunteering organizations out there that allow you to work with inner city kids or mentor at risk youths on the side.
Again, this is one of those life decisions that we can't answer for you.
There are negative synergies in having a dual career where you pursue teaching early and banking early. It may be worth, for you, it to incur those negative synergies. However, this is relatively uncommon for most reasonable people.
You can always be a teacher when you retire from finance. However, I don't want to be the asshole whose words are echoing through your head when you are 35, married with an expensive wife, and miserable as a banker. So I am going to add the caveat that your option to earn less money becomes more limited when you (A) get a mortgage, (B) get married and (C) have kids.
I understand this is ultimately my decision, but I appreciate the input.
In my mind, TFA would allow for personal development, make me a more well rounded person, and open more doors down the road in my career. If I didn't do TFA, I would definitely try to find other outlets, as Kanon mentioned, by being involved in service organizations.
Don't kid yourself TFA would be a career sacrifice. And its all relative, compared to some of the guys in banking you are pretty well rounded for even considering TFA seriously. Go be an analyst, select for better lifestyle shops when you do buyside recruiting, and put those extra hours into service.
EDIT: Might help with bschool, but you sound reasonably well-rounded and probably have a solid background if you got a Lazard offer, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.
If possible, you can try to do both, with TFA after Laz.
I'd emphasize that you should do Laz first for the following reasons: 1. It's a much more compelling story for grad school. Kid who spent 2 years in banking wanting to give back to the world versus greedy teacher gone to the dark side. 2. You can save your bonuses from Laz and live much more comfortably through your years at TFA. 3. Doing Laz first will test your commitment to TFA (if you still want it after 2 years), ensuring this isn't just a temporary choice you might regret. 4. Laz is the more selective of the 2. The opportunity cost of Laz is higher. 5. After two years at Laz it might be a convenient time to take a break anyways.
That's a good thought process, but he said he's interested in PE/HF after Lazard. So while he could do Laz then TFA, it'd be difficult to jump back to PE after TFA because then the story would look like he did banking, got sick of finance and decided to teach and now decided to get into PE. Well, maybe they won't all be that cynical, but if nothing else, recruiting for PE/HF is a formalized process, just like recruiting for IB via college, so taking a gap and trying to jump back is hard.
^^ This thought process would most likely convince me.
I can definitely relate to your personal dilemma with this decision. Teaching has always been a passion of mine as well. If I could marry some sugar momma, I would definitely go back for a Ph.D. program after doing finance for a few years to enjoy a leisurely life of researching, writing, and lecturing at the university level.
I am curious though, how much thought have you put in to TFA specifically? I have a few friends who graduated last year and started, mostly in the DC area. They haven't been particularly happy with their experiences. Actually, one of them recently shared this with me:
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/09/i-quit-teach-for-a…
In my opinion, there is no comparison between Laz and TFA if you consider the resources that will be provided to you and how marketable your newly acquired/refined skills will be two years down the road.
To jump back in here (and state the obvious) it looks like teaching (TFA) for a couple of years will make your long-term career goals much more difficult to achieve. Quick question- do you have experience teaching etc? My real question is this: do you KNOW that you will incur more personal development etc doing TFA? It will be a different kind of development at Lazard, but you're still going to grow and develop personally. I'd do finance for a while, earn a nice cushion of money and then go teach if you want to- shit, you could always quit finance and become an actual teacher if you love teaching that badly, but you can't really become a teacher and then go into IB and PE/HF.
Sounds like taking TFA, while enjoyable and rewarding, would mean sacrificing long-term gains/success for short term personal reward/community service. Too many people, in my opinion, focus on the short-term and ignore the long-term, which in most cases is far more important. I'd take LAZ and then worry about teaching at a later stage. Maybe IB--->PE---->TFA---->MBA----PE again or something would work to include everything you want (and the TFA pre-MBA would help get you to a top b-school for sure).
My buddy did TFA > MM IB (Top Shop) > PE and will probably get into HBS or similar. He wanted a more rounded resume and to not jump right into the grind.
It definitely involves some sacrifice, but doing TFA is admirable and not going to adversely impact where you are in twenty years!
I would do TFA without a doubt. Why? The older you get, the more you understand how little two years matters in the grand scheme of things. What does matter is making a difference in the world, feeling like you did valuable things, and getting a wide gamut of experience.
The notion that it makes sense to do 4 years college -> 2 years IBD -> 2 years PE -> B-School -> PE/HF etc -> World Domination is unrealistic and extremely warped, and perpetuated by acne-prone 20-year olds on WSO. Any experienced or successful business person who has spent 15+ years will tell you that life takes you down unconventional trajectories, and many times the most valuable things you do are when you are able to take the path less traveled.
GS definitely recruits from TFA, and I think LAZ would still be extremely interested. If you still want to do IBD or PE, that opportunity will not close in any way. I think you will be a far better advisory banker with outside, real-world experience and a happier human being.
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