The Problem With Finance Fearmongering

Just to preface this, we all know that breaking into high finance is hard. That is precisely the reason why WSO exists to begin with, and also why college freshmen are memorizing ridiculously long interview question guides. Banking is unanimously known as one of the most competitive and sought-after industries by undergrad students, and this community is genuinely full of some of the hardest working people I have ever met.

There's only one problem with all of this: the Chicken Littles of finance.

Every other week, there's always some clamoring on a corner of the internet about how the proverbial sky is falling, and it exists for purely no reason other than to reduce competition and scare people. Like I mentioned above, finance (especially IB) is very competitive, but people tend to reduce the process of recruiting down to nothing more than a lottery that you as an individual have ZERO control over. Reality does not follow suit with this explanation. Of course chance plays a role in securing a seat, but the future is less opaque than you think.

For example, we have the over-glamorization of the "perfect" target student. I'm talking Ivy League, top of their class, multiple DIRECTLY related internships level target. These people are at the forefront of what banks are looking for, and they are generally pretty smart people who perform well in IB. Regardless, does this mean that you HAVE to be like this to have a shot at banking? The answer is no. A lot of Chicken Littles on the internet (and sometimes on this website) make it seem like you absolutely must be of this caliber to even dream of working on the street someday. Oh, and if you aren't? Forget ever working in IB and realize the fact that you are a worthless piece of garbage that will never contribute to anything meaningful. What's hilarious is that most of the people who are proponents of this idea likely do not fall in this bucket themselves, and have some sort of inferiority complex.

Do these target school kids have the best shot at breaking into a good firm? Yes. Can you still break into a good firm without being a top tier candidate? Also yes, and it happens more often than you think. In the end, banks want good candidates. Good candidates can come from anywhere, and banks know this. They might not come to your campus, but that just means you're going to have to build that bridge yourself. Multiplying yourself like a virus is key. Yes, non-target recruiting is much harder, but don't count yourself out of the fight JUST because some weirdo on the internet flushed your dreams down a drain. Ever since the era of HireVues has dawned upon us, securing first rounds isn't really as difficult for a smart non-target kid. After this, it's really up to you to crush those first rounds and superdays.

Second off: the "golden path". What I'm referring to is the classic strategy of going into IB straight out of undergrad and transitioning into a buyside role after (think PE or HF). Ask yourself this: "Do I want to be a career banker?" If your answer is "yes", remember that your shot at IB is not linear whatsoever. Lots of banks hire analysts or associates from places that might not necessarily be orthodox. You can also try breaking in through the MBA route, one that is extremely popular and effective. If your answer to the question above is "no", think about where you want to be. PE? Corpdev? HF? Understand that you don't have to break in through banking. Especially when it comes to PE, lots of firms love seeing their upcoming associates come from niche areas that might have some overlap with whatever they're going to be working in. You're not "done for" if you don't follow the EXACT path that everyone else on the internet tells you to.

So why do people do this? Most of the time, it's people who are scared themselves, and they think that the only way to get rid of their pain is to reciprocate it to other people. Because of this, people start to panic en masse and convince themselves that they're never going to work in the industry. Other times, it's to promote some stupid course. I've seen a handful of people do this (not naming any names, but iykyk), and their entire shtick is just convincing everybody that they will never break in so they can upsell some dumb "program" worth thousands of dollars. It's a shameful business tactic, and it promotes pessimism in a community that could greatly benefit from anything BUT that. 

So what can you do with this information? Well, the answer is to work hard and be creative with your strategy. Don't fall victim to the echo chamber that convinces you that you will never amount to anything. Yes, breaking in is extremely hard, but it's not impossible. That's why you have to work, work, work. Not in the best situation? Maybe you're struggling to land an internship, maybe your GPA is low, but remember that all of these are merely temporary roadblocks. Network like a maniac, but try to find the most effective way out of the hole you're in. Every sensible banker is going to tell you this in some form. If you really want it, you'll find a way in. That's just how the system works. Sometimes, you might realize that you really aren't cut out for banking. And I don't mean this in a bad way, as banking isn't the ultimate goal of life. Sometimes, greater opportunities are on the horizon. 

In the end, stop promoting this endless negative content. Don't believe this crazy stuff on the internet either. It's all just smoke and mirrors in order to take advantage of you. SA 2026 recruiting is about to begin, so do your best and I wish you luck.