To the Non-Northeastern Elitists....
I know I'm in the minority here, and my target audience is somewhat small on this forum; nevertheless, I am sharing this message, though it may be somewhat obvious.
Wall Street is run by Northeastern elites. If you actually look around most analyst and associate classes, it’s pretty obvious. A huge percentage grew up in the same world. Private schools that cost $50–60k a year. Parents in finance, law, PE, or some adjacent industry. Greenwich, Upper West Side, Brownstone in Brooklyn. The playbook was handed to them early.
This isn’t a hate post. Good for them. They played the game they were born into.
But let’s stop pretending the system isn’t tilted.
I work at a top BB in NY and came from a state school on the West Coast (non-DEI). In my recruiting class, I was the only one who broke in. I didn’t even know what investment banking was until I was almost 20. No family connections. No prep schools. No one paying my rent. I worked nonstop to get here, and six months on the job, it’s impossible not to notice how many people around me never had to.
Half my analyst class are straight-up nepo situations. Some didn’t even interview. HR is now talking about on-campus recruiting at Yale, with a fixed number of offers already allocated. That tells you everything.
So this is a shoutout.
To the people who didn’t grow up around finance or “high life.”
To the ones from public schools and state schools.
To first-gen college students.
To people whose parents don’t make $500k+ a year.
To those who supported themselves and figured it out with zero guidance.
To anyone who broke in without even knowing this industry existed until late.
You earned it. Every bit of it.
If you’re one of the few who made it in without the background, connections, or safety net, congrats. You beat a rigged system. And that matters more than pedigree ever will.
Once again, not a hate post - Northeastern elitists who think Chipotle is quality Mexican food, try not to get triggered. This is a congratulations to those who worked 10x harder to make it where they are today.
To the non-targets recruiting for SA 27: keep pushing, keep grinding, keep working for every inch. If you don't ever break into this industry, at least remember, unlike target students, you know how to talk to a girl (okay, that one was a jab).
second this... as someone who didn't come from that elitist background that you described, I feel like I belong in my seat and deserve it way more than the kid who went to hotchkiss or collegiate
Cry harder hippie
Triggered-elitist-nepo spotted
Always puts a tear in my eye when nepo-yuppies talk down to people 10x smarter than they ever will be.
looks like someones parents paid 500k for their education just to get outplaced by some ASU kid
Funny enough, this is actually true. I had analysts in my class who would explicitly state how they can’t believe their parents dished out $300k on private education just to end up in the same place as a Washington State grad.
He’s not crying, he’s celebrating
Agreed. I am a first-generation college graduate who went to below-average public schools in the Midwest. I never realized how privileged everyone in this industry was growing up until I got in myself. If this pisses you off, then you're naive lmao.
I wonder what your average northeastern elite thinks of a bay area elite from say atherton. Lot of tech money and tech is everything today, but will they never be truly "elite"? It's definitely a dichotomy of old school vs new school / entrepreneurial money and NYC holds so much more cachet over the Bay.
Holy shit ur a loser
calm down little buddy lmao
My boss is from atherton. He fits the west coast stereotypes. I appreciate it because it means I don’t have to dress up for work or do the other old head stuff. But yeah the west coast personality tends to translate to teeth things like being disorganized and such.
I have a good friend from atherton as well, and it’s obvious that he didn’t grow up on the east coast bc there are things he just misses. Im sure there are things I am unaware of being in SF now.
Overall, great guys and smart guys and everything but the cultural differences are real. My answer to your question about the old money stuff: yes it’s real but the difference between east coast and west coast is nothing compared to the attitude of Europeans. In the U.S. people care more about what college you went to vs what college your grandpa did. In Europe the latter matters a surprising amount.
very interesting to hear, what are the things your friend "misses"?
Here on the threads its the same type of people with some exceptions.
They dont even realize how privileged they are. Starting from the lottery of target university admissions.
Those are the same people who talk shit about DEI. Silver spoon mfs who don't realize how good they have it. I always bat for public school kids and FGLI kids who network with me and always try to help them out.
Elites like to self perpetuate.
Work harder, become an elite, self perpetuate
This is true everywhere in every society absent a cataclysmic revolution like Russia
When we getting that AMA?
"Elite" or not, 99% of everything in this country outside the Northeast is almost completely irrelevant
As a Californian, I probably can’t even pick out your little irrelevant state on a map.
The northeast's whole job since 2000 is picking up pennies behind california. The biggest victory for all these banks is getting picked by a stanford dropout in flip flops to 'advise' his next deal. Maybe they helped him source the funding, too!! So relevant
This is exactly why I didn't do IB. I looked around at age 20 and realized I was too late. The people you describe were already years ahead and I didn't even realize the full extent at the time. You summed it up well and it's not talking shit, it's reality. Respect for making it to where you are.
You know things are fucked when even the elitists need to relocate to Brooklyn to save money
Most people i know that have parents like that did not even use connections, most of them just had parents that were extremely on their ass everyone I know that got into IB had a either an older sibling or a parent guiding them.
You sound like a Somalian refugee who showed up in a country club and discovered you may have a functional golf swing. Please check w residents here around if you should even be here
"teller" gtfo buddy
When the tech bubble happens, and Silicon Valley goes the way of the railroads, the car companies, the utilities, the conglomerates, shale oil, and whatever other fad happens to be the order of the day, the Northeastern elite will still be there in its glory, wearing pink shirts and cruising down Greenwich Avenue. This is a good thing.
This entire thread needs to touch grass
thought this was a shitpost abt northeastern university lmao
Coming from a difficult financial background my parents never earned close to $50k a year and now working in pe after two years in IB, it has been insane to me to see how connected many people in this industry are, whether it’s having similar hobbies Freinds etc everyone is just connected. A significant number come from well off families and have the safety net of returning home and relying on their parents if they lose their jobs. I do not have that luxury; without a steady income, I’m going homeless tf. That said, I’ve met individuals from privileged backgrounds who are genuinely kind, grounded, and great to be around, as well as others who are overly focused on prestige and clearly insecure. What continues to surprise me is how many people have not faced serious hardship regarding life yet express extreme distress over issues of status or access, treating setbacks in prestige as existential crises
In a way, the funny part about this is that you'll likely marry/have kids with someone upper-middle class and your grandkids will possibly become closer to being the establishment/NE Elite, at least culturally. The reality is nobody likes being at the bottom.
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