I want to be rich. Any advice from any professional would be greatly appreciated.
Hello, I am a high school student from Quebec, Canada. I will soon graduate and hence have to decide on what I will do with my life. I would love to have advice from any experienced workers on here. I earn the best marks in my grade in every subject and I work extremely hard at whatever I do. Given my academic skills, according to teachers and adults, I could obtain any career I want. I am interested in finance, business and law and wish to make a high paying salary. I have been considering becoming an M&A lawyer, but I am worried about the extensive years of schooling (as I would first need a bachelors degree, which I would pick finance or economics & take the LSAT to enter law school, and then have to study for an additional several years etc), and I fear that after all those years I wont make a satisfactory amount of money. I have also considered becoming an investment banker, as I would not have to spend years in law school, and could make a high paying salary. However, I keep hearing about their extensive work hours, and I am unsure whether the pay is worth the lifestyle. What would you recommend I do? Are there any better career paths I could choose? Are these jobs worth considering, or will I live a horrible life? What is the best way to guarantee I become rich if I am good in school, yet uninterested in medicine?
There are many lucrative career paths, and that includes investment banking. You should do a lot of research, talk to different people, and do some reflecting to figure out what you’d enjoy the most and are most likely to succeed in. I have no differentiated or unique thoughts on this subject.
In terms of investment banking in the U.S. I can tell you that I’ve averaged about $195,000/year in my first 2 years of investment banking. Senior associates with 4-6 years of experience approach $350-400k at my bank, and vice presidents with 7-10 years of experience make well over $500k.
To answer your question: the best way to guarantee that you’ll be rich is a) don’t spend money, and b) choose a high earning field. In that order of importance. If you don’t spend money and live way below your means, I promise you will build wealth. There’s people that don’t even earn that much but they live way below their means and save a lot (up to half) of what they make and accumulate stupid money. This is definitely compounded if you choose a high earning field like IB where you’re making stupid money, and still choose to live a modest lifestyle. I don’t really watch my spending but also don’t spend like crazy, so I’ve kept about $125k/$400k that I’ve made. It’s not bad, but it’s nothing compared to others that REALLY watch their budget.
I’m focused on spending because that is where most people get fucked. If you spend like crazy you will never ever accumulate wealth or get rich. If I’m 24 and make $200k and spend $199k every year, and another 24 year old makes $120k and spends $60k every year, one of us will end up rich and the other divorced with a drinking problem. (To be fair I already have a drinking problem but the divorce is bad.)
Alright. Thank you so much!
Why not figure out what actually interests you? Also, go to a T20 if you want to best set yourself up for anything. Since you claim you have the best marks and work extremely hard, prove it by getting into H/S/W.
Ok. As I live in Canada I was planning on going to University of Toronto, which is top 1 here, but is it good enough if I plan on living in Toronto?
Top 1 for what? I think you need to do more research as you’re a bit starry eyed right now. As for becoming truly rich, you won’t get there working for someone else - you can live well and be a high earner in demanding careers in finance and law but it’s entrepreneurs who make the most money and that takes a lot of risk and luck to be successful.
As for your comment about extensive hours - the reality is most high paying jobs require a lot of work, most 9-5ers don’t really make a lot especially early in a career. Lastly, being strong in high school is not an indicator of career success and I’ve seen many top high school students crumble in university and good university students suck when they’re actually at the job - stay humble, focus on graduating and maintaining your marks, and research and talk to people about careers to get an idea of what you’re interested in and can get in to.
For Canada Western, Queens, McGill are the target schools for finance
Dolore ab debitis architecto recusandae. Voluptate et enim sit tempore. Beatae qui et qui commodi nihil ex animi. Distinctio officia voluptatibus aut sit cumque iste. Rerum autem non officia velit. Neque amet accusamus quo sit odio nemo non hic.
Mollitia eligendi et excepturi. Possimus velit debitis qui tempore corrupti maiores quasi. Sed qui nobis possimus quis dolor voluptas dolore. Et quia rem commodi qui aspernatur.
Illum temporibus aut hic cupiditate iure. Tempore porro praesentium dolor impedit libero rem enim. Aut sed aperiam labore est. Ad omnis corrupti corporis nihil et. Voluptates tempore id eius modi.
Architecto repellat dolor et consequatur. Neque reiciendis vel ut corrupti. Aliquid eligendi quisquam harum. Perspiciatis impedit aut id at quis. Eos vero illo est accusantium dolor quia sunt. Tenetur iusto aperiam porro expedita ex.
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...
Deleniti molestias nihil ut occaecati praesentium magni. Qui in doloribus nulla dolore recusandae necessitatibus culpa. Recusandae facere tempore perspiciatis aut alias eum sapiente id. Fugit vero consequuntur sequi occaecati eum exercitationem quibusdam voluptatibus. Rerum ea voluptatem fuga fugit aspernatur nesciunt consectetur.
Non eveniet sed minus saepe et sit nulla. Quas voluptas ab eligendi nesciunt harum. Sapiente provident officia in omnis.