Strugguling to decide between Consulting and HF Investing

For context, I’m, currently a college Freshman and my plan is to work in either field for 4-5 years after graduating from college and after that start my own business, but I’m struggling to decide on whether I should pursue consulting or Finance, and I want to decide as early as possible because I know getting internships is crucial to break into either field. 

Finance Pros:

- I have been analyzing stocks and investing into them for a while and I really enjoy it

- Would give me the most experience with things such as financial statements, accounting, overall analysis, etc,

- Would see many examples of both failed and successful businesses

Finance Cons:

I would hate IB work so 2 of my 5 years would be miserable until I can exit to the buy side

- I’m not a great salesman so I’m not sure how well I would perform in IB

- Harder to land a job

- Experience may not be as directly applicable to running a business as with consulting

Consulting Pros:

- Also think I would enjoy the work since I like problem-solving and alike and wouldn’t be miserable for 2 years

- Experience would be more directly applicable to running a business

- Marginally easier to break into

Consulting Cons:

- Don’t think I would enjoy the work AS MUCH as I would enjoy investing

- Would work more on specific problems than getting overviews of whole businesses

- More threatened by AI?

If it’s relevant, I’m an international student.

16 Comments
 

You need to read a ton and enjoy college to gain life exp before making a decision like that. Do whatever you’ve naturally been drawn to as a kid. You will be the most fulfilled and make the most money that way. I can’t answer this question for you but pigeonholing yourself in consulting or IB to HF as someone who doesn’t understand the world or themselves yet makes no sense.

 

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