New Here...Is it too late?!?

Good afternoon, I am new here and wanted to say I love the site and all the information that is available here. Now I'd like to ask for some of your opinions. I am a 27 year old business/finance major, I had a child at a young age so I had to postpone college for awhile.I am also studying to take the Series 7. I have always been very interested in business and investment. My goal is to work for an investment firm and then eventually start my own. Part of me feels like its too late though. I look at most people my age and they have already been in the business for quite a few years. I get very down on myself at times when I think of where I should be in relation to where I'm at. Is it too late? Am I wasting my time and effort?

4 Comments
 
Best Response

Nothing is ever a waste of time - we gain something from whatever we do, whether it's the ultimate fruit of success or the experience and knowledge that comes from failure. It's important to know that, as there will be plenty of failure along the way to any goal. Moreover, the state of your personality is the gauge by which you measure your progress on the way to any goal; if change is what you need to succeed, you will not be the same person upon reaching your dream as you were when you started.

All that said, simply assess where you stand in relation to where you want to be. Can you make it? Yes - anything is possible. Will you make it? That's a function of how determined you are to make the necessary sacrifices, of which there are and will be many.

How will you make it? That's for you to figure out. This is the part where you swallow any pride you have and set aside any fear you harbor of being told that you can't make it and to give up, because people will say that. So, figure out where you stand (perhaps posting your resume on this site would help), learn about where you want to go (whether it's a career in banking, trading, or anything else), and plan how you're going to get there (networking into a job, doing a MSF/MBA/CFA/whatever, etc.).

And may the force be with you...

in it 2 win it
 
FSCNothing is ever a waste of time - we gain something from whatever we do, whether it's the ultimate fruit of success or the experience and knowledge that comes from failure. It's important to know that, as there will be plenty of failure along the way to any goal. Moreover, the state of your personality is the gauge by which you measure your progress on the way to any goal; if change is what you need to succeed, you will not be the same person upon reaching your dream as you were when you started.

All that said, simply assess where you stand in relation to where you want to be. Can you make it? Yes - anything is possible. Will you make it? That's a function of how determined you are to make the necessary sacrifices, of which there are and will be many.

How will you make it? That's for you to figure out. This is the part where you swallow any pride you have and set aside any fear you harbor of being told that you can't make it and to give up, because people will say that. So, figure out where you stand (perhaps posting your resume on this site would help), learn about where you want to go (whether it's a career in banking, trading, or anything else), and plan how you're going to get there (networking into a job, doing a MSF/MBA/CFA/whatever, etc.).

And may the force be with you...

agree completely

 

In magnam voluptatem ut quasi sint quo enim dolorem. Facere inventore quisquam placeat.

Praesentium porro ea voluptatem eligendi voluptas excepturi nam. Illo eum quae ipsum et explicabo ipsum quisquam. Quae ea ut fugiat asperiores rerum necessitatibus. Illum harum similique et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”