not sure about finance, consulting/law or diff. field within finance?
Hi everyone,
For some background, I grew up as a low-income Asian American female. I now attend an Ivy League and absolutely love it, and growing up poor drew me to wanting to work in finance. I was able to land an internship at a top buy-side firm after my freshman year, but find that I don't really enjoy it that much and am reconsidering if finance is right for me. Many would love to be in my position, and I thought this was what I wanted, but I was quite wrong. On top of that, being a woman in finance is another battle I'm not sure I'm willing to fight. I do like challenging environments where I can constantly learn with people that are my age, so do you think I should pursue an investment banking internship for next summer and give finance another try or what? I'm also interested in law but I'm just too broke to stay in school for an additional three years, considering both the opportunity cost and monetary cost. On the other hand, I can give consulting a try, but I'm really self-doubting with how I can provide advisory for businesses. I want my life to have some deeper meaning to it, but also realize the importance of a high-paying job to alleviate myself from my socioeconomic condition.
Dont force yourself to do something that you dont like, what other jobs/careers are you concerning?
I was thinking of corporate law, but lots of people are discouraging of pursuing law. On the other hand, I think healthcare consulting would be a field where I feel I'm making a meaningful impact, though I am not sure as of right now.
Law takes forever and you dont know where it can lead you too. Consulting is great good experience but you must be willing to travel
Finance can be very boring, however, very few jobs are exciting all of the time. Fortunately, you have a taste of what it is like, but just try to remember that it is just a taste. I would advise on making up your mind after taking some more finance courses. If you hate it in school then you will definitely not want to work in the field. Consulting is never a bad route to go and as you move along with your education you will gain more confidence and see how you can be a value add.
Thank you!
If you can, try to narrow down exactly what it is that you don't like about your internship. Are you in working in public or private markets? There's always the chance the other might be better for you. The term finance covers a pretty broad set of opportunities, many of which are pretty high paying relative to other careers. I think it's too early to completely write off the whole industry at this stage of the game, unless you absolutely think your passion lies elsewhere.
One other thing to think about is how you want to spend your workday. Do you need to have consistent interaction with others or would you rather be left alone to problem solve? What are you good at? Etc, etc. Studying something can feel a lot different than actually doing it for a living.
I majored in econ in undergrad and definitely preferred history and more political economy style courses. On standardized tests, I've always performed better on the verbal sections than the quant ones. And yet so far in my career, I've been much happier working in quantitative roles. Similarly, I've known people who were brilliant students in STEM subjects and are now happy doing sales and the like.
Hi, thank you for your articulate response. I'm majoring in economics as well, along with a humanities major. I love school a lot, just haven't found the workplace to be as exciting (most likely because I'm just an intern, not doing actual analyst work). I will definitely consider the questions you've asked me and finance usually has great exit ops if I do change my mind in the future. I think I needed some words of encouragement since my parents don't really know what to tell me regarding my dissatisfaction. Thank you!
I really relate to this. Can I pm you?
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