Best path for ambitious students.
Basically, if you’re an ambitious student today and your main goal is to make a lot of money, the “default” paths everyone talks about are finance, big law, medicine, and tech.
People in these fields love saying it’s all about passion, but I know plenty of people who went in purely for money and they’re thriving, so let’s not pretend money isn’t a huge part of it. At the same time, I constantly hear people in medicine and law say that if they had to start over, they wouldn’t do it again, but then you look at medicine and it’s still one of the only paths that pretty much guarantees you end up around 300k+ whether you went to an Ivy League or some random state school, which you can’t say for a lot of other fields. Tech is messy right now but still has massive upside if the market stabilizes. Finance and law seem like the riskiest overall: in finance, if you don’t network like crazy and you’re not at a top school, your salary might be way lower than people assume; and in law, if you don’t hit big law or a high-paying specialty, the pay can honestly be disappointing.
So my question is: if you were an ambitious student starting today and you cared a lot about money, which path would you realistically pick ?finance, big law, medicine, or tech and why? I want to know what people wish they knew before choosing, what the real risks are, and which path actually has the highest floor versus just the highest ceiling
If you're an ambitious student today with a strong focus on maximizing earnings, here's a breakdown of the four paths—finance, big law, medicine, and tech—based on the most insightful WSO threads and real-world considerations:
1. Finance
2. Big Law
3. Medicine
4. Tech
Key Takeaways:
What You Should Know Before Choosing:
If you’re purely chasing money, medicine offers the safest bet for consistent high earnings, while tech and finance provide the highest potential upside for those willing to take risks. Big Law sits comfortably in the middle, offering a mix of stability and prestige.
Sources: The Efficient Career Hypothesis: Almost All Jobs Are Priced In, End of elitism, Does not seem fair how much money we are making compared to other industries, Accounting vs Finance: Part 1 – Career Paths, Accounting vs Finance: Part 1 – Career Paths
Assuming no debt law then medicine before all the other paths. assuming no external support if i went back to college (been in finance or ~6 years), would look into some finance / AI adjacent role, then finance tech law and medicine. i think finance v. tech is up to personal preference / professional interests as you don't need 3-4 years of extra schooling + residency to actually start your career
I think it's worth saying that there are a lot of flaws in your analysis, namely the idea that the grass is always greener somewhere else. I'm not sure most doctors would fare well in the tech space, or most bankers would do well in quant, or a lawyer would exactly love surgery. But these people can only observe their given path. In nerdy scientific terms, we have the fundamental problem of causal inference with this, as we cannot observe multiple paths for the same person and pick the most optimal one. We only have our observed path. Oftentimes, people will look at their own path and state all the errors within it, ignoring the benefits. Tech people point to layoffs, ignoring the fact the industry is still likely the fastest growing and expansive industry in the world with opportunities everywhere, great culture, and amazing benefits. Doctors look at their massive debt and lifestyle and regret it, but they ignore the stability and earnings(plus prestige, every girl you ever meet wants to date a doctor). There are plenty of paths that have ups and downs, and looking for the path of least pain and most benefit is not optimal. That path does not exist. The free market is very present in the career field, as every single job that is high paying also has some shit you have to go through, whether it's school, layoffs and technical interviews, or brutal hours.
So, what would I do? Look at what I can be the 1% at. That's kinda what I did, and it worked out for me. I knew I would make a bad banker, and a horrible SWE, so I ended up in trading, and considering I haven't crashed out and ended up in a Wendy's I'd say it's going pretty well. So, what can you reasonably be in the 1% of? If it's medicine, go for medicine. If it's finance, go for finance. If it's tech, go for that. If it's something entirely different, like industrials or corporate finance, go for that. It's better to be a top tier person in a lesser industry than to be meh in a high paying one. Over the long term, the best people get paid the most and progress the fastest.
The most salient difference is that, in medicine, so long as you become a board certified physician, you do not need to be "top 1%". You are for the most part the same as any other physician in your specialty, unless you really want to grind in which case you can make even more money and be the "top 1%", however you want to define it.
Be a black sheep.
Follow your passion and the ambition will be the fuel to your fire.
The optimal job path to guarantee high income at relatively low risk is medicine -- a dermatologist works 7-8hrs a day and clips ~400k per year. Stress is minimal given you are not dealing 99% of the time with life-threatening issues. People pay massive $s for costly in office procedures so if you are part of a practice / own a practice you can earn even more
Downside is sacrificing your 20s / debt (unless parents pay off) / intense workload (both in med school and residency) until you get to the attending status. It's also not easy to get a seat at a decent med school
Law is a terrible path to go into in 2025, don't do it. Finance is also becoming negative, though some parts are better than others. Tech, despite being currently dicey, is still the best path out of these 3
Some associates make $250k I wouldn’t say law is a bad idea at all. Corporate law for that matter not sure about the other routes and their comp
Why is law terrible? My friends in law are clearing 250k at 26 years old. Unlike IB/consulting you are actually credentialed and won't be laid off on a whim.
Do you interact with attorneys professionally? Mine send me contract updates at 2am even when I specifically tell them I don't need that shit for a week and won't look at it until then. I wouldn't wish that "Ask how high when someone tells me to jump" lifestyle or the whole accounting for fractions of an hour on anyone. I routinely feel bad for ours.
Not sure who threw shit at this comment. Everything here is spot on.
The one you are best at? Choosing a path you are mediocore at, for the perspective only, wont get you anywhere. Good with maths? Maths/Physics -> Quant. Good with people / want to help people? Medicine -> Doctor. You love being a nagger and read the smallest details of a document? Law. & so on...
Entrepreneurship
An heroing
I would choose medicine if the goal is a high and stable income. It’s not easy and the training is long, but the minimum outcome is more predictable than in tech or finance. I know people who weren’t passionate at all, went in for stability, and now earn 250–300k without chasing rare positions.
The best way would be to go for higher risk endeavours like entrepreneurship, or bring innovation to a stagnant field
MBB
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