Is it ok to be a "finance hardo"?

No, people like you strive and grind are the people who make money. You will fail at some point and time, you learn and move on and improve.

you're gonna burn out before your first year at tobin co at this rate champ

If you have to ask, you definitely are not one

BTW you sound like theaccountingmajor

WSO MODS come get your guy

Best are those finance hardos in the bloomberg lab at school taking out the f1 key

My friend that is the most important key on a bloomberg keyboard lol

Just make sure you pronounce it FINN-ance. FINE-ance is so beta.

Dude whatever it takes to get in, get the fuck in. I'd rather look back and laugh at how extreme my antics were than have my future self question if I truly gave it my all. If you enjoy the process and how you hold yourself, no shame in your game.

If you're striving for exceptional results, expect to perform exceptionally or unusually and for people to give you strange looks. The extreme hardos I knew from school all jumped to BB IB or megafund buyside gigs from UG so I'd say it paid off for them.

The fact that you said you obsess about finance "culture" as opposed to finance is what makes you a hardo. It's just a job, dude.

It's cool to care about things like watches/suits/ties. It's pretty lame to talk about them constantly or scoff at someone wearing a slightly lower cost Omega than yours or whatever.

It's cool to do as much research as you can into the career path, reading WSO, M&I, etc. Idk how this comes up enough to your friends for them to know about your reading habits though.

Basically, be a real person, not some sort of finmeme characature.

Honestly from your description it sounds like you came across the industry through instagram memes and thought it would be a glamorous space to get into. You also seem pretty lacking in self awareness about how cringey this persona comes across. The first finance-related topic you mention you're obsessed with is watches and ties? Really?

My understanding of 'hardo' is that it's a caricature that you should not try to emulate because people will laugh at you. Hence it's funny to pretend to be one online for internet clout etc but if you try to come across like this in person (in London at least) no one will take you seriously and you will fail on the basis of cultural fit.

I think what makes people a douchebag is when they have an inherent belief that there's a hierarchy of important things based on perceived socioeconomic status, with those things at the very top of the stack being importantly relevant to 100% of people, and interest level to number of people descending down as you move to the bottom of the socioeconomic inverted pyramid.

Like, just because you're into watches doesn't mean everyone else is interested. Working on wall street doesn't make you important to everybody. Wall St does not equal "love for watches", nor does love for watches even mean you're a finance professional. And with both of those things, it doesn't make you inherentlyinteresting or attractive in platonic or romantic ways to people around you.

TL;DR no one cares about you TBH.

"Financial hardo" isn't about watches/suit/ties, that's a fashion hardo.

You have to realize that when/if you make it, that's not the culture, the culture is getting the job done and being right.

I like to play golf, kind of obsessed. Theres a difference between a guy who obsesses over clubs/shirts/club memberships, and a guy who obsesses over finding ways to get the ball in the hole in less strokes.

You seem like a go-getter. Don't listen to the naysayers. I was once like you and then I lost my virginity.

Dude this is pathetic. If you are true hardo you won't let the weaklings get to your head. The friends who call you out are going to be working BO jobs where they will still probably call you out for being "too involved" while you rake in 6 figs starting at an FO role.

tldr. Don't act soft and don't compromise if you want to be a true hardo. And of course its' fine to be one. Weaklings dont make it to FO roles.

To be honest it's not really that deep. If you go hard for finance because you genuinely love it, good. If you go hard for finance because you think it's your best bet to fuck bitches and get money, also good. What people care about is that you're not a dick. I don't give a fuck if you "genuinely love finance" and are an asshole or if you're only in it for "models and bottles" and are an asshole, all I care about is that you are an asshole. College students get this weird impression that people give a fuck about what they are doing in their lives; they don't, they care about how what you are doing will impact their own life 99% of the time.

TL;DR : If you are not an asshole nobody who matters will bat an eyelash at you being a "finance hardo"

I feel the same way about clothes especially suits but don't end up like this guy

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so, here's how i feel about this. i'm really involved in my school's finance community (sit on the executive board of the investment association, analyst in our student-managed investment portfolio etc.) and i see my fair share of "finance drones". these are guys (and girls) who are really, really, really into finance, to the point where it can be exhausing and actively dissuade me from wanting to hang out with them. it seems like every social event we go to, the conversation turns to finance and it's just exhausing after a while. these drones range from really successful (sa into ft in p/e, ib at top tier bbs) to just scraping by (irrelevant internships, struggling to find something for junior summer).

now, i love finance as much as the next guy - i wouldn't be as involved if i didn't - but its important to be multidimensional. have some other interests/passions. if you're one of the "finance drones", this actively CAN harm you during recruiting, as after a certain point all candidates are technically qualified enough. then it comes down to "would i want to be stuck in the office until 2am with this person?" and if all you do to relate with people in the industry is talk about finance, the answer to that question is really frequently "fuck no". as an example, i'm a life-long musician and my best friend and i just released our first album on streaming platforms. i'm also a huge baseball fan and a jeopardy! lover. these are things that set me apart from other candidates and frequently come up more often than finance-related questions in interviews, even for top tier bbs and ams.

so be passionate, and love what you study/do, but don't let it consume your life. it CAN harm you, and if you ever get burned out, you're gonna be stuck with very little to replace that void with.

I would say to make sure you're portraying that the right intentions are there (it seems like they are). As soon you as you begin to shame, shit on, or judge people for not acting or dressing how you would deem appropriate, all bets are off and you're just another douchebag wannabe that cares what other people think way more than anything else.

That being said, if you're truly fascinated by the field and want to learn as much as you can and be successful, well, some of the other attributes come with that.

Just my two cents, take it at par value. But again DO NOT think for a second that a successful financial professional is synonomous with a finance hardo.

Just as much as it is okay to be a nerd trying to shove me your resume while I'm rubbing some girls clit through her pants in the middle of a WSO happy hour.

Incel=hardo

Just go bullish man! You are on the right track.

Yeah,your are on the right track.

wow i stay off wso for a few days and you guys have been talking about me this whole time, i'm flattered

i've decided to f*ck the haters and continue to be a finance hardo