Is it worth doing finance for the money if I have no interest in it?
I'm a rising sophomore studying STEM at HYPSM who just finished a FAANG SWE internship. I've done the math and realized that, on average, one has the potential to make more money in investment banking and private equity than in tech, where the real money is made at the unicorns and joining one wrong startup can set back your career significantly. Is it worth switching over to IB/PE/HF if my end goal is 50MM in 25 years? I have no experience in finance besides investing clubs at school, but I'm willing to put in any amount of effort--and sacrifice WLB to any extent--to achieve my goal.
No, because you most likely won’t make it (unless you love money that much). To really succeed in this business (and the numbers you quote are very big successes) you need to be more than just “smart” and determined. The people that get to those levels are a tiny fraction, they have the same (or higher) intelligence and determination, they have had some luck, but more importantly they love what they do (or enough parts of what they do).
If you go into this industry just to make money, I think you’ll get crushed.
Edit: didn’t mention all the other negatives (you will dislike your work which will make life harder, you’ll basically spend 25 years doing something you don’t enjoy, it’ll be miserable overall). And after those 25 years if you “make it”, then what? You just spent 25 years doing something you had no interest in for the freedom to do the things you want, you could have just done that along the way.
What do you think about ops roles with PE portco? Seems like it might be a more dynamic position that could be great for a lot of people that want to weave both a dynamic career and good comp.
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Sounds like you would make the perfect analyst willing to give up everything on a Friday night to head back to the office to realign a few logos and update comps. If this is what gives you a hard-on, then IB is just for you.
Echo what others have said, I like the work and still don't want to do it. Find something you enjoy and pays well.
No. You will burn out so fast in IB if you don't like finance, and it's a VERY long grind - think 5-10 years - until you have any semblance of WLB. Like others are saying, I intrinsically love finance, modeling, spend free time reading about M&A... and the job is still unbelievably draining. Also, $50M net worth is not very likely even if you are extremely successful in IB/PE/HF.
You are insane to go into finance if you're a good coder (outside of certain buyside roles in AM / VC / etc)
I have recently joined a startup as a data scientist - I didn’t realise that joining one wrong startup could hurt my career. Could you elaborate?
Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the biggest hardo of them all?
If you have ridiculous discipline and great skill in at least some activities in this job, then yes, it can be done.
See this guy, arguably the best tennis player of the last generation - he's very outspoken of his dislike of tennis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Kyrgios
Nick Kryrgios is a) not anywhere near the best player of the last generation and b) the Connor mcgregor of tennis
Take that back or I WILL fight you on that - no Byronic teen hero slander will be allowed on this board
Kyrgios being the best player of the last generation is about as likely as me getting an MD title straight out of undergrad
Nick Kyrgios pissed off after losing in the quarterfinals of US Open
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CiNUAQLg10T/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Just go into trading/HF if you are good at coding.
It does not make much sense to employed in a profession you do not like. If you do not like the profession, you are likely going to be miserable while employed in it. Idk, years of misery does not sound to appealing to me.
Depends...How badly do you need the money? Did you grow up without money and are looking for a relatively simple way to escape poverty with little risk? Escaping poverty could be a great motivator. However, if you grew up pretty comfortable and are just looking for money, then you may not have it in you to do something you hate for money. You have to be honest with yourself and pretty self-aware to answer this question.
Startup/entrepreneurship is the only real way to hit that type of money.
Fax 📠
in your case absolutely fucking not. the money is about the same. hours are 2-3x. you'll be treated like a bitch. and you won't enjoy the work.
if you were incapable of programming and your plan B would be cashier at McD, I'd say suck it up and take it on the chin in finance. but in your case don't even think leaving tech.
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