Prestige Comparison - Delta Force vs Elite IB Path (GS -> HBS -> KKR)
How would you compare the relative eliteness / cool factor of both of these paths? Obviously, they are very different, but both are at the top of their respective game.
On one hand, take a top of the line finance profile, think
- Harvard Math UG -> GS TMT (2 years) -> HBS / GSB (2 years) -> KKR / Blackstone by 26 -> Partner by 30
vs
- Army enlistment -> Rangers / Green Beret -> Delta Force selection -> Delta Force
While the Delta people are obviously combat hardened and can kill, their pay isn't that great and arguably they don't have comparable peacetime / civilization building skills compared to top of the line bankers, fund managers, lawyers, tech founders, etc. On the other hand, there's a raw animalism to their achievements and the things they get called in to do, affecting world events from the shadows when it calls for it.
Which would you rather be? who has more prestige amongst elites? what about amongst laypeople? who is "cooler" in your own eyes?
You’d be surprised but some of my veteran colleagues are far more “civilized” and smarter than many Ivy grads.
Delta Force is more impressive imo.
Ultimate Pedigreed Path:
Harvard Undergraduate (AB/SB) -> BB/EB IB -> MF PE -> Oxford Postgraduate (MSc/MSt/MPhil) -> Unicorn Startup Founder while simultaneously attending Stanford GSB (MBA) or Yale Law School (JD) -> Political Career in a G7 Nation (most preferably the US or UK)
Trade the Top IB and PE experience with Top HF experience and this is literally Vivek if he had only gone to Oxford for a Master’s degree.
Congrats on Oxford
Oxford is the most prestigious university in the world alongside Harvard.
Just @ Rishi Sunak at that point
Enlisting is never prestigious unless you like taking orders from a 22 year old college grad from Texas Tech
just to clarify, the point of listing out the enlistment step isn't that it's prestigious but just that you have to start there (or in officer school) to eventually go to delta
Yes so the prestigious path would be West Point —> Green Beret —> Delta Force officer (not grunt) or something like that.
You forgot the PE to HF equivalent here, which is Delta to CIA Special Activities Center. Less common but just as prestigious and the "next step" from Tier 1 SMU.
the cool factor shouldnt be a debate at all - delta clears
if you were paid the same, would you rather roll up daycares in minnesota while losing your hair or kick doors and stack bodies for a living?
People in the military risk their lives to protect and serve Americans, not for some paycheck. Especially SOCOM.
Lol Delta Force and it's not even close. You don't just get into DF being physically impressive, it takes quick-witted critical thinking as well. DF is a massive force multiplier wherever they are deployed. Some of the most tactical people on earth. At the end of the day the other guy is just a smart person who works in finance. The DF guy could figure out and problem solve in many more situations, armed with enough information. Also he can kill you with his bare hands. They don't care about pay they are mostly living for free wherever they go. That said, their pay isn't absolutely awful, likely 150-200k if they're high enough rank after accounting for overtime/bonuses. They have hazard/combat/foreign language/jump/parachute pay added into their comp. You're likely getting free or heavily discounted housing wherever you choose to call home too. Yes the elite IB guy ends up richer for sure, but I think the DF guy will be comfortable at least, assuming he is not KIA, and will have experienced much more shit and have tons of stories.
you think bankers and fund managers have "civilization building" skills?
Delta/ CAG ( or whatever they go by these days) would be considered more prestigious and elite, here is my breakdown.
US Army Active Duty personnel - 453,000 -> Total of Active Duty in SOCOM(includes enablers) 36,000 -> Rough guesstimate of Delta force -> 250-400 ( the actual dudes you think of in delta not including enablers) while the numbers are guesses at best probably accurate enough.
So on the conservative side 0.0552% of soldiers are in Delta, and IB/PE is bloated with Ivy kids making it practically Ivy -> IB/PE etc. their standard pipeline.
Also how has no one mention the fact its perfectly legal to bet on prediction markets prior to a raid that you are involved in. So in theory if you went to Delta, you could probably make a killing off futures/commodities AND polymarket.
Excluding the 100000 other ways being a Delta force operator is a far more impressive achievement, I wouldn't doubt that a Delta operator could be a fantastic IB/PE guy but i would heavily doubt the other way around...
Why not both?
Are you serious right now? It's beyond hilarious that you'd compare a banker / PE monkey to Delta Force operators
I worked in management consulting with a guy who was a former SEAL and CFA charterholder.
Here are approximate attrition (drop-out) rates for the training pipelines of Air Force Combat Controllers (CCT), Army Delta Force, and U.S. Navy SEALs. These figures are estimates from available sources and can vary year to year, class to class, and depending on how attrition is measured (e.g., initial selection vs full qualification training):
1. Air Force Combat Controller (CCT)
2. Delta Force (1st SFOD-D)
3. U.S. Navy SEALs (BUD/S & pipeline)
I'm actually kind of surprised Delta Force attrition rate is that high. I figure most, if not all of the candidates, have their ranger tab and scroll, and more than a few have their long tab. The standards must be superhuman if it is that high.
Side note, there are some non-sof jobs that have pretty high attrition rates like USCGA rescue swimmer.
Props to all who serve and have served. Crazy stuff some of yall do over there.
I went through CCT training at one of their highest attrition rates. We had about 8 people make it of 110 who started. I made it through phase one, then sleep deprivation in Air Traffic Control school got to me. They have since relaxed sleep deprivation in the CCT pipeline now.
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