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I'm leaving for the Army soon to try out for SFAS as an 18x. I've worked as a energy trader for a market making firm focusing on delta one products. I've been in finance for 6 years now and worked way up from shitty mail room clerk at Vanguard to trading and after all these years, I asked my self... do I truly see myself sitting in front of a computer all day, clicking buttons and bleeding my eyes out? So I said fuck it and went to the recruiter. Don't get me wrong, I see the houses of the trader's I've worked with... $1.5 million.... $2.5 million in West Harrison, Westport and Downtown Brooklyn and I'm like shit, I want that so bad but I knew I was going to regret not going to special operations. I'm just imagining in my head, wearing night vision goggles, doing a night raid with one of the toughest men on this planet and do direct action missions or some unconventional warfare op. I told myself, don't worry about the money, follow your dream and money will follow. I can always go back into finance afterwards or who knows? I might end up going to the FBI or CIA and possibly going into medicine after Special Forces. Don't limit yourself to chase money. Do what makes you happy. Money will follow.

 

IB is just a good place for moderately intelligent folks to earn a decent paycheck with the flexibility to pivot if needed. Other than maybe consulting, it's the only job that you can get without some hard STEM skills and still keep your options open while making more than 99% of your age group.

 

biglaw (can you read and write basically), product management (really not necessary to have technical skills), other high finance roles as well

Was obsessed with finance, now do product in tech
 

Honestly, I would say compensation is a huge factor. Student loans and similar bullshit racks up fast. If you don't start off with a high paying job out of undergrad, you've literally dig yourself a hole. Sure you can be "rich" when you're in the 40s, but that's just bullshit.

Out of all the careers you can get out of undergrad, IB and tech pays the most. Tech has a higher barrier to break if you aren't analytical, while IB is more about your school.

At first, I wasn't confident in my ability to break into tech, so I went for IB. However, I somehow got lucky with one of my internship and learned how to code. So then I worked my ass off to prep for those coding interviews and scored a new grad role with one of the biggest tech company.

I've racked up quite a bit of students loans thru college. Thankfully, I'm making $180K out of the gate.

Unlike most high achiever in college, I'm less driven by chasing prestige than chasing cash because I understand one is real while the other is just an illusion.

So with my tech job, I'm working 40-50 hours per week which gives me time to start a side business. The plan now is to reach a NW of $1M in 2 years, when I'm 25. And if I make it, then $10M by 30.

 

Exactly, I literally LOL when people are just like, don't do banking, why don't you become a SWE at Google or Facebook instead? As if anyone could get those roles

 

So my family doesn't have to worry about money ever again.

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  1. Might sound like BS, but in IB you really are surrounded by some of the smartest people out there (depending on your firm/group of course). Paycheck is great, but it's really motivating and cool to work alongside super smart and inherently outgoing people, as well as getting to be a part of the deal process for huge companies. I am still but a lowly intern, but I've even been taken on trips flying out of state to pitch to clients. You don't really get to that extent with other traditional careers.

  2. The path into IB is pretty clear-cut and straight forward. With so many sites, resources, and a very structured recruitment process, it gives a lot of people a better sense of certainty that they have a roadmap towards being "successful." Yes, people get rich through very unorthodox paths, but for traditionally risk-averse college kids, they're drawn to having it already drawn out for them on how to reach a sixfig salary right out of undergrad.

  3. Exit opps

 
"rnoodles"1. Might sound like BS, but in IB you really are surrounded by some of the smartest people out there

That sounds like BS because it is BS

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

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