[ Status-Maxxed ]: Which career path is more impressive/ideal/prestigious by age 33?
Not including "Entertainment" because it is extremely rare and uncharted:
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Sports (Messi/Ronaldo/Mbappe, LeBron/Curry/Jokic, Brady/Mahomes, Ohtani, Djokovic, Verstappen, etc.)
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Music (Taylor Swift, Lalisa from Blackpink, Billie Eilish, Justin Bieber, Drake, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, etc.)
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Film (Chris Hemsworth, Ryan Reynolds, Tom Holland, The Rock, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Nolan, etc.)
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Internet (MrBeast, Jake Paul, xQc, etc.)
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"If you had 6 kids and they each followed a different path, which one would you be most proud of?"
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examples of revealed preferences:
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goldman > citibank, all else equal
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google > salesforce or adobe, all else equal
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finance major > english major, all else equal
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investment banker > burger flipper, all else equal
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Option A: Software Entrepreneur ($100,000,000+ Net Worth)
Stanford + Google L3 Software Engineer to L5 Senior Software Engineer (4 yr) + Y Combinator Startup (7 yr)
——> Founder CEO of Unicorn ($1 Billion+ Valuation), 33 years old
.
Option B: Private Equity / Hedge Fund ($10,000,000+ per year)
Wharton + Blackstone PE Analyst (3 yr) + Harvard MBA + Apollo Principal & Managing Director (6 yr)
——> Apollo Partner or Tiger Global Portfolio Manager, 33 years old
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Option C: M&A Lawyer ($8,400,000 per year)
Harvard + Yale JD + Wachtell Associate & Counsel (8 yr)
——> Wachtell Partner, 33 years old
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Option D: Neurosurgeon ($5,000,000+ per year)
Caltech + Harvard MD + UCSF Neurosurgery Residency (7 yr)
——> Private Practice Partner Track, 33 years old
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Option E: AI Researcher / Trading Quant ($5,000,000+ per year)
MIT EECS/MEng (4 yr) + Stanford CS PhD (4 yr) + Harvard Junior Fellowship in Math (3 yr) +
OpenAI L4 Research Scientist to L6 Staff Research Scientist (4 yr)
——> Renaissance Technologies Research Scientist, 33 years old
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Option F: Joint Special Operations Command Unit / CIA Special Agent
US Naval Academy (4 yr) + SEAL Training (3 yr) + Navy SEAL (5 yr) + SEAL Team Six (3 yr)
——> Delta Force Operator or CIA Paramilitary Operations Officer, 33 years old
Neurosurgeon because that shit actually matters and has consequences when you fuck up. All those other jobs are more or less constructs to move money around with a good chunk of that money ending up in your account.
Disagree. Neurosurgeons are operating on random NPCs which has zero impact on the wider world.
This opinion would probably change if you were in a position where you need neurosurgery :-)
This is a wild take. Don’t say that to a doctor 😬😂
Don't try to value people. One person isn't better than another.
dear intern,
horrible take.
sincerely,
intern
This is the most finance bro comment I've seen. Downplaying surgeons cuz they operate on 'random NPCs' - every life has value yk
Option F. Everyone in the world pretty much knows what a big deal the Naval Academy and a career Navy Seal is
My brother and sister went to USNA. My brother is a SEAL. My sister was a Navy Pilot and now is a Captain at the airlines flying 777s.
Not sure why the MS and also MS without comments.
Know a couple seals as well. Badass but not that special lol
A, D, or F would get you a big wow factor I suppose.
UCSF residency??
#1 in US. 21 spots.
https://www.doximity.com/residency/programs?specialtyKey=eb85a000-2e4f-…
Okay, this is a clear sign that I need to be spending way less time online
?
No mention of acquiring and operating a 500-1 mil EBITDA business? It's a shame how lucrative and under-the-radar this path is. Glad WS doesn't even know much about it.
Sure. Plenty of small-medium sized business owners who manage local McDonald's and restaurant chains.
No prestige though.
You’re clowning. Lol I’m not talking about a chain restaurant owner. I’m talking about a mid size manufacturer or service business. There’s many of them. They work 20-30 hour weeks compared to low-life banker hours. Way moarrrr “Prestige” then some monkey at the computer screen suckin an ass holes dik off. Most of America doesn’t even know what IB is. You tell someone you manufacture half of America’s roadway cones and leaving for Europe this summer, then they look up.
D, E or F.
If the others paid like shit they wouldn’t be prestigious.
D because researchers in general are cool (the good ones at least). Literally pushing humanity forward from the edge.
E because the amount of suffering it takes to get there usually requires more than money - generally it’s a good show of character that you want to support people.
F because you are the 1% of the 1% in terms of mental fortitude, performance, leadership etc. Only problem is you kill people, which is never a ‘fun’ thing. Even if you kill Bin Laden / Hitler or whatever, it would still take a tole on you I reckon, even if the net good is insane.
I would like to suggest a few more:
Architect - Build the world and construct most of the non-natural beauty around us (in theory, execution not so much lol).
Leadership in non-profit - Do I need to explain?
Researchers (in general, excluding controversial/political leaning topics e.g. gender studies/conspiracies), particularly those working on the forefront of new tech (a.i., clean energy, space etc).
Astronauts - Same as special forces, but with less physical capabilities (e.g combat skills), but more research ability
Model - Maybe leaning into ’rare’ territory (albheit we have P.E partner as realistic), but being a model may be more prestigious than any of the ‘rare’ things you provided. You have maxed out looks, status, but generally aren’t as well known. Compare Francisco Lachowski to male actors.
World leader (of any national/regional organisation e.g. NATO, countries etc)
Model being prestigious is a terrible take. Never take these clowns seriously, you were born pretty, so all you need to do is eat salads instead of Burger King and take selfies on insta. All these clown models acting like it’s a demanding and ‘stressful’ industry, bro u sit like a statue and other people take photos of you. But people listen to their alligator tears, because they’re pretty, of course.
meanwhiel got firefighters and researchers and etc advancing humanity and grinding who get 1% the recognition.
These are all highly regarded positions bc of the dedication, mental fortitude and ability required to reach these levels. I'd say they're not only well regarded for compensation, but their ability to help others and make a positive impact on those around them.
People may have a different view on what's the most prestigious based on their own values. B, C or E to regularly manage billion dollar investments and transactions, D to save/improve lives, F to combat/reduce crime. A to create systems and tech solutions for businesses and/or individuals while paving a path to ownership outside of the traditional sense.
Curious if people could swap shoes with anyone in these positions, which they would pick for themselves..
Michael Bloomberg did something like B/E then A. From Wiki:
Bloomberg became a general partner at Salomon Brothers in 1972; he headed equity trading and, later, systems development. Phibro Corporation bought Salomon Brothers in 1981, and the new management fired Bloomberg, paying him $10 million for his equity in the firm.
Using the money he received from Phibro, Bloomberg—having designed in-house computerized financial systems for Salomon—set up a data services company named Innovative Market Systems (IMS) based on his belief that Wall Street would pay a premium for high-quality business information, delivered instantaneously on computer terminals in a variety of usable formats. The company sold customized computer terminals that delivered real-time market data, financial calculations and other analytics to Wall Street firms. The terminal, first called the Market Master terminal, was released to market in December 1982.
In 1986, IMS renamed itself Bloomberg L.P. Over the years, ancillary products including Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg Message, and Bloomberg Tradebook were launched. Bloomberg, L.P. had revenues of approximately $10 billion in 2018.
The idea of being a doctor sucks. At least when we fk up nobody dies lol.
1. PJT RSSG
2. The rest
Is it more prestigious than:
- Goldman Sachs TMT
- Evercore M&A
- Morgan Stanley M&A
- CVP / Lazard / Moelis
Genuinely curious
A Navy SEAL is not special forces. Special forces is an Army term. Navy SEALs are in Special Operations (SOCOM). SEAL Team 6 is in JSOC.
Yes. US Special Forces (for combatants not other personnel) is Seal Team 6 or Delta Force. Requirement for Seal Team 6 is serving as Navy SEAL for at least 5 years, and the pipeline for Delta Force can be from other selective military units, but most notable from Rangers
SEAL Team 6 is JSOC not Special Forces.
You missed the number 1 prestige outcome:
Any of the starting points you listed ----> Senator/Governor ----> President
He said by age 33. You can't become president until 35.
The most prestigious path is billionaire by 33.
So option A or option B (combined with option A) then
Examples:
- Alexandr Wang, Founder CEO of Scale AI. The Y Combinator company was started in 2016 when he was 19 and is now worth $7 billion. He became billionaire last year at age 25
- Henrique Dubugras, Founder CEO of Brex. The Y Combinator company was started in 2017 when he was 22 and is now worth $12 billion. He became billionaire last year at age 26
- Dylan Field, Founder CEO of Figma. He started the company in 2012 when he was 20 and it got acquired by Adobe last year for $20 billion. He became a billionaire with his 10% stake in the company
All age 30 or under self-made billionaire.
The net worth is prestigious. But the work itself is not really. Look at Figma, it is basically an online tool for graphic design like Photoshop or Canva. Is that prestigious like the other options? No. But software scales and the founders can become extremely wealthy so the status of being CEO and billionaire is prestigious.
Yes these are muy prestige
figma balls
To be fair, Wang & Dubugras are billionaires on paper only, since Scale & Brex have not had an exit event. Obviously they have plenty of cash since they sold secondaries and cashed out some of the equity stake. But liquid cash & equivalent is probably no more than $50-$100M. Obviously very very successful so don't misinterpret this post.
I'd add Rishi Sunak:
Head Boy at British Public School -> First Class Oxford PPE -> GS M&A -> Fulbright Scholar at Stanford GSB -> Marry billionaire's daughter -> Partner at TCI -> MP -> Chancellor of the Exchequer -> Prime Minister of the UK
He didn’t make Prime Minister by age 33.
True but even as someone who doesn't care much for prestige, hard to argue just how "perfectly prestigious" Rishi's path has been. Almost "WSO storybook" like and then more when you factor in everything marrying billionaires daughter onwards lol
Congrats on UCSF
actually clueless finance bro. UCSF is the #1 medical residency for neurosurgery.
UCSF is a consensus top 5 med school lmao
Look bro, do a simple google search for “US Special Forces” - the Army comes up because THERE IS NO NAVY SPECIAL FORCES…. Tier 2 Navy SEALs are under SOCOM. Tier 1 Navy SEALs are under JSOC.
ok. correction from "us special forces" to "us elite special military unit"
thanks
M&A attorney isnt even in the same hemisphere of any of the above. In fact, the guy on the billboard with the goofy commercials in your home city is more prestigious than a pathetic M&A attorney. Why?
- Name recognition
- Local celebrity
- Owns his own firm
- Likely has actual fun with his job
- Not beholden to clients demands. His clients are broke bums that he offloads the work to
- Wealth and assets is likely similar. Relative to location is far superior
This forum needs to get it through their heads. White collar jobs are not top tier prestigious.
are you referring to lawyers in local areas with their own billboard advertisements?
i hope you are not comparing being a law firm owner / consultancy owner to being an employee (M&A law partner)
You are god damn right I am
Yeah ok. A WLRK associate is making $360K. The local lawyer with 10 years experience isn’t making that. Although the hours are heavy at WLRK.
The 3-4 dudes that own their own firm in (insert flyover city here) and have their face plastered all over billboards are clearing that by a multiple of 10
Agreed. Obviously no one in this thread has heard of Saul Goodman
""This forum needs to get it through their heads. White collar jobs are not top tier prestigious. ""
$100 says you are a white-collar worker and $300 says in 30 years you'll have your children follow your path
All this counter-signalling white-collar work --when you yourself are either a doctor, M&A Lawyer, investment banker, or WM--is both insidious and malevolent. Enough
Exactly this. Sick of ladder pullers being like "noooo guys trust me you don't want to be in my position, a position that I have no desire to leave btw. You need to find lower paying jobs which bring MEANING and SATISFACTION. Oh why am I not doing that then, none of your business"
oh wow guessing someone on WSO is a white collar worker, you truly are a genius there!
Come to think of it, this website is much worse than look-maxxing lol
"Maxxing" for what? For women (or men)? For yourself? For society? If you derive value from external things, you have lost, and will always continue to lose.
There are billionaires who are depressed because they've reached their top only to realize they feel no different from when they were grinding.
There are celebrities with extreme fame who kill themselves because they have no meaning.
There are athletes who struggle with depression and have difficulty dealing with issues in their lives.
You will find far more joy and happiness in life if you focus on how to find true meaning with what little time you have on this planet rather than caring what society and other people think about you. For some people this meaning is found in God, for others it is found in helping others or building a happy family.
I can't imagine being on my death bed and thinking about how much "social status" I have. Shit's pathetic.
I agree with you. But I also disagree to an extent.
In the course of one's life, personal fulfillment, happiness, and purpose are
what is most important. External validation should be a non-issue.
However...
Would you rather be a Walmart Manager at 33 or one of the above options?
Would you rather work at Credit Suisse or Goldman Sachs?
That should answer your question whether or not there is still value in pursuing status.
There are objectively better choices, and that inherently means stack-ranking options in terms of their value/status/difficulty
I think that a homeless person at age 33 could possibly be happier than an accomplished neurosurgeon at 33.
The Buddha was practically homeless and he was one of the most influential people to ever live in history, he achieved internal joy, and helped countless other people to also achieve this joy.
Jesus wasn't a wealthy or big, prestigious guy while he was alive either. He lived a modest life and died in a brutal fashion, yet he wouldn't have had it any other way nor would anyone say he's not influential.
The more you focus on external status symbols, titles, comp, etc. the less likely you are to be happy AND to achieve those things.
One of the happiest people on Earth, Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, is a monk. He has nothing to his name, no materials, no wealth, no job title. Yet his brain was scanned and the neuroscientists studying him found brain waves that signaled he had some of the highest levels of compassion and joy ever recorded in a scientific setting.
Same with monk Mathieu Ricard, he was also called the "Happiest Man Alive" and he has no real material wealth in the same categories you are describing.
probably 6"4 and/or loaded
I am 6'3 and bigly loaded. Does that change anything? Maybe. Could be biased. However, the monk Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche is far happier than me, he's 5'5 and owns nothing of material value outside his robes and own thoughts. Does that count for anything?
Don’t need buds to join D.O. Paramilitary group. Green Berets would be a better route anyhow.
Also suprised policy jobs didn’t get a feature. Can make 100+ million a year in legal insider trading
Green Berets is more prestigious than Navy SEAL, but less prestigious than SEAL Team Six.
And one must serve at least 5 years in Navy SEAL before SEAL Team Six
The most badass role in the US Military is JSOC Combat Controllers (CCT) out of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron. They get there before SEALs and do what is necessary to set up Air Traffic Control behind enemy lines and call in air strikes deep into enemy territory.
"The CCT mission is to deploy undetected into combat and hostile environments to establish assault zones or airfields while simultaneously conducting air traffic control, fire support, command and control, direct action, counterterrorism, foreign internal defense, humanitarian assistance and special reconnaissance."
edited
what the flying fuck are those beta virgin posts
to put in other words, why the fuck would you care if you barely can make it into northwestern
instead of asking stupid questions, go out there and put the work to reach one of thos careers, don't be a fucking spectator/commentator on which path is more prestigious when you couldn't even taste them
gtfo out from WSO
northwestern ew
Gosh I hate threads like these. All of these are wildly different career paths; all are prestigious and very difficult to achieve.
First, the comp of options B, C, D, are exaggerated. I have friends who are at similar jobs and they weren't making that at 33.
you have friends that are?
- apollo partner
- tiger global portfolio manager
- wachtell partner
- private practice neurosurgeon
of course these comps do not represent the median person
they represent the top earning salaries of employees from each of these already high-earning careers
if you are just an average person in these fields, your comp could be between $500k to $1m or something
Wachtell partner comp is shared as well so all the 91 partners makes equal comp which is $8.4m
Every time I get an email notification and look at a thread on this site, I’m reminder about how insecure and conformist in thinking the finance crowd is, especially the sell side lemmings.
Ugh, why are you so focused on this being about money/resume prestige? It's not about money or power, it's about creation and inspiration. That's how you live the good life.
1. Startup founder (non-scam): If you're actually founding a real company, you've almost certainly got more interest/innovative ideas than most people on this forum. You might not make it, but you're taking real risks that the fucking grinder at Goldman or Wachtell isn't, and I respect the hell out of that.
2. Federal Prosectuor/Federal PD: You're doing highly impactful work that underlies our civilized society. Run-of-the-mill prosecutors and PDs are also good, but I've met a lot more hacks practicing in Superior Court than before federal judges.
3. Non-GP pediatric docs: sick kids are incredibly sad, and doing work for them is like the epitome of good.
4. Serious academics with a niche research area: maybe less impactful than the above, but actually pushing forward human knowledge--in whatever field you happen to do that--is meaningful. Now, it can be hard to pick out the serious academics from the hacks, but I've often found that once you do it's crazy.
There are obviously a lot of other roles that could come to mind here, but you should get my point--if you're focused on the money you're not actually doing something worthwhile, meaningful, or truly prestigious. I've met MDs, I've met biglaw equity partners, I've met top-flight surgeons. Vanishingly few of them live good, meaningful lives. The one group I think do that this forum actually focuses on is seed/pre-seed VCs, but even they can be extremely hit-or-miss. I'm also not including traditional creatives here because so many of them tend to be failson hacks more than impactful people.
Edit: forgot the military roles. I'm personally skeptical about them being all that much more meaningful, even if they look good on a resume. My instinct is that while they are interesting, the individual impact of a given soldier, even in the most high-stress positions, isn't that large. Like yes, Seal Team 6 as a whole is probably very impactful--but the individual impact attributable to any given member is much less.
Dream bigger, friends.
.
Cringe
No politics option? Top politicians may not usually be respected but they are on another level of prestige.
If ranking by recognition, everyone knows a top spec ops unit is the most difficult thing on this list to get into and theres no nepotism or crap like that involved.
Ranking by respect/value in the eyes of the general population, neurosurgeon. With good reason too. While some of us might be drafting contracts or building decks all day, these guys are standing at an operation table for what can often be 10+ hours, focused nonstop and experiencing actual stress because if we mess up we get a comment to turn, if they mess up they end up with a handicapped or even worse a dead patient. How the hell do you recover from that? How do you trust yourself to perform next time?
I wish these questions appeared in my microeconomics modules on revealed preferences ...
it's too based. the professors would be seething that they should have done one of these options instead of academia
HAHA! Fam some of these professors even at targets are essentially just teachers now, the research they ever publish are in weird journals and they take it out on us by making their obscure papers required reading to ensure anyone ever reads it
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How come?
Calm down guys. All these options are still 50/50 with the adequate effort due to extremely difficult path and little opportunities
E-commerce/dropshipping/OF is most prestigious.
It becomes more and more clear everyday that most people know nothing about the special forces. The clear answer is an airforce combat controler.
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