At one point, finance was seen as the golden industry to make money and have a very comfortable life. These days, Hedge funds are the only finance role where I see/hear folks in their 20s easily clearing high six figures and possibly >$1MM in a solid year. Also, tech is generally seen as a better lifestyle choice than finance. Question I have is why do finance jobs (e,g. banking and private equity, etc.) not pay as good as they used to in say the 80s and 90s?
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I don’t think it has. Still the highest income ceiling without being an entrepreneur. Others still view it as prestigious as long as its investment banking (> boutique, non back/middle office)
Most of my friends make good incomes, and nobody except me is in finance. Some are doctors, some are in big law, some work in their own company or do something entirely different. It comes down to your personal preference.
Also see if your career path is viable, not everyone in finance has a way up in all banks. A former peer from college left finance to enter marketing and ended up being the CMO of a fairly large business. there is no way he could've done that in banking.
Probably due to democratization of knowledge, lower barriers to entry than in past (not just rich private school kids from ivys), commoditization of roles (finance tends to run in cycles of popular asset classes i.e. PE had its run up, tech longs did thereafter, crypto had much shorter run - each gets discovered and priced in faster), higher regulatory and compliance reducing profits / margins (Reg FD, Volcker rule), tech has much easier lifestyle and better margins in many respects, etc.
Why are people in finance still so greedy? We already get overpaid. Be happy with what you have.
Very possible in private equity as well if you bypass MBA. Exceedingly achievable in 30s assuming you stick with it.
True, though I think overblown from anecdotes I hear from friends who are top performers at big tech. Also, finance comp >>> tech comp after the first few years, especially if tech valuations follow a more normal trajectory for the near future
You have 22 year olds with zero skills making $200K all-in right out of college while at least 60% of the country is living paycheck to paycheck. What "glory" are you referring to? You can still buy your way to hookers, coke, strippers and models and bottles, if that fits your fishy tastes.
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