Women in IB vs S&T?
I am a female student at a semi-target school. I am hoping to pursue an internship through the diversity pipeline. I was wondering if investment banking or sales and trading is better suited for women? Which career has more women? Which career do women usually have more success in? I've heard S&T is very fratty and women shouldn't pursue it. Where do you think women fit in best in finance?
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Women are better suited for whichever they are more interested in. It's as simple as that.
I'm going to be completely honest with you, having just gone through diversity recruiting myself. Don't pick a career path based on what you think is the right trajectory, pick a career path because it interests you, and you have the right personality for it. If you're passionate about the markets pick S&T. Personally, I had no interest in S&T, and felt my strengths were much better aligned with IB, so I'm going into IB. Both places are gonna be primarily male-dominated, and if that scares you or will make you unsuccessful at your job, then neither place is really going to be a "best fit".
Pick a career path because it interests you and a firm because you have good mentors, a support system, and a culture you fit in with. The hours/lifestyle and type of work you'd do in S&T or IB are different. Look into that and figure out what you really want, and that's where you are more likely to be successful. I have seen badass women in both S&T and IB, not to mention PE, HFs, and every other area of finance, just like there are badass men in all those careers too.
This. Do not be intimidated by any department or group because there is a lack of women or because there is a perception that women are not suited for that particular role. Pursue whatever interests you. Many men and women cannot handle the hours of IB or S&T. If you can't handle the lifestyle, than you're not any better suited for either. There are some banks that have better mentorship and culture when it comes to retaining women. If these things are important to you, then target those banks.
SB’ed
Whatever you are more interested in, there are very very stark differences between the two. That being said, I would highly recommend staying away from vanilla equities in terms of sales and trading. From what I have seen, the more illiquid the product the better.
If you have any questions feel free to PM, I am making the transition to IB so maybe I can provide some more color.
A combination of your interests, desired work-life balance and personality. Your sex means nothing. If you are asking which you will get sexually harassed more in, the answer should be neither and you can solve this by reporting people as necessary.
What personality traits make someone more suited for IB or S&T?
I'm sorry but every girl on the internet is still a dude until proven otherwise
We agree on another topic. This place is probably 99% dudes.
Now you just have to change your mind on pretty much everything else before we all end up in gulags.
Back to the topic, at least in my experience, female traders are few but within the upper echelon. There's more variability among males and some are less keen than others, more in the field because of status than interest. Female traders instead are pretty much all within the second group. This might change with the new fads of hiring, my experience here has been 50/50. One exceptional, one that had an AOC like emotional breakdown in a call and I do not see going far.
as a girl reading these comments...I also doubt that 99% of the guys on this site get girls cause um stereotypical much?
Finance will never return to the frat house trading desks that were once the quickest way to make 500k after 2 years and bankers getting paid huge M&A fees. Finance attracts a totally different crowd now.
What kind of crowd? Most of the finance majors at my school are involved in Greek life or business frats
Mostly just ambitious people that have a genuine interest in finance and don't try too hard. Sure, there will be some frat guys but for the most part finance isn't mainly composed of these type of people. To conform to the crowd you just have to appear polished, know your behavioural and technicals well and be confident in who you are and what qualities you can bring.
80s must have been a wild time for you at -40 years old
LMAO nah I just heard from alumni that 2000 to the crisis was the peak of finance in terms of comp, culture and lifestyle. That image still resonates with most people outside of finance who perceive bankers and traders to be.
controversial but if you’re a good looking girl with great people skills and you’re relatively intelligent I’d really recommend sales
Apologies in advance if this question's silly haha. I'm thinking about going into trading as a female. I'm generally a pretty self-aware person and I wouldn't rate myself VS-model attractive but based on what others (same and opposite gender) have said I'm good-looking. Is it still possible to make it in trading if you aren't the most charismatic person on the block? I can socialize with people and have got decent people skills. However, sometimes I can be shy (I pretend not to be in a professional setting) and I also don't automatically charm the heck out of everyone I meet.
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