IB -> US SOF (Military) -> PE
Hello! I'm currently in undergrad aspiring to work in finance but have also always had interest in joining the military, particularly attempting to join Army SF. I couldn't find much talk about this path, if there is one, so I wanted to reach out to see if anyone could share their experiences. I'm aware military (undergrad during service) -> MBA -> IB associate is a fairly beaten path, but I have not heard much of stepping away from finance after already being in it. If anyone has knowledge on this subject, i'd appreciate some insight on a few questions...
Is it even a reasonable plan to leave IB after an analyst stint and join the military for, say, 4-6 years before recruiting for PE?
Would you still be expected to get an MBA to makeup for the time away regardless of prior sell-side experience?
Does anyone outside of the military care about special operations or special forces, in relation to hiring? If not, is it better to just join as an officer, even in regular US Army? (I'm a little hesitant of this as it might obstruct or elongate a path towards SOF)
On the personal side of things, to anyone who went this route did you ever look back and regret doing it as you saw your peers maybe still working in the industry, keeping their autonomy, and accumulating wealth?
Just as a side question, considering someone who takes this path would be in their late-20s as a semi-junior, does age matter much in the office?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Wouldn't make any sense to enlist after getting your degree would be very stupid not to go the officer route but if you did enlist you would have to get an 18x contract, pass MEPS (if you've had any sort of medical history, even what you would consider minor, count yourself out), infantry OSUT, airborne school, and the SF selection prep course....just to attend SFAS. Assuming you pass SFAS, you would then need to pass the Q course and go to language school. All of this will combined will likely take up the 4 year period you mentioned. If you do end up going the officer route multiply difficulty 10x. I think you're underestimating the difficulty of both preparing for a SOF selection and an IB career. Preparing for selection is a full time job in itself, I would be hard pressed to believe you could balance this with the rigors of IB. if you're not 100% committed to being a SOF operator, don't even waste your time.
If you want to serve and also set yourself up for a good career, go the officer route. Have seen a bunch of former officers (lots of West Point and USNA grads) in PE as well as IB. I would encourage you to look up Jake Zweig and reach out to him if you're actually serious. He's a former SEAL officer who mentors HS and college kids looking to serve with a bias towards those who want to go SOF, also has great content on YouTube as well. He was tremendously helpful to me when I was in college.
The 4 years were in reference to possibly the Ranger route. But yeah, you bring up a big point. I currently run track at my school but if I were to work in IB after graduation, I imagine I wouldn't just be fairly out of shape but also not able to substantially train specifically for things like selection or Q course. To boost my chances that might even mean I'd have to also consider a gap term. And of course the greatest risk with all of this is flunking at any point, getting thrown to somewhere irrelevant and undesirable, and essentially throwing away 4-6 years of my life. Much to consider. Thanks for the reply.
Btw, in your experience does the SF route usually take 4 years? I was under the impression it was 1.5-2 years.
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