Retire with a fat stash of money (IB -> PE or SWE ->? Quant)
I’m a freshman studying Mathematics at a top liberal arts college (think Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Pomona) and considering a double major. I’m torn between two paths and would appreciate any insights:
Economics for Investment Banking → (Maybe MBA) → hopefully Private Equity.
VS.
CS for SWE role in Big Tech, with a goal of breaking into Quant, (though I don't know how feasible Quant will be, probably much more difficult to break into than PE)
My ultimate goal is to fatFIRE by 45-50, so while I care about wlb, a high salary is my top priority. I’m also concerned about which path is more future-proof and less likely to be replaced by AI.
Either of those job paths will make you good enough money to fatFIRE by 45-50 (depending on your retirement goals). The chances of making it big in both fields are equally tough... people might argue the semantics but there is an element of luck to be successful in either path (assuming you work hard). Don't build your life on chasing money (and this is coming from someone who grew up with very little); you will be sucked into the wrong role that you might regret the rest of your life.
Step back and think about what excites you more between the two. Would you rather spend 8-10 hours a day doing CS stuff or finance? Talk to people and ask about their experiences. Take the time to explore your interests before committing to recruiting.. unfortunately, early recruiting timelines don't give you much time though. Fortunately, you do have both options open to you as someone going to a good school.
SWE is not a good career for early retirement anymore imo. Salaries are being compressed heavily and most engineers never make it past staff which caps around at 700k. That may seem like a lot but swe adjusts for col, so your best case scenario is 700k in the pay which post tax is like 450 something and then you have to deal with the crazy housing prices there and no guarantee of a single good year as quant, Md, or something where you can make multiple millions and get out. If you choose the tech route just for money imo quant is best, if you can’t hack that or don’t think you can progress ib and pe.
I did a degree in math from a T20 school and ultimately ended up doing PE. I agree with the above that it comes down to personal preference - ultimately I did not like writing code and found modeling / decks more preferable even if it meant working 1.5x-2x the hours a week. I will say finance is probably better for the traditional definition of reaching fatFIRE. You do not need to be particularly talented or smart to get to $10M in this industry but you will pay for it in the hours. A banking internship will teach you whether or you feel like that tradeoff is worth it. If your goal is more like $100M+, pursuing SWE and being a founder is the more efficient path.
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