West Point Grad to Wall Street
Hey everyone, aspiring 17 year old future officer here. Last week I was appointed to West Point. It has been my no 1 for a very long time and I feel a duty to serve my country and put myself through the test of the academy however I have had a passion for business/investing pretty much my entire life. I was wondering how well a West Point Army Officer could transfer into the world of finance after their 5 years of duty if it was not for them. Just wondering like pay, where I would enter rank wise of a company, and if I would need to do any post-grad schooling. I appreciate any response!
1. Congrats
2. If you want to spend time as an officer do it, its not an uncommon route to leave the US Army (or even take two years while you are still in) and go to a top MBA program which can help open doors to the finance world
3. It will sound counter-intuitive, but because you have a lot of time ahead of when you want to go into finance as your long term career, I would consider studying a subject that is not finance while at West Point (i.e. Math / Engineering related). It will likely help you open doors to MBA programs.
Due it?
As a wp grad in finance, don't worry about this right now. You are like 10 years away from when you service commitment would be over(plus 2 years of an MBA you would need to likely get).
A lot will change in 10 years(marriage, deployments, injuries etc). You will have different interests. Focus on being best student you can be, major in something that you like, and your entire future focus should be "how can I be the best officer and army leader possible".
Wallstreet stuff can happen later. If you are a good officer you will have plenty of options if you decide to get out of service.
I’ve met numerous service academy grads in finance. Tend to see relatively few at junior levels, because it’s tough to go straight from the service to a finance job - but MBA programs love it for the perceived work ethic, tangible leadership experience, and general intelligence signaling (not to mention government credit paying your tuition).
Definitely takes a certain type to go through the academies. I thought I wanted to until I did an extended program at one in high school where you had to go through everything the cadets did… noped out of there real quick.
It sounds like you, however, are fully onboard with it. If that’s the case, don’t worry too much about the far future - work on excelling as a cadet and then as an officer, after which many doors (Wall Street or otherwise) will be available to you
You’re definitely a bit too early to be set on Wall Street. Make the best of your education and service, and if you feel inclined to you can major in Economics or something to gain exposure to the finance world. Serve dutifully, get your honorable discharge, a good commander’s rec for your MBA and you can set yourself up with a lot of very high-paying jobs in the civilian sector.
First of all, congratulations! West Point only takes the best.
Typically, you will have to go to a business school after your 5 years (5 years or 5 stars, whichever comes first) of service. My dad is a West Point graduate, and his two-year of B school greatly helped him readjust to civilian life. I have the utmost respect for your decision. I did not take the service route, but I would go out of my way to help a West Point graduate, and I do not think I am alone in this mentality. A lot of people in finance have a great respect for service and would want you to succeed.
I think you’ll have a great amount of help in the transition. West Point and veteran alumni really look after each out plus they are viewed highly in the industry. I’ve personally worked with a few and they are some of the best people I’ve ever been along side. Crazy hard working and down to business.
I think the easiest / most common route to Wall Street post West Point is via a full time MBA program. I went to one of the Harvard/Stanford/Wharton MBA programs with several alums from West Point who transitioned to successful careers in finance afterwards (everything from investment banking to private equity to wealth management). Business school programs and finance employers love West Point alums.
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