Insecure about my upcoming 10th year MBA reunion

I'm going to get tons of crap for this post but whatever. Here we go. 

I graduated from a top 3 MBA program in 2013. My 10th year reunion is coming up shortly. For various reasons, I'm not at the earning potential that I had thought I would be on when I finished b-school. Based on the classmates I know, my estimate is that 10-15% of my classmates are now making 7 figures (e.g. partners at MBB consulting, bulge bracket & top boutique banks, PMs at large hedge funds, megafund PE, CFO of a very well known company). Obviously the median is far lower, but apparently, the 10th year reunion will be a dick measuring contest in many ways. So I'm definitely insecure about showing up and how I would feel when I measure myself to my classmates. 

Yes, unhealthy I know, and it's one reason I left NYC, so I won't feel like crap. 

Anyone else who graduated from a top undergrad or grad school, have similar feelings when comparing yourself to more successful classmates? 

6 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Yeah man that's a tough feeling. Especially when you're from an environment of people where it's the norm to make a boatload of money. But you should know that so many people are probably in the same boat as you. I just graduated from a top undergrad, and all my friends in finance/tech make much more than me, while I've been struggling to stay afloat in my consulting firm (long story, won't get into that now). The key is you gotta turn off the social media for a bit and just stay close with the people who you are actually friends with, because all these random hedge fund PMs really don't give a crap about what you do/where you are in life. I guarantee you if you find another group of friends, you'll be quite the admired man... "WOW, he went to Wharton and makes $250k doing strategy at a F500!" People like us tend to compare ourselves to our bubble of M7-FAANG-MBB-BB-EB-MF-VC guys, while most of the world doesn't give a hoot about this stuff. 

 

Don’t worry about comparing. Focus on the people. If there are people you remember from class or projects, it’s worth catching up. I’m sure they’ll be glad to talk with someone doing something different from partner track in consulting, advisory, or investing. You paid for the MBA for the network. You can still tap into it and maybe one of these classmates has helpful insight or a good contact in mind. People generally want to be helpful within their communities. You can provide value, too.

 

Consequatur totam accusantium nobis animi suscipit eligendi iusto. Est repellat cumque possimus eos nobis. Ut reiciendis quod consectetur. Sed quia aut natus quae non nam iusto. Mollitia autem consequuntur eos fuga dolor. Nemo vero quisquam numquam quisquam. Sit saepe repellat vitae odio et quasi nobis et.

Commodi et quia nam est molestiae sunt. Quis quia est non quasi rerum. Aut est aut mollitia nihil vel est.

Nesciunt ducimus ab qui debitis cum. Nesciunt tempore numquam quis maiores dignissimos deserunt. Eos eligendi explicabo incidunt reiciendis deleniti iste qui. Veniam aut corrupti et consequatur saepe. Et voluptate molestiae dolorem eos molestiae nostrum est.

Quod nam at porro cupiditate dolorem debitis. Consectetur nisi quod omnis tempore. Incidunt aut et quaerat consequatur quia.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”