Will working at a private financial advisory firm benefit me at all?

ryan524:

It does sell life insurance but also specializes in wealth management etc. "helping people reach their long term goals". If that helps. I just don't know if it's better to work there or just graduate and get a masters in finance. I have a good amount of student debt which is why I am worried. But I want to be ableto reach my long term goal of IB/HF

Here's what they actually do:

Put you through an "interview" (if they haven't already) and tell you how difficult/rewarding/prestigious the job is, then let you in without really reviewing your credentials.

Next, they have you make a list of all your relatives and people you know, and make you do the same thing MLM companies do (just like Amway, Vector Marketing, etc.).

Then you go door to door to carrying little folders with some graphs about irrelevant statistics. You proceed to explain to them how important it is that they get whatever kind of insurance you're selling.

If none of this dissuades you from wasting your time on that "job," consider this: when you put on your resume that you "helped allocate client portfolios," and you don't have any experience in AM or a CFA and you're a fresh 22-ish year old college grad, what do you think a real Wall Street guy is going to think?

Anyone with half a brain will throw that resume out in disgust. People on WS have more than half a brain, however; they're analytical, tend to make a shitload of assumptions, and if something doesn't make sense right away, they assume there's something wrong with it.

End tirade.

If none of this makes it obvious enough, here's the short version: selling insurance ins't really finance, won't help you get a job on WS (it could easily make it more difficult) and will be a waste of your life for however long you do it.