Math and CS at Stanford, Facebook SE Intern - What non-tech jobs can I get?
So I'm rising senior in Comp Sci from a top school working at a top tech company. The first year all-in comp at this company is $170k (not counting signing + relo bonus and assuming stock stays the same). Perks are ridiculous, hours are extremely chill, and people are good at their work. But even at this job, I still hate being a software engineer.
I don't like math or CS all that much, but I'm still 'good enough' at both to be in the 80th percentile at my school. Once I realized this, I stupidly ditched my interests in consulting and VC to go chase after the cash in Silicon Valley. I used to think that I'd enjoy being an engineer if I just got into a good enough company. Now I'm realizing that it's not the case, as this company is literally as good as it gets. A startup role would only be better for me if I got to work on the business side of things (e.g. sales, marketing, product development, customer analysis).
Anyway, I'm wondering if it'd be possible to get a job in consulting or quant investing after college given my background. My long-term goal would be to end up in VC or corp strategy. I'd put PE in that list, but that seems like a reach without BB IBD. Would also appreciate any other suggestions or career advice from anyone who's been in this position.
Full disclosure: I actually go to one of Stanford, MIT, Harvard and work at one of Facebook, Square, Google. I put FB and Stanford in the description to simplify things.
Definitely check out facebook's Rotational Product Manager program and other such programs at Google, Microsoft, Yelp etc. Seems like a great fit as it combines business/analysis with working alongside engineers.
Apart from that TMT coverage within IBD and strategy consulting are your next best stops to look at. Getting into VC directly will be an uphill battle.
What are my chances at getting an MBA if I end up doing tech at the top tech company? Do engineers have a shot? I've had a lot of leadership experience in college, but I don't see myself getting much leadership as a dev and don't know if I'm allowed to use college experiences in my MBA app.
You would be a great fit for a quantitative trading firm/hedge fund. Places like Jump Trading and HRT recruit former Big 4 SDE people frequently. If you don't like math and/or CS though, I doubt you'd enjoy it, even as a quantitative researcher/trader/developer and not a strict software developer, it's basically primarily math/CS with maybe just some more market exposure for context.
If you want to work in VC, working at a major tech company in the Valley is far and away the best choice, not only from the work you do, but the people you meet and the circles you run in.
Just curious: Isn't $170K noticeably more money than what a typical IB BB associate makes?
Yup. And that's not even the highest. At Two Sigma, DE Shaw, and Citadel you'll clear $200k if you're in the top bonus bracket (possibly higher at TS).
Let me know when you stroll into the top bonus bracket at one of those firms lol
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