The ranking to END all rankings

Hey all, this is my first post and a rather odd one at that, but I thought I would give it a go. I go to a solid non-target (ie NESCAC) and this forum has been greatly helpful in learning more about ibanking and consulting, especially when compared to the ridiculous threads devoted to the topic on autoadmit.

I was reading an older post lamenting the focus on rankings displayed by many forum members and I'll admit that the the underlying need for knowing what's best isn't always healthy.

However, in the sake of giving into one of this forum's guilty pleasures, I thought I might propose the basis for the ultimate ranking of job opportunities in consulting/finance (law even, if you so desire).

This ranking would involve consulting firms, banks (IB, S&T, research, commercial..) PE, VC, hedge funds, you name it. You could separate these firms by groups, go into ops and accounting, whatever you want. The only ranking criteria would be "prestige."

Hopefully, this thread could become the place to debate all these "issues" and the definitive reference point for all ranking needs (regardless of the actual value of rankings).

To start things off, here's a framework:

VC
PE
HF
S&T
IBD
Strategy Consulting
Investment Management
Commercial Banking
Accounting
IT Consulting

Even that's probably pretty debatable but go ahead and tear it apart, name firms, groups, etc. and maybe we can reach some sort of consensus. Also, there are obviously hedge funds that are more pretigious than PE shops and vice-versa, feel free to step out of the boundaries I put down.

(This is of course only semi-serious as whether this has any validity in the real world is questionable at best)

 

There's no such thing as a ranking to end all rankings. Good traders suck at banking, good bankers couldn't trade to save their lives. As soon as you determine "the ultimate" it's no longer the ultimate, everyone wants to do it. Everyone has a skillset; every job within every firm within every industry is a little different from the one next to it.

Second...just why? This is naive in the extreme, to deliberately set about making some sort of uber-pinned thread. It's too self-conscious to be good netiquette.

 
Best Response

You are an idiot... not to sound defensive but I know plenty of people in my office alone who turned down i-banking, S&T, and Hedge funds to do strategy consulting. I am sure there are numerous cases that will contradict your rankings. What does this usually indicate? That career choices are a personal choice.

What is the basis of your ranking? Earnings potential? VC definitely wouldn't be at the top then. Prestige? Working for SAC could be more, less or equally prestigious to working for Blackstone depending on who you talk to. Best dress code? I'm sure the PE guys have the most expensive suits but the VC guys can wear jeans to work.

Even in my own field (strategy consulting) there is no clear pecking order. Mckinsey is usually anointed as the clear leader but there are some boutiques that are even more prestigious in some circles; even among the big boys, I would rather work for Bain than Mckinsey.

Seriously sorry for the long explanation but hopefully this gets other people to stop worrying about rankings and just try and get in to ANY investment bank/strategy consulting firm/private equity/hedge fund/S&T desk. In real terms there is very little difference between a consultant at mckinsey, bain, bcg, monitor, booz allen, parthenon, LEK, or Mercer rather than some pre-conceived bullshit.

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, but I completely agree with your post. I'd probably pick Bain over any of those options ecxept maybe VC if it were more widespread on the east coast (san francisco definitely seems to be the place for that.)

I was just trying to spur some discussion, as pointless as it may be, especially considering that very few people will ever get to work for a single one of those firms. My "ranking" was just the impression I had gotten from posts on this forum and elsewhere. It seems like consulting doesn't get too much credit, regardless of the fact that it is at least as hard to get into as ibanking and a much broader field in my opinion.

 

1) You're not allowed to post ANY FORUMS unless you have been a member for AT LEAST A WEEK (not 20 Hours and 10 Min) like our forum creator.

2) Make sure that you have SOMETHING DIFFERENT to add to the groups that is not aimed to SOLELY benefit your own curiosities and spark interest in your Chimp-Ass background.

3) YOUR BALLS MUST HAVE DROPPED(for more than 20 Hrs and 10 Min)

4) You cannot name forums using absolute titles such as "END ALL" - That expression does nothing more than expose your juvenile understanding of the world as well as spur responses from higher intelligences such as myself.

5) F*@K YO "Solid Non-Target NESCAC" shit.... I BET YOU PLAY COMPETITIVE FIELD HOCKEY FOR BEER MONEY.

6) "(This is of course only semi-serious as whether this has any validity in the real world is questionable at best)" IS A GIVEN - and by stating the obvious you only further prove that YOU HAVE LEARNED NOTHING ABOUT THIS FORUM

7) "Hey all" is the GAYEST WAY TO GREET ANYONE !!!! YOU'VE PROBABLY JUST TURNED OFF PEOPLE FROM ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTING TO OUR DISCUSSIONS.

8) I need to shotgun a Red Bull and call California.

 

HAHA! Just when I was worried that my "seriously?" didn't get through and I was going to have to sit down and take a minute to be an asshole... this! Thank you for summarizing most of my thoughts.

The whole post , idea and all, comes of as some quibbling, desperate cry for attention. "Look what I learned about finance in just 21 hours on your forum!" "CAPM, SHARPE RATIO, VAR, COMPS, HF, PITCH BOOKS, BB! WOOOOOO"

Someone take his bulls so he can't reproduce.

GateBreaker:
1) You're not allowed to post ANY FORUMS unless you have been a member for AT LEAST A WEEK (not 20 Hours and 10 Min) like our forum creator.

2) Make sure that you have SOMETHING DIFFERENT to add to the groups that is not aimed to SOLELY benefit your own curiosities and spark interest in your Chimp-Ass background.

3) YOUR BALLS MUST HAVE DROPPED(for more than 20 Hrs and 10 Min)

4) You cannot name forums using absolute titles such as "END ALL" - That expression does nothing more than expose your juvenile understanding of the world as well as spur responses from higher intelligences such as myself.

5) F*@K YO "Solid Non-Target NESCAC" shit.... I BET YOU PLAY COMPETITIVE FIELD HOCKEY FOR BEER MONEY.

6) "(This is of course only semi-serious as whether this has any validity in the real world is questionable at best)" IS A GIVEN - and by stating the obvious you only further prove that YOU HAVE LEARNED NOTHING ABOUT THIS FORUM

7) "Hey all" is the GAYEST WAY TO GREET ANYONE !!!! YOU'VE PROBABLY JUST TURNED OFF PEOPLE FROM ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTING TO OUR DISCUSSIONS.

8) I need to shotgun a Red Bull and call California.

 

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