Is it the money? prestige? or pure passion in finance?
How do you honestly feel when you see your fellow CS buddies making $140k+ while working 30-40 hrs per week in tech straight out of college?
Do you plan to transition into tech (finance roles) eventually?
Trending Content
Career Resources
i dont know anyone in tech making over 120k and i live in a HCOL area.
I know people who make 250k all in comp in tech first year out of undergrad. There aren't many but they do exist.
I do if you include bonuses.
Why does this question always come up? Who convinced you all the intersection between ‘people who can get a SWE job’ and ‘people who can get an investment banking job’ is so large?
Almost no one I know who does SWE could tell you want a balance sheet is and nothing on their resume would have convinced a recruiter they wanted to do finance. Likewise almost no one I know in banking took a single computer science class or opened leetcode.com
No software engineer (except for maybe a rare few maybe) at Google sat down and went “hm yeah I’ve done all these finance classes and internships, but the compensation-to-hours ratio at Google is better than Morgan Stanley so I’ll work there”
Tech and finance are very different jobs that require very different skills, the only similarity is that they both pay well and they’re both ‘hot’ right now
100% agree. The only time this question should come up is during high school or freshman year (maybe that's where all these posters are coming from). By the time your sophomore summer has happened, you should have picked your major and already had a somewhat relevant internship in order to have the best chances of recruiting successfully in high finance.
I am pursuing a career in IB and I think I actually like learning about different businesses and doing the work. However, I have tried to learn CS and I just couldn't become interested and understand it and felt stupid. How should I overcome this?
You move on and don't pick it as your major. I had the same thing happen to me. Thankfully it was in 11th grade while taking intro to Java and C#
> No software engineer (except for maybe a rare few maybe) at Google sat down and went "hm yeah I've done all these finance classes and internships, but the compensation-to-hours ratio at Google is better than Morgan Stanley so I'll work there"
I made this exact choice, and I agree that it's a very rare one to make. (I have an AMA from a few years ago on this topic.) Funny enough, I switched into quant finance after a year in big tech.
At least in my experience, the key factor was that I genuinely enjoy solving puzzles and building things -- be it a scalable software system or a trading strategy -- and wasn't willing to incur the greater working hours for a job that I wouldn't have been happy in. I don't mind the greater finance workload here because I really enjoy working as a quant.
As a computer science major who went into S&T, nature of the work (trading floor seems far more interesting) and compensation plateau were big factors.
Also the hours are definitely understated here, I'd say average hours for an SWE job in a HCOL area is 45-50. Compared to S&T it's not too much of a difference, but IB is a different story. This facet depends on how much you value quality of life.
Also I wouldn't say there is not very much overlap in potential candidates. Many STEM students I know at target schools are allured to finance, and many business students are drawn to jobs in tech (albeit in non-technical roles).
This question is ridiculous, especially the way it’s usually framed, and I don’t know why it keeps getting asked. Most bankers are not CS or Data science majors; people who had extensive exposure to business and CS as an undergrad at elite universities are the only ones qualified to answer this question. Why?
Because people always bring in the salary talk which is definitely comparable. FAANG engineers (In sf at least) out of undergrad can definitely make over 200k with stock options accounted for but they’re engineers. they code. The typical person that goes into banking does not have that skillset. Similarly, bankers at some EBs can make over 200k as a top bucket an1. But they make powerpoints and excel models. Off the comparison of salaries, a recent Business/Econ graduate would not make nearly as much in a tech business analyst/operations (which is what they would do in tech) role than in IB.
People choose tech business roles because the culture, hours, and industry is exciting with some uncertain upside for their equity based compensation, but the liquid pay is a lot lower than typical ib roles. Asking someone why they chose ib over tech and framing the salary question using software engineering pay makes no sense because most bankers were never qualified to make that type of salary from coding in tech.
On the contrary, new grad product roles are basically tech's answer to banking analyst programs. No technical skillset needed (mostly PPT, excel, light data stuff, death by meetings and JIRA stories), and the comp is the same as new grad SWE at top tech companies.
So, yes, there is a legitimate comparable role within tech that draws similar talents that finance or consulting would have otherwise gobbled up. The difference is new grad product roles are pretty much hiring the elite - Google only takes ~45-50 people worldwide, Facebook ~20-30, other tech companies 100 in the US alone. That said, Microsoft hires a fair amount of new grad PMs and Amazon a tonne at the MBA level.
BOOOOOO!!!!!! enough of this shit guys
As someone who did have relevant skillsets in both fields, I just couldn't see myself getting along with software engineers day-in day-out (based on the albeit limited sample of software engineers I've seen). I found them hard to hold interesting conversations with or often they're just socially awkward. It was hard to imagine myself enjoying that work environment
I am pursuing a career in IB and I think I actually like learning about different businesses and doing the work. However, I have tried to learn CS and I just couldn't become interested and understand it and felt stupid. How should I overcome this?
Once you know the basics of a language, the only way to learn is building your own projects and solving any problems you encounter yourself with google/stackoverflow basically. But I think the bigger point here is that you said you can’t become interested in it... then why are you doing it??
Whichever one I get an offer from at this rate really and the only tech role I'm seriously considering is product (because fuck being a software engineer in all honesty, I'm not built to comb for bugs and stare at a compiler all day).
Looking like product is probably going to win as I'm currently interviewing with Google and some unicorn; cocked up a couple FO interviews at an EB, big name AM firm, big name physical shop and a BB but still waiting on a few more.
The comp stuff is a wash because all of these paths will yield signficantly more cash than most people will ever get in their lives anyway (go ahead and check out levels.fyi if you're unaware of tech compensation) so it basically comes down to domain area interests and lifestyle preferences.
Personally, as someone interested in both tech and finance, I find the skillsets you need to do well in entry level roles across product and most front office finance roles are basically the same. A bit of communicational polish, lots of well-roundedness, a critical/analytical mind and just general drive/ambition. Subject matter isn't exactly hard to learn if you're smart (which you probably are if you're considering any of these careers) so the real differentiator is your soft skills and general aptitude.
Also there's literally 0 point in comparing SWE careers to non-quant finance careers; no overlap in skillset, average temparement or average personality.
N.B. I do CS fwiw.
I love finance and really don't like comp sci. I am also very social so networking is something I really enjoy (for the most part).
Jamie Dimon vs Sundar Pichai
Lloyd Blankfein vs Larry Page
Wall Street vs Silicon Valley
Who cares man, this comparison is pointless
For me: personality and skills. They are two completely different careers with their own unique trajectories.
I am pursuing a career in IB and I think I actually like learning about different businesses and doing the work. However, I have tried to learn CS and I just couldn't become interested and understand it and felt stupid. How should I overcome this?
What are you trying to overcome? Obviously you're interested in IB not CS
I tried it my freshman year of college and was literally at every single office hour of the TAs because I was so bad at it and didn't get it that I needed the TAs to guide me through every line (by asking me questions and then I would eventually get it) but I quickly realized that there was no way I could do something like this if an intro class was taking me so long. Some people's minds just think that way. I was way more the memorizing and application of formulas types, not using pure logic or whatever Comp Sci is.
I have realized though that I struggle with making anything too complicated in terms of Excel formulas and fear that this has to do with the same types of problems I had when I was trying out Comp Sci. I've actually found people who have Comp Sci minors or have taken coding classes before to be much better at Excel than those who have not.
IF you like memorizing and application of formulas types, then you should have become a doctor or something. That's an interesting profession to also throw in the mix.
Why did you all choose finance over medicine?
Illo dignissimos incidunt nemo quia. Autem assumenda veritatis doloremque labore dolores earum sint. Ut enim nesciunt facilis aut et et. Dicta et quod aut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Sit ut nesciunt quia sapiente beatae vel fuga ea. Maiores rerum qui ipsum dolores et unde. Quasi facilis dolorem recusandae quis unde. Sint deserunt aut doloremque consectetur veritatis consequatur.