Which career would you chose if all jobs paid exactly the same and had the exact same hours at all levels of seniority?

Which career would you choose if all jobs paid exactly the same and had the exact same hours at all levels of seniority?

I would like to hear people's oppinion based solely on the mental fulfilment one can get on the job. Do not factor money or hours, as they are exactly the same in all the jobs listed above.

VC without a doubt. The satisfaction that you gain from guiding an entrepeneurial venture founded in a Silicon Valley garage into a publically traded NASDAQ company is enormous.

Not to mention that VCs often get to work with technologies and ideas that change the world, rather than just simple financial engineering.

I am wondering why people would do HF given the circumstances. Isn't that purely about making money? What would be the motivation when you get 60K (ugrad) or 100K (MBA) no matter how good you do, i.e. you make millions to the firm or billions. Why would people choose HF then, if it wouldn't pay more than other jobs? Is it that interesting of a job if you take out the money?

IBWannaB... i actually believe the contrary... what you do at a hedge fund can be very interesting esp if you enjoy the strategy you are involved with. i would definitely choose a hedge fund over banking. if your someone who is interested in stocks,bonds,currencies,commodities, etc.. and you want to learn how to trade them, why wouldnt you be interested?

You put general corporate roles as a choice yet no equity research?

Haha who the hell would choose ER hahaha, I'm cracking up here!

I assume bmwhype is still in college...where do you think public companies get their liquidity/availability/capital base to invest in R&D, capital improvements, etc (all positive contributions to public companies and society at large)? From their shareholder base, which consists of HFs, pension funds, insurance companies, ind. investors, etc. Not all HFs are pump and dump shops and even those that are still play a vital role in the capital markets. This is finance. Go work for Teach for America if you want to be a hippy liberal socialist.

I chose HF over my current industry (PE/VC) because of the P&L accountability and excitement of the markets.

junkbondswap.. you make a good point but there is nothing wrong with teachforamerica... putting two years of your life to teaching kids in neighborhoods you dont want to be in is a very respectable job. ive met alot of analysts recently that have gone through that program and they all say that it was a good choice.

and despite the liquidity/capital base that HF's provide, their main benefit is to their investors, who dont always represent society at large and dont always benefit the companies HF's have shares in.

though i would still pick HF because theres so much interesting stuff in that industry

A lot of my posts are laden with sarcasm...clearly doing Teach for America, Peace Corps, etc. are very noble endeavors

agreed

I'd probably be a philanthropist