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Oh, it's a sarcastic piece. Phew! Wait a minute...
I'm so glad I seized the opportunity to leave Wall Street.
1. Not saying we're actually in a bubble. Just pointing out that the last time he was around, he was poking fun at 22 year olds going into finance for absurdly high incomes.
I don't get it. What's the intended message for his younger brother? That you should go into a steady, well-paying career because then you'll be able to impress women by picking up the tab at a fancy restaurant/bar? Or was it just poking fun at YC-as-a-cult?
As a YC founder I know exactly what I signed up for. YC is in the business of placing a series of low risk bets twice annually and then sorting through those bets looking for likely winners, doubling down and helping when possible It doesn't matter though, they still lower my overall risk profile by being involved and (I believe) increase my odds of success. I believe it's a square deal. I also believe that fundament…
Age is rarely a factor for those who are shooting for the moon, but it's a great excuse for those who don't.
As a YC founder I know exactly what I signed up for. YC is in the business of placing a series of low risk bets twice annually and then sorting through those bets looking for likely winners, doubling down and helping when possible It doesn't matter though, they still lower my overall risk profile by being involved and (I believe) increase my odds of success. I believe it's a square deal. I also believe that fundament…
There are people who aim high whether they are in the 20's, 30's, 40's ... and then there are those who aim low. Age is rarely a factor for those who are shooting for the moon, but it's a great excuse for those who don't.
I don't get it. What's the intended message for his younger brother? That you should go into a steady, well-paying career because then you'll be able to impress women by picking up the tab at a fancy restaurant/bar? Or was it just poking fun at YC-as-a-cult?
I don't get it. What's the intended message for his younger brother? That you should go into a steady, well-paying career because then you'll be able to impress women by picking up the tab at a fancy restaurant/bar? Or was it just poking fun at YC-as-a-cult?
Either way, it left something of a bad taste in my mouth for both industries.
The main question I take away from reading this is how the average payout to a young college grad compares on wall street, to the elite VC/startup track, taking away the unquantifiable benefits and focusing on average hard dollars earned.
Of course - that's probably not the comparison to make. Most of PG's stuff was written for technical folks considering entry level technical jobs. I would guess that even considering survivorship bias, the average outcome for elite startup tracks versus entry level tech track is extremely good, considering the jobs it can lead to (would love to hear if otherwise).
It's a little harder to compare for the theoretical econ major from harvard contemplating a wall street track. wall street is not a normal business environment - oligopolistic, heavy regulatory protections - much more like joining a club earning economic rents off capital flows than a group doing much to change the world.
IMHO the main reason people work 100 hour weeks in finance is to prove they are willing to give up everything in their life to make it to the next rung - not because they are doing anything particularly noteworthy or unusual that demands intensive focus. from first hand experience, I've noted most M&A customers have sophisticated in house teams that can run the numbers plenty well on their own, which does raise the question what the six banks typically advising them are doing.
All I can say is - for the average econ major contemplating the future on wall street - it will be really interesting when Amazon (and/or others) decide to take on financial services. regulations can hold them off for a while, but as they eat the rest of the world, it's inevitable hungry eyes will aggressively turn to where the money is (literally) - only a matter of time I'm sure.
Plan accordingly, I say.