61–70 of 127 posts
Investment banking gets a pretty bad reputation in the media, and there are many misconceptions about the industry. I don't think this article was terrible, but I do disagree with a few of the points. For the record, I'm an undergraduate student at a non-Ivy but huge feeder into investment banks. > They're going because they hate risk and are terrified about what to do next and Wall Street has figured out a way to ca…
Wall Street is NOT building up America but is instead weakening America by causing a Great Brain Drain from every other vital industry. It is a cancer that's eating away America. Because America is losing the brightest kids who could've really shined and played vital leadership roles in other industries, I feel American industries are falling behind. Some quotes from the article that you should remember: 1. "so many…
> These are kids really really smart, socially adjusted (enough to be accepted by Ivy League), and hard working. If they entered science/medicine/engineering/etc, they would've added great positive impact. I agree that students may be able to have a stronger impact as a doctor, scientist, etc. But this is more a criticism of K-12 education, not the wall street industry! I've never heard of a high schooler thinking "s…
No matter if K-12 system is doing its job or not, Ivy League should not be sweeping up a their of Ivy League graduates.
> By suggesting that investment banks are "printing money," you've shown that you aren't well-informed on the industry.
Yes I apologize. I was just venting my frustration. But are the finance companies THAT important that they deserve a THIRD of graduates from Ivy League graduates? And what's the point of working with debts if your company can't compete on the global scene because your products are not as good as others'?
> Is someone being harmed?
I think so. I think the health America's economy and competitive is being harmed by Wall Street sweeping up a third of Ivy League graduates, not in a speed one can see easily but slowly happening for sure.
> But it's inaccurate to make a blanket statement about "wall street" and apply it to any finance-related career.
Again, I'm sorry if I seemed to be making blanket statement about all finance-related careers. But Wall Street (and finance industry in general) should not be sweeping up a THIRD of Ivy League graduates.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm from the UK and going to be doing an internship at an investment bank this summer, I do Comp Sci at university. Here are some of my thoughts and motivations. Banks recruit ALOT of people and have offices across the country, they are very accommodating to your needs. Applying for a bank seems much less intimidating than applying to a big tech company. The view is that only the very best even have a shot at intervi…
When I say other economies, I meant places like China/Japan/SKorea. Their top science/engineering graduates have NO choice but to enter science/engineering fields. I think a lot of it is due to language/culture. Please stop bringing up Google/Amazon/Facebook. These are not the true engines of a nation's economy. The true engines imo are companies like GM/Boeing/Tesla who design and make things at cheap enough cost to…
I can only talk about this from a UK perspective because that's where I have experience in this. Most companies like that do not actively recruit, they don't come to my university and talk to me. They don't host student events. And often, even when they do come talk to me, they send HR people. I'm not interested in HR people, I'm interested in technology. I want a technologist to come talk to me, I want a decent conversation and want to feel like I'd fit in if I went to work there. A HR person is fine to come along, introduce themselves and give a talk about the culture etc, but I want some tech insight.
Banks recruit very pro-actively and very early. They do this much better than any other company. They'll be at 2/3 events in my university. If I send them an email it will most likely be replied to within 30 minutes. They do everything to make students comfortable with them.
And yes, people at Google might want to leave. But I'm concerned that I wouldn't, and that's a risk I don't want to take.
Investment banking gets a pretty bad reputation in the media, and there are many misconceptions about the industry. I don't think this article was terrible, but I do disagree with a few of the points. For the record, I'm an undergraduate student at a non-Ivy but huge feeder into investment banks. > They're going because they hate risk and are terrified about what to do next and Wall Street has figured out a way to ca…
The experience as a banking intern is a far cry from what the experience is as a full time analyst, at least psychologically. The internship is a 10 week sprint, you're not really expected to be producing much of value, it's during the summer when things are significantly slower, and the group is careful not to grind you down too much, because they still want you to accept the full time offer. Once you're a real analyst, they ride you hard, and there's no end in sight. That pain is just your life now.
> This is not common
Sure, it's still not terribly common, but it was pretty much unheard of pre-crash. I know several who have made the jump. And the decision isn't strictly developer vs banker, later stage tech companies have pretty substantial finance and biz dev divisions. Banking to biz dev used to mean you were 2nd tier and couldn't land a PE or hedge fund job (or couldn't take the pressure). It's getting much more attractive now.
>The banks care less about their qualifications than their work ethic. Being a Rhodes Scholar doesn't make much of a difference when you're a young banker. More of it is being willing to stay at the office for 120 hours a week. This is very, very true. In my experience, investment banking is by no means a particularly difficult thing to do, given enough capital to play around with. Quants aside, the concepts that are…
>The banks care less about their qualifications than their work ethic. Being a Rhodes Scholar doesn't make much of a difference when you're a young banker. More of it is being willing to stay at the office for 120 hours a week. This is very, very true. In my experience, investment banking is by no means a particularly difficult thing to do, given enough capital to play around with. Quants aside, the concepts that are…
The problem is Wall Street is sweeping up a THIRD of Ivy league graduates. This no doubt causes harm to US economy. Can you imagine what a young really bright scientist/engineer can do putting in 120hr/week at a stretch? They probably couldn't produce something amazing soon but learn enough skill that they can be producing something that really adds value to the society. But that's not happening because Wall Street sweeps up so many.
Investment banking gets a pretty bad reputation in the media, and there are many misconceptions about the industry. I don't think this article was terrible, but I do disagree with a few of the points. For the record, I'm an undergraduate student at a non-Ivy but huge feeder into investment banks. > They're going because they hate risk and are terrified about what to do next and Wall Street has figured out a way to ca…
Its not an evil trick, but it is playing on human emotion, and our inherent decision weighting when presented with uncertainty and risk.
You look at what its like being a college grad, realize how much trepidation there is about graduation and finding a job, and you shape an offer that:
a) Lets you get rid of that uncertainty very early (compared to normal hiring cycles) b) Makes the "commitment" not seem very severe. c) Alludes to financial stability (another big source of uncertainty, particularly with how big college loans are now) d) Promises to make future risks less severe (good references from a prestigious job)
The only thing it doesn't really cover on top "What I Want from a Job" lists is "will I enjoy the work?", and most new grads are still so inexperienced that they have no idea what kind of work they would actually "like".
It still amazes me a bit how much of life and getting people to do what you want basically boils down to uncertainty / risk mitigation. You don't need an active carrot or a stick, you just need to change the landscape so your choice is the only, or obvious, low-risk choice that makes them feel more "secure".
In some ways, YC even plays to this, as it offers guaranteed initial funding (lower entry risk), a beachhead to a wide range of funding sources (lower future risk), and low commitment risk (you've only got a small window of 3 months). They may even have ways to lower the pre-decision uncertainty or to make YC more competitive with other options that I just don't know about / recognize.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ivy-league grads go into finance because it's an industry that really values their particular pedigree, and is willing to pay for it. Engineering, on the other hand, really doesn't. Engineering companies aren't paying $200k bonuses to kids just a few years out of an Ivy-league school. Indeed, it's pretty hard to set yourself apart, as an engineer, in a way that allows you to earn even twice as much as another enginee…
> Ivy-league grads go into finance because it's an industry that really values their particular pedigree, and is willing to pay for it. OTHER industries value the Ivy-league grads just as much. It's just that the budget doesn't allow paying at the rate to compete with Wall Street. That's the problem.
Why do banks pay out so much more of their revenues out in compensation? Because investment banks are service businesses and not product businesses. Their product is their professionals, and they create brand by composing entry level classes mostly with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Wharton, and Columbia graduates. They place tremendous weight on this criterion. Other industries, say tech companies, are much more willing to hire from the top public schools, people with foreign degrees, or even people with no degree.
>The banks care less about their qualifications than their work ethic. Being a Rhodes Scholar doesn't make much of a difference when you're a young banker. More of it is being willing to stay at the office for 120 hours a week. This is very, very true. In my experience, investment banking is by no means a particularly difficult thing to do, given enough capital to play around with. Quants aside, the concepts that are…
How necessary are the 7am-11pm hours really? Could the banks do just as good of a job if they hired more people who worked 40 hour weeks? (Increased salary costs notwithstanding)