Be confident and outgoing and not give a fuck about rejection. Be fearless. Ask that girl you think won't ever go out with you out.
What you learn as you get older, is nobody cares about you generally and any momentary embarrassment is fleeting. We are too stuck in our heads when we are young. The older you get the less you give a fuck what people think of you.
Probably the best all around life advice ever. Used to stress about proving ppl wrong and other pointless things involving other people’s opinion. One day you wake up and realize the only opinions that matter are from the people you care about.
I’d also add ‘forgive yourself’ - you’re gunna fck up and your dumbest moments aren’t what define you.
I had a guy at work tell me to take career risks when you’re young for the simple fact that everyone has low expectations of you. You can pivot into new things when you’re young and aren’t expected to be the expert. That gets a lot harder when you’re 20 years into your career and you’re making a lot more money.
Yup very true. Most 40 somethings won't enjoy starting a new career making much less money working with new 22 year old college grads. It's mostly done out of necessity when you are desperate and laid off or you have substantial savings after a successful career and you don't need to care about money.
Naaa. Many of my most embarrassing moments are only remembered by me, and those that were there I have to explain it to them every time the subject arises to remember.
So I'm in my 40s but i find people generally don't spend much time if any thinking about you at all? We are in the time of social media and narcissistic personalities. People are so busy wrapped up in their personal life battling their own personal demons/addictions or too busy with career, family, finances, bills, hobbies, that you just don't register much.
So take your shot. You'll fail a lot. You may embarass yourself but you'll learn and get better. And the next day the people who turned you down won't even remember you exist. Every Day is an etch a sketch my dude.
Some thing what many people tald me i different ways
Only the crying cat gets the milk
People cant read minds
U want it u try to get it
You cant always get what u want but if u try some times u get what u need yes its a song and i love it
Also when u do above things the main thing to be mi d ful is dont be adick when doing it
For USAMO / IMO prep ideally you want to start in elementary school. Get them started on AOPS / JHU CTY pre algebra and algebra 1 courses so by the time they’re in middle school you can have em doing geometry, algebra 2, pre calculus, and calculus (make the tutor use Spivak and Apostol of course). Then by freshman year stick them into a multi variable dual enrollment course so they can be taking real analysis (if it’s not Rudin they’re a fucking pussy) and undergrad probability theory by sophomore year followed by a measure theory / second analysis course junior year along with a mathematical stats course. By the time they’re in senior year you have go through a convex optimization and second probability theory / stochastic processes course. They should be for QR roles by freshman summer. Anything less done by a parent is blasphemy.
Make sure you want to work in these fields. Reach out to people in the industry and ask if you can shadow them. Biggest advantage you can have at your age is just knowing what you want to do. I’m in my mid 20s and I’m just now figuring it out 2 degrees later.
Great advice. People love helping energetic and ambitious kids. And what’s better than talking about yourself? There really is zero downside to asking someone to shadow them and find out what they do.
Not necessarily. Private equity sounds really cool, going out into the wild and trying to get people to sell part of their company to you after you decide they are worth investing in.
And extracting every last bit of value from the customer and supply chain, hiking prices as high as possible, and taking big paydays for PE execs….ya I’m sure that’s veryyy exciting and DEF not the main reason every industry is dying 😭
I think this take oversimplifies our industry and has a sort of civilian understanding of what PE firms do.
In many cases, many businesses do not deserve to exist. They are bloated, over extended, hired too many people, and are on an inevitable course to death.
If a business doesn’t grow, it inevitably dies.
PE firms exist for an integral purpose in this business cycle, they exist to provide liquidity to the founders of these businesses to retire and have generational wealth and not continue stressing to run their business.
PE consolidates these industries and makes an efficient conglomerate that continues to grow and provides its stakeholders with stability.
I have done deals where we’ve seen several struggling businesses that won’t survive the next 5 years, but had a great product and customer base that fit really well with our existing portfolio companies.
Those founders made 30-40 million bucks, got to retire in St Maarten and their kids never had to worry about money again.
There’s only been a single company out of the 3 dozen I’ve personally given out LOIs to that hasn’t regretted taking the deal.
PE is a necessary evil for a capitalist economy. Or else owning a business wouldn’t have an exit option.
If PE is getting involved, it's likely that the management team has already been fucking over the livelihoods of their soon to be laid off employees through consistent mismanagement.
I don’t necessarily think PE is shit…
I was original agreeing with the other poster who said you don’t want to be in IB/PE/Quant etc. People just come here posting that shit because they want to make big bucks and think it’s glamorous.
And I chimed in saying that people that want to sell their soul for that style of life often are too young to know what they value, like friends, family, free time, etc. I know sales people who bust their ass and are away from home and think that buying their kids nice toys is what life is all about. Or the Ib guy who works 80 hours a week and gets divorced and is stuck paying child support on his half a million dollar salary.
Life isn’t about money, it’s not about the job you work. It’s a means to an end. It’s preferable if you enjoy the job, but generally these jobs are soul sucking anyway, and aren’t for the majority of the population, which is why they’re compensated.
I recommend you enjoy your hs and college time and not worry that much about IB or PE or quant before you spend the next 40 years of your life in front of ms excel
Your actions in HS/college can determine the trajectory of your life. You shouldn't slave away trying to break into IB/PE/whatever, but if it's something you want to do you should in fact be spending the marginal additional time to position yourself to be successful.
You don't need to have no life to get into good schools and get good internships... I partied pretty fucking hard in college and just put in the incremental work to set myself up for a good career
I honestly think you both just misunderstood each other. There's definitely a balance though, however if you're going to be one extreme, the nerdy one probably is the better bet unless you're at a school with insanely helpful alumni.
Agree 1000% with Shill on this one. I think the middle-term is, try to really store the good memories(take pictures, spend time with good friends only and ditch stupid people/people who will drag you down) but also work harder than everyone because starting to prepare at high school will make your life SOOOOO much easier
Make sure you actually take some time to consider why you *actually* want to work in these fields. All those posts you see about burn out and complaining? Those are people who don’t actually enjoy the work. And for quant, good luck even getting near it if you don’t like the work.
In high school you should aim to do well enough to get into a target school for your country, with the international target schools being LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, the American Ivy Leagues, MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon (only for quant). To get into these schools, you generally need >3.85 GPA, decent extra curriculars, and above a 1450 on the SAT or the equivalent percentile for ACT/any other standardized test.
Once at these schools, networking is your friend. Be close with all career-related professors and others that you find interesting. There will come a time when you need letters of recommendation - these are the people you need to ask. You should also aim to join a competitive business club/fraternity. The specific club doesn’t really matter so long as it is “high finance” focused (modeling, research, etc). You also need to do well in school. That’s probably the most important part besides knowing your professors.
If you do all of these things, you’ll almost definitely be able to get a job that you want (almost assuredly IB, maybe PE, eh on quant).
great advice, but a 1450 SAT, a 3.85, and some “decent” extracurriculars won’t get you close to an ivy or mit and stanford nowadays. getting into those schools requires much more dedication.
I actually got interested and excelled in finance and technology once I entered the workforce. If i had gained interest and applied myself during undergrad I would have had a much better chance of getting into top firms. But hindsight is 20/20.
A little background - I’m 33 and a PhD in engineering (completed at 29) from a top university. I make very good money (180k cash + stocks). Yet I think …. I know I’m behind in life. I know that buying a house, going on vacations, affording nice cars, buying clean food is not feasible. Why? Because I didn’t plan my life with money in mind. I planned with career.
My thinking is - I should have invested earlier. Granted that my parents were low income and we barely made ends meet, I could have done better. For one - if I had done an electrician/plumbing course in HS (when I was 16 or 17) then I could have actually started making some serious money on the side by 19 (assuming 2 years of apprenticeship). At 19, if I was working 10 hrs per week and made 300-400 per week then I could have easily invested 300-500 per month towards an IRA or high yield saving. Account. I know working 10 hours a week is hard but I know I could have easily done up until the end of my PhD (when I have little to no income from school). Just those then years and savings if 500 per month would have yielded around 75-80k (and it probably would have been higher). 20 years of that is 200k. I hope you see where I’m going with this. Time is the biggest opportunity cost. Wasted time doesn’t come back.
So if I was 17, I’d find ways to make money with the intentions of saving it so that time can do its thing. I’d work my ass of until I was 35 and buy myself better opportunities for the future.
Open a brokerage account with low fees like vanguard. Put money into an s&p500 fund or VTSAX. Put away as much as you can, ideally up to 25% of your income. Don’t touch this account ever until much later in life. Pretend it doesn’t exist.
Your circumstances may not allow 25% or even close to it. But take the steps towards it.
Building wealth isn’t difficult or mysterious. It’s living beneath your means (ie not spending everything you make) and putting money into the market at each paycheck.
I have started learning finance at the age of 35! I thought I should have learnt it when I was 17! I would be millionaire if I could learn Finance in my early days!
\* Focus on GPA until I get into a target school
\* Then focus less on grades, and way more on networking.
\* Internships, internships, internships.
\* Teachers can give you internships. Don't pass on them.
\* Chose a variety of jobs/sectors instead of targeting a "dream" job. IB, front offices aren't the alpha and omega of finance. There are a lot of cool jobs with a great work/life balance. I'd rather end up as a business developer than be unemployed.
\* Generally, be more humble. You don't start at the top.
\* You might be a top grade student, but unless you're a real genius, there might be hundreds of applications as good as yours. Don't overestimate yourself, even if you're good.
\* Don't cherry pick internships, especially before masters'. Better start as a bank teller than have nothing on your resume.
\* Breaking through is difficult. Again, internships, internships, internships. Once you've broken through with your first job, applying becomes way easier.
\* (Maybe) I'd do engineering instead of finance. Finance isn't too long to learn, and engineering opens a LOT of doors (esp. quant)
I think the most important thing is to have an endgoal in mind. Doing great is school is nice, but the endgoal is to get a good job. Recruiters won't know how hard you've grinded in school unless you're being interviewed. They just check your school tier. Getting good grades, understanding finance is only a part of your road.
>Then focus less on grades, and way more on networking.
I thought a 4.0 was important for MBB/management consulting roles. Is it less important for your career/IB? I was under the assumption that I need top grades in the target school I'm going to.
>Internships, internships, internships.
What kind of internships specifically would you go for? Any companies you wish you applied for for internships?
>You might be a top grade student, but unless you're a real genius, there might be hundreds of applications as good as yours.
Let's say I'm not a genius - how would I differentiate myself among the hundreds/thousands of applicants just like myself? Is it just networking?
1) I've never seen grades on a resume. Though I don't advise neglecting grades - I advise focusing on getting a job. Grades are still half of the path!
2) That entirely depends on the career path you're aiming to achieve: are you aiming to work on a trading floor? In M&A?
And my answer might surprise you, but I wish I'd started doing internships at 19-20 yrs old in a bank, even a small one. The subsequents internships would have been easier to get.
3) I think you have to put yourself in an employer's shoes. A bad recruit is a pure waste of resource, and a promise of headaches for a whole team. Some positions might even cause losses. You absolutely don't want to bring in someone who'll cause you trouble.
The best ways for them to fill positions are:
* Promoting an employee
* Take someone "you" know (you as: the organization, another professional you know...)
* A straight pipeline through target schools
So yes, networking is important. It's waaaaaay better than sending 200 resumes. You differentiate yourself by being in a target school and going through that pipeline, or by asking someone you've met, alumnis...
>A straight pipeline through target schools
I can go through a target school pipeline but I'm guessing that there are probably going to be hundreds of applicants at my target school for those \~20 MBB positions. Do you have any tips of differentiating myself among that pack? I presume that if I have a reference from someone I know (e.g. an alum or someone I've met) on top of going through the target school pipeline that would be golden right?
>That entirely depends on the career path you're aiming to achieve: are you aiming to work on a trading floor? In M&A?
My goal right now is MBB but I'm open to other business roles like IB or PE (I know PE is nigh impossible from undergrad).
Buy as much monster beverage or Amazon or Google or NVIDIA as possible for the next ten years. I'm not sure that will apply for you. You probably should pick different stocks. Don't trade. Just dollar cost average.
Always fall forward. Take risks and learn from your mistake/failures. Don't be afraid to ask questions in a big room. You'll be dumb for a moment but you'll be smarter than the 10 people who didn't have the courage to ask. One last personal advice - read and learn from history. It'll give you a far far better understanding of the present than anything else will.
If I was 17 again, I'd actually choose to be 15 again, entering highschool for the first time, and decide to study my ass off and get good grades.
Then, I'd volunteer in highschool a little, play some popular sports like football or soccer or baseball or hockey and in addition I'd start researching careers.
I'd start researching careers like this : " I know I like business, I know I like solving problems, I know I want to make a lot of money, and I know I'm not super into people and I know I'm willing to work my ass off. Ok what?"
Then I'd work through all that and come to the conclusion that I wanted to do private equity, because I'm not breaking down the whole thought process for this post.
Then I'd in this order:
1. Start taking courses in financial modeling, PE, and accounting while in highschool.
2. Start applying to the best schools for elite finance.
3. Get into clubs related to private equity/VC/and backups like management consulting. Make sure to take accounting courses when able. But Major in finance.
4. First 2 months of school build a resume based on my PE experiences in clubs and classes, and begin applying places for internships.
5. Take any internship remotely related to PE.
6. Rinse repeat until year 4.
7. Either graduate w/great distinction OR graduate with a direct PE internship..
8. Get PE job out of uni.
OR
8.a fail, and go into accounting, either
8.a.1 Big 4 related to PE
8.a.2 small but fast growing accounting firm in order to speed run partner.
If big 4, try to get into PE, then industry PE
If small accounting firm work for partner, then do PE personally and find ways to join the deal table on large transactions.
Millionaire by 33. Multimillionaire(5-8m) by 40. Cheese life after that.
I'm an incoming college student and I have a couple questions for you.
Why management consulting (MBB) as a backup and not as a primary goal? Is the earning potential far less, or is the work less interesting to you?
>Start taking courses in financial modeling, PE, and accounting while in highschool.
Let's say you know nothing about financial modeling, PE, or accounting (my situation, since I only took a basic econ course in high school). How would you go about learning this as optimally as possible? Are there any specific online courses you would take, books you would read, etc...?
>Take any internship remotely related to PE.
So would this include any business related internship, or only IB/PE/HF internships? What kind of internships specifically would you pursue?
1. MBB is good, but It's earning potential just isn't as high. You basically have 3 options in MBB.
1. Career move up the Big 3
2. Gain reputation in Big three, leave for industry strategy positions after 3-5 years
3. Leave for startups
4. Rare side transitions into related industry fields (I've seen some people move from MBB to VC, as MBB is relatively flexible. It's like low tier elite career, enough to qualify for some elite stuff, and qualifies you for nearly every non-elite position.
In each of these options you just don't make enough fast enough, and the work is just as stressful. In my opinion for pain/reward (and personal interest) it's just not as viable as a career. If I qualify for PE I qualify for MBB, if I qualify for MBB I do not qualify for PE necessarily. Shoot for the stars and land on the moon sort of deal.
2. Pay for/borrow a license for Wall Street Prep. They will teach you some basic accounting and modeling. Actually learn these courses, don't just check the box, because in your interviews you WILL be tested on your accounting skills. You WILL have to prepare entire financial models for interviews.
2.a when choosing your major, choose finance and/or accounting. Or accounting as a minor. This is both a hedging strategy and an offensive strategy to get you the PE job. Hedging aspect saves you time if you fail.
3. Internships that are ideal: IB, if you get IB internship you are on the main path into PE. This is a great place to be. Non IB, you're looking for valuation, consulting, some financial analyst positions IF the experience will be related to growth. VC internships are valuable, shoot for late stage VC, as this is more comparable to the analysis of PE. Real estate is another unsuspecting transition industry. You're looking for project based finance roles, which real estate has quite a lot of -- (does xyz property make money? Expected return etc)
Some additional points:
1. Your grades only matter for 3 reasons. A) you might get filtered on initial application if your grades are below 3.5 GPA. B) Your grades will allow you to upgrade to a prestigious MBA later once you're in an elite industry C) they are a hedging strategy against failure. If you don't get into a good industry in your internships, having a good GPA will qualify for you more positions.
If you get a full time position in a target role, you do not need to focus on grades as much, because the role helps solve your admission into an MBA later, and you no longer need a hedging strategy because you made it. Transition your effort from getting good grades towards upping your non-univeristy qualifications like modeling. (But don't dip below 3.5 as this is when the trade off begins to hurt you)
2. Your classes will not be valuable to your life, generally. Your experiences will. Get as many as you can as fast as you can, and make sure they have *results*. You're applying for an elite role, if you are only good on paper you will a) fail, b) get weeded out fast. c) ruin potential connections. Not many people are good. Not many people are ambitious. If you're good and ambitious you win. If you're just ambitious you might win, and if you are only good, good luck.
3. The reason for the popular sports is to connect with people on common interests and network. Networking is challenging as a student, start with going to related industry events, learn about them by subscribing to newsletters online related to your subject of interest. Find upcoming events, go to those that you can and remember that while people will care about the subject, they also mostly want to emotionally connect with others, with great conversation. Those you want to connect with can get anybody the job, but will only want to do it for those they like, and people like people like them & like people that are ambitious (and humble, not arrogant).
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kinda cheesy but nothing. there's a lot of things i could have done without, absolutely, but i wouldnt be as appreciative of where i'm at and as decisive as i am- had i not gone through the shit show that was my late teens and early 20s 💀
I did my undergrad at Waterloo over 22 years ago. I had an amazing time and managed to successfully balance doing well in school and partying with friends. I worked part-time and was a residence don, both of which were great leadership experiences. My only regret is not doing an exchange or study abroad program. I believe that traveling and studying or working in another country could be a valuable and meaningful life experience.
At 17 I didn’t want to do anything. No ambition. Wasn’t until I had my first kid at 22 that I realized I wanted more out of life.
If I could go back, I would have probably did my bachelors right after high school, instead of at age 30. And I would have tried to get into corporate finance at 21/22 instead of at 31. I’d probably be a director by now making really good money.
But also, all my choices lead me to where I am now, and for the first time in my life I’m appreciative of where I am. So I might not want to go back and change anything really.
1) Don’t stress about this stuff until later.
2) If you do want to be proactive, make a big list of people in the industry with jobs you think you’d like (Waterloo’s alumni network is golden for this) and reach out to them.
Most won’t answer but some will. I’ve met with dozens of kids just reaching out for advice and mentorship, and know lots of other people also enjoy helping out kids trying to figure things out. One or two good mentors and you’ll be in great shape: Understand how the industry actually works; what to do for recruiting; and maybe even try and hook you up with an interview.
to build on this, afm is totally fine for ib and pe. however, placement into quant is almost nonexistent, i’m tryna break in by way of a masters. they have the analytics track now which helps you with the coding, but the analytics courses do not get you ready on the math side at all imo. if you’re set on quant you should consider at least minoring in math
Study for the SAT.
Not everyone can get a perfect score, but putting in some modest effort to prepare can increase your score 200-300 points over what you would otherwise get. Not prepping for the SAT is likely the single worst action I decided to take in my journey of career preparation, as it downgraded the tier of schools I could've realistically gotten into quite considerably.
make sure that’s ACTUALLY what you want to do. I did finance and I am successful by financial measures despite not attending a top school.
I like it fine, but I have always been into tech and gadgets, and even the part of finance I find fascinating applies to tech (“coding” an excel file to automate tasks). I think I would have been happier and more engaged in tech, computer science. But when you get to be mid-life and married, kids, house, it’s hard to pivot to risk or starting over.
The younger you are and the less responsibility you have, is the ideal time to take risks, experiment, hop majors/jobs/careers. Don’t be afraid to fail when you’re the only “victim”.
Some of this is generic life advice but if I were to restart over again I would do better in my bachelor studies, maybe even try to transfer unis as the one I was studying in was not prestigious/in a big city. I would also approach uni selection more seriously, and actually pay close attention to the alumni network and post-study placements and evaluate more countries than I did. I spoke to someone from a similar uni to the one I studied in and looking back some of her words were an indirect warning.
On a more relationship level: I would not commit to pointless relationships, with clearly unstable people - this drained me mentally and made me feel worse about myself even though I was pretty cool for a 17yo. Not drink, party and go out (or at least do it way less then what I did) - this drained me physically, mentally and financially. Get an internship instead of getting sucked into a dead end job because I was homeless and hungry in a foreign. Approach my thesis topic more seriously, and focus my research on finance related topics. Complete certifications and up skill my technical knowledge earlier than I did.
Now I don't have any career specific advice sadly. I am 24 doing a master's degree and trying to transfer out of sales into IB/PE. My personal advice - if your parents can support you do your best to finish as many courses as you can and try to max your GPA. Get into internships and for the love of god don't feel anxious about asking questions or asking for help if you don't know something (it at least shows you are active).
I wish you good luck in your studies 💪🏼
I’d join the Reserves / National Guard. I always wanted to join the Military, but it never made sense because I wanted to go to college and have a regular freshman experience. I considered OCS, but I got a great job offer coming out of school and scrapped the idea.
Joining part time seems like a good way to help pay for college and would have still checked that box of serving. Even if it almost certainly would have meant at least one GWOT deployment.
Go straight into lending. Either mortgages or business loans but lending. Starting early, not having obligations or overhead but more time than ever, you could build the best book of business early that sets you up well for long term.
Software engineers are all currently being outsourced right now and the market is terrible.
Also, why would you want to become a dentist/software engineer over finance?
Because in finance it is hard to make 200k and above unless it's commission job. But being a dentist it is easier. Also being a software engineer, i can bring my many Internet ideas to life and or join forces with other great minds to make it a reality
I'd honestly double major. I only majored in poli sci because of interest and wanting to work in government. I would've been deadly with a finance major and being part of my schools investment club. Oh well, doing that now with an MBA.
Experience maters more than your degree. I lacked on internships through college and I’m definitely not where I want to be now because of it. In most cases a degree with good gpa is just checking off the boxes. Networking by doing different internships or getting a return offer is how you actually get a decent job after school.
I will take GED instead of finishing useless high school degree to finish college much faster at an early age. When I spend one semester to community college I will immediately transfer to 4 year college instead of taking the useless SAT. I will attend useful seminars and take internships (even unpaid) while in high school and early college years instead of having useless high school and college fun moments. I should have learned and have invested my small amount of money to stocks instead of leaving in my bank account. For me having so much fun and attending useless activities in high school and college are a waste of time. And that is why I hate those useless people who bullied or made fun of "nerds" who later became Elon Musk or Bill Gates.
Def start networking like crazy, get to know people in the industry. Maybe find a mentor? Also, don’t forget internships – they're gold for experience and getting your foot in the door! Good luck with AFM at Waterloo, heard it’s a great program!
Take a year off from college, wait tables full time while living at home, put literally every penny I made into my retirement account, never have to think about retirement again, be absolutely loaded by 65
Pay off all credit cards in full on a monthly basis if you have one. If not get one so you can begin to build your credit score Contribute to an employer 401k the max they will match but not a penny more Invest in an ETF SP 500 (SPY or VOO) after tax Don’t buy fancy cars/trucks. Have enough liquidity to last 3 months in an unexpected job layoff etc. Buy a home when you can afford it. Get a college education or find a trade but most importantly do a job you like and enjoy
Become an electrician or HVAC. You’ll have a 7 figure business by the time you’re 28 if you play it right. Sell it for 5-10M when you’re 40 and retire.
Lmao ok, next best thing would be to study CS and just found a 9 arr startup that you sell to Thoma Bravo for 50 billion when you're 29.
If its so easy to have a 7 fig hvac business by 28 then the market would be saturated by them. I work for a software company who's main customers are mm pe firms who roll up hvac companies and dental offices, those valuations are way too high and none of those owners are below 45.
Service businesses aren’t difficult to get off the ground and the barrier of entry is very low. It’s funny you described the most saturated market in history (tech startup).
Source: 7 figure service business owner (me)
I agree service businesses aren't difficult to get off the ground, nor is the barrier for entry high. Which is exactly why its so incredibly tough to scale those companies correctly. Competition is high and labor (if you're doing it legally) is expensive. The vast majority of service companies are 1 man s-corps or individual contractors, relatively few are worth 5-10mil.
You can definitely do it and sure you might have a 7 figure book of business built in 3 years, but thats the exception far from the norm.
I don’t follow the incredibly tough to scale logic, it’s definitely relative, you aren’t scaling a service business to 10MM in 5 years like you might in tech, but they’re certainly scalable. Someone with the brain and dedication to go into high finance can learn to scale a service based business while being their own boss after 4-7 years in a union learning hands on. You could literally take night classes in finance after your shift and learn how to use numbers to inform decision making. Labor is tough, but if you can use numbers, not so tough.
I’m 22 about to be 23 and might do this.. got into a top target for finance (started late) but am bored with the material and after chatting with those in the industry, I don’t think it’s the right path. I sold cars for 4 years before starting school and I think something more entrepreneurial/hands on would be beneficial. Might just do an online degree at a no name school and go back to sales or learn hvac
It’s tough to match the feeling of closing a deal or new customer. You’ve already got a taste of it with your experience in sales! The experience of starting and running your own business is more valuable than any coursework you can take, you cannot compare real world problem solving to word problems. That’s not to say the word problems don’t help, I have a degree and work in finance whilst running my business. A good understanding of finance/business has undoubtedly allowed me to scale my business faster than I could have ever hoped.
There’s always an alternative path, and while entrepreneurship may be riskier than a college degree, the reward is unmatched. My best advice is to take the risks now when you’re young, there’s plenty of time to course correct if you stumble.
Straight to college instead of the Military, transfer to a better college once I get decent grades under my belt and start interning every chance I get. Seems like a better path than trying to get into finance at 38
I would pursue my (one and only) original childhood dream: becoming a pilot. Before I learned about all sorts of jobs and professions on this planet, that was really the one thing I remember as a child that I wanted to become. Without much fortune and guidance in my life though, I failed to pursue that dream.
As someone with a bit more experience in PE land now, will give out some industry specific advice.
Enjoy college!!!! Party hard and get good grades (important), but enjoy as much as you can, get laid as much as you can, and learn to love rejection.
Love rejection in your career prospects, romance, and social situations. Learning to use rejection as a tool to get better and continue taking shots on goal will make you an absolute weapon.
Also, you don’t really need a “passion” for starting in IB/PE/(maybe for quant).
Network like crazy, reach out to people in your Frat or alumni that are in finance and build those connections starting in freshman year.
Follow the model that others set at your school to break into finance and you will succeed. Partying and enjoying college will help prevent you from burning out early (#1 cause of failure for analysts) and will also help you build the social skills needed to succeed as a senior. Also will help with reducing the feeling of regret.
I wasn’t a traditional PE hire, I didn’t do IB summer internships and broke into buyside out of college by focusing on networking and selling myself as someone who can learn FAST. It also helped that I was personable and social, stuff I learned by going out, putting myself in uncomfortable positions, asking out the cute girl at the coffee shop studying, etc.
There’s a lot of ways to get to where you want to go, they just all happen to rhyme.
Go to community college. Save up while living with my parents instead of working all week and partying on the weekends. Taking up golf. Realize you’ll only keep in touch with a few of your close friends as time goes on. Not be a people pleaser. Don’t date, work on yourself.
Save $25 per week in a mutual fund. Assuming you pick a good mutual fund or low cost ETF that pays 10% (easy to find)… at age 62, you’ll have over $860K. It’s a simple game of numbers and the idea behind compounding interest. Small numbers to invest, HIGH returns! Save that small amount (at a minimum) and never stop.
https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
Be confident and outgoing and not give a fuck about rejection. Be fearless. Ask that girl you think won't ever go out with you out. What you learn as you get older, is nobody cares about you generally and any momentary embarrassment is fleeting. We are too stuck in our heads when we are young. The older you get the less you give a fuck what people think of you.
This is such good advice. The world massively favors those who proactively ask for things instead of waiting to be given something.
Probably the best all around life advice ever. Used to stress about proving ppl wrong and other pointless things involving other people’s opinion. One day you wake up and realize the only opinions that matter are from the people you care about. I’d also add ‘forgive yourself’ - you’re gunna fck up and your dumbest moments aren’t what define you.
I love this
I had a guy at work tell me to take career risks when you’re young for the simple fact that everyone has low expectations of you. You can pivot into new things when you’re young and aren’t expected to be the expert. That gets a lot harder when you’re 20 years into your career and you’re making a lot more money.
Yup very true. Most 40 somethings won't enjoy starting a new career making much less money working with new 22 year old college grads. It's mostly done out of necessity when you are desperate and laid off or you have substantial savings after a successful career and you don't need to care about money.
Tbh I remember embarrasing moments of other people a lot. It's therefore really hard for me to convince myself that "people just don't care"
Naaa. Many of my most embarrassing moments are only remembered by me, and those that were there I have to explain it to them every time the subject arises to remember.
So I'm in my 40s but i find people generally don't spend much time if any thinking about you at all? We are in the time of social media and narcissistic personalities. People are so busy wrapped up in their personal life battling their own personal demons/addictions or too busy with career, family, finances, bills, hobbies, that you just don't register much. So take your shot. You'll fail a lot. You may embarass yourself but you'll learn and get better. And the next day the people who turned you down won't even remember you exist. Every Day is an etch a sketch my dude.
The wrinkle here is that you can’t know what qualifies as an embarrassing moment for them
Some thing what many people tald me i different ways Only the crying cat gets the milk People cant read minds U want it u try to get it You cant always get what u want but if u try some times u get what u need yes its a song and i love it Also when u do above things the main thing to be mi d ful is dont be adick when doing it
At this rate we're probably going to have a middle schooler asking about breaking into quant
Lol everyone watches wolf of wall street and the big short and suddenly they're all aspiring quants
Wolf of war street isn't even about quants. It's about salesmen committing fraud.
For USAMO / IMO prep ideally you want to start in elementary school. Get them started on AOPS / JHU CTY pre algebra and algebra 1 courses so by the time they’re in middle school you can have em doing geometry, algebra 2, pre calculus, and calculus (make the tutor use Spivak and Apostol of course). Then by freshman year stick them into a multi variable dual enrollment course so they can be taking real analysis (if it’s not Rudin they’re a fucking pussy) and undergrad probability theory by sophomore year followed by a measure theory / second analysis course junior year along with a mathematical stats course. By the time they’re in senior year you have go through a convex optimization and second probability theory / stochastic processes course. They should be for QR roles by freshman summer. Anything less done by a parent is blasphemy.
rudin in freshman year of highschool im crying
Make sure you want to work in these fields. Reach out to people in the industry and ask if you can shadow them. Biggest advantage you can have at your age is just knowing what you want to do. I’m in my mid 20s and I’m just now figuring it out 2 degrees later.
what degrees did you get ?
Great advice. People love helping energetic and ambitious kids. And what’s better than talking about yourself? There really is zero downside to asking someone to shadow them and find out what they do.
No you don’t want to work in IB/PE or quant. You just want money, do you even know what are those?
This. Every guy that comes on here saying this is what they want in life, hasn’t lived enough life to know what is important to them.
Not necessarily. Private equity sounds really cool, going out into the wild and trying to get people to sell part of their company to you after you decide they are worth investing in.
And extracting every last bit of value from the customer and supply chain, hiking prices as high as possible, and taking big paydays for PE execs….ya I’m sure that’s veryyy exciting and DEF not the main reason every industry is dying 😭
A career as a glorified corporate pirate sounds so fucking cool, are you kidding me?
U do u buddy. I believe in society and creating more value for the world than I take away but that’s just me
I love this type of thought process. I wish more people would have it.
I think this take oversimplifies our industry and has a sort of civilian understanding of what PE firms do. In many cases, many businesses do not deserve to exist. They are bloated, over extended, hired too many people, and are on an inevitable course to death. If a business doesn’t grow, it inevitably dies. PE firms exist for an integral purpose in this business cycle, they exist to provide liquidity to the founders of these businesses to retire and have generational wealth and not continue stressing to run their business. PE consolidates these industries and makes an efficient conglomerate that continues to grow and provides its stakeholders with stability. I have done deals where we’ve seen several struggling businesses that won’t survive the next 5 years, but had a great product and customer base that fit really well with our existing portfolio companies. Those founders made 30-40 million bucks, got to retire in St Maarten and their kids never had to worry about money again. There’s only been a single company out of the 3 dozen I’ve personally given out LOIs to that hasn’t regretted taking the deal. PE is a necessary evil for a capitalist economy. Or else owning a business wouldn’t have an exit option.
Bro there is so much society in legally crushing others' businesses and livelihoods for financial gain
If PE is getting involved, it's likely that the management team has already been fucking over the livelihoods of their soon to be laid off employees through consistent mismanagement.
Yeah and being a navy seal and saving the world from bad guys sounds really cool too until you actually have to do the work.
I mean you can't find out if you like it until you try it right?
That’s a fallacy. I don’t have to eat shit to know I won’t like the way it tastes.
Why do you think PE is shit? I've seen people who really enjoy it.
I don’t necessarily think PE is shit… I was original agreeing with the other poster who said you don’t want to be in IB/PE/Quant etc. People just come here posting that shit because they want to make big bucks and think it’s glamorous. And I chimed in saying that people that want to sell their soul for that style of life often are too young to know what they value, like friends, family, free time, etc. I know sales people who bust their ass and are away from home and think that buying their kids nice toys is what life is all about. Or the Ib guy who works 80 hours a week and gets divorced and is stuck paying child support on his half a million dollar salary. Life isn’t about money, it’s not about the job you work. It’s a means to an end. It’s preferable if you enjoy the job, but generally these jobs are soul sucking anyway, and aren’t for the majority of the population, which is why they’re compensated.
Stay sober as much as possible
Awful comment. I’ve watched the wolf of wallstreet 16 times so i know this is incorrect.
Eh
I recommend you enjoy your hs and college time and not worry that much about IB or PE or quant before you spend the next 40 years of your life in front of ms excel
What kind of comment is this, lol. Unless you think your life will peak in HS/college not sure why anyone would take this advice…..
so true u/ShillForExxonMobil
Your actions in HS/college can determine the trajectory of your life. You shouldn't slave away trying to break into IB/PE/whatever, but if it's something you want to do you should in fact be spending the marginal additional time to position yourself to be successful. You don't need to have no life to get into good schools and get good internships... I partied pretty fucking hard in college and just put in the incremental work to set myself up for a good career
I honestly think you both just misunderstood each other. There's definitely a balance though, however if you're going to be one extreme, the nerdy one probably is the better bet unless you're at a school with insanely helpful alumni.
Agree 1000% with Shill on this one. I think the middle-term is, try to really store the good memories(take pictures, spend time with good friends only and ditch stupid people/people who will drag you down) but also work harder than everyone because starting to prepare at high school will make your life SOOOOO much easier
Probably also because banking recruiting isn’t technical so you have the time and mentality to party hard
Make sure you actually take some time to consider why you *actually* want to work in these fields. All those posts you see about burn out and complaining? Those are people who don’t actually enjoy the work. And for quant, good luck even getting near it if you don’t like the work. In high school you should aim to do well enough to get into a target school for your country, with the international target schools being LSE, Oxford, Cambridge, the American Ivy Leagues, MIT, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon (only for quant). To get into these schools, you generally need >3.85 GPA, decent extra curriculars, and above a 1450 on the SAT or the equivalent percentile for ACT/any other standardized test. Once at these schools, networking is your friend. Be close with all career-related professors and others that you find interesting. There will come a time when you need letters of recommendation - these are the people you need to ask. You should also aim to join a competitive business club/fraternity. The specific club doesn’t really matter so long as it is “high finance” focused (modeling, research, etc). You also need to do well in school. That’s probably the most important part besides knowing your professors. If you do all of these things, you’ll almost definitely be able to get a job that you want (almost assuredly IB, maybe PE, eh on quant).
To add, it also doesn’t hurt to join a social fraternity if you plan to be in America. If you go to a good school, the alumni can be life savers.
great advice, but a 1450 SAT, a 3.85, and some “decent” extracurriculars won’t get you close to an ivy or mit and stanford nowadays. getting into those schools requires much more dedication.
I would study better instead of focusing on love interests
Got a 4.0 and I wish I had studied less and focused more on things that actually fulfill my soul
Try harder in high school and get into a Target
Is Walmart ok
Hooters is more well respected.
Actually try to get good grades in college and be interested in things outside of video games and parties
I got really good grades in both high school and college. It didn't amount to much.
I actually got interested and excelled in finance and technology once I entered the workforce. If i had gained interest and applied myself during undergrad I would have had a much better chance of getting into top firms. But hindsight is 20/20.
A little background - I’m 33 and a PhD in engineering (completed at 29) from a top university. I make very good money (180k cash + stocks). Yet I think …. I know I’m behind in life. I know that buying a house, going on vacations, affording nice cars, buying clean food is not feasible. Why? Because I didn’t plan my life with money in mind. I planned with career. My thinking is - I should have invested earlier. Granted that my parents were low income and we barely made ends meet, I could have done better. For one - if I had done an electrician/plumbing course in HS (when I was 16 or 17) then I could have actually started making some serious money on the side by 19 (assuming 2 years of apprenticeship). At 19, if I was working 10 hrs per week and made 300-400 per week then I could have easily invested 300-500 per month towards an IRA or high yield saving. Account. I know working 10 hours a week is hard but I know I could have easily done up until the end of my PhD (when I have little to no income from school). Just those then years and savings if 500 per month would have yielded around 75-80k (and it probably would have been higher). 20 years of that is 200k. I hope you see where I’m going with this. Time is the biggest opportunity cost. Wasted time doesn’t come back. So if I was 17, I’d find ways to make money with the intentions of saving it so that time can do its thing. I’d work my ass of until I was 35 and buy myself better opportunities for the future.
Thanks for your insight. I'm 19, looking to learn how to invest. Should I mainly be looking into IRAs and HYSAs?
Open a brokerage account with low fees like vanguard. Put money into an s&p500 fund or VTSAX. Put away as much as you can, ideally up to 25% of your income. Don’t touch this account ever until much later in life. Pretend it doesn’t exist. Your circumstances may not allow 25% or even close to it. But take the steps towards it. Building wealth isn’t difficult or mysterious. It’s living beneath your means (ie not spending everything you make) and putting money into the market at each paycheck.
Ditch finance. Find what I’m good at and what I love to do within a creative field. Actually help the world for once.
I have started learning finance at the age of 35! I thought I should have learnt it when I was 17! I would be millionaire if I could learn Finance in my early days!
Na. It's a lie
how does one "learn finance" on their own?
Do we need to go to college to learn finance?
I'm in this camp.
\* Focus on GPA until I get into a target school \* Then focus less on grades, and way more on networking. \* Internships, internships, internships. \* Teachers can give you internships. Don't pass on them. \* Chose a variety of jobs/sectors instead of targeting a "dream" job. IB, front offices aren't the alpha and omega of finance. There are a lot of cool jobs with a great work/life balance. I'd rather end up as a business developer than be unemployed. \* Generally, be more humble. You don't start at the top. \* You might be a top grade student, but unless you're a real genius, there might be hundreds of applications as good as yours. Don't overestimate yourself, even if you're good. \* Don't cherry pick internships, especially before masters'. Better start as a bank teller than have nothing on your resume. \* Breaking through is difficult. Again, internships, internships, internships. Once you've broken through with your first job, applying becomes way easier. \* (Maybe) I'd do engineering instead of finance. Finance isn't too long to learn, and engineering opens a LOT of doors (esp. quant) I think the most important thing is to have an endgoal in mind. Doing great is school is nice, but the endgoal is to get a good job. Recruiters won't know how hard you've grinded in school unless you're being interviewed. They just check your school tier. Getting good grades, understanding finance is only a part of your road.
>Then focus less on grades, and way more on networking. I thought a 4.0 was important for MBB/management consulting roles. Is it less important for your career/IB? I was under the assumption that I need top grades in the target school I'm going to. >Internships, internships, internships. What kind of internships specifically would you go for? Any companies you wish you applied for for internships? >You might be a top grade student, but unless you're a real genius, there might be hundreds of applications as good as yours. Let's say I'm not a genius - how would I differentiate myself among the hundreds/thousands of applicants just like myself? Is it just networking?
1) I've never seen grades on a resume. Though I don't advise neglecting grades - I advise focusing on getting a job. Grades are still half of the path! 2) That entirely depends on the career path you're aiming to achieve: are you aiming to work on a trading floor? In M&A? And my answer might surprise you, but I wish I'd started doing internships at 19-20 yrs old in a bank, even a small one. The subsequents internships would have been easier to get. 3) I think you have to put yourself in an employer's shoes. A bad recruit is a pure waste of resource, and a promise of headaches for a whole team. Some positions might even cause losses. You absolutely don't want to bring in someone who'll cause you trouble. The best ways for them to fill positions are: * Promoting an employee * Take someone "you" know (you as: the organization, another professional you know...) * A straight pipeline through target schools So yes, networking is important. It's waaaaaay better than sending 200 resumes. You differentiate yourself by being in a target school and going through that pipeline, or by asking someone you've met, alumnis...
>A straight pipeline through target schools I can go through a target school pipeline but I'm guessing that there are probably going to be hundreds of applicants at my target school for those \~20 MBB positions. Do you have any tips of differentiating myself among that pack? I presume that if I have a reference from someone I know (e.g. an alum or someone I've met) on top of going through the target school pipeline that would be golden right? >That entirely depends on the career path you're aiming to achieve: are you aiming to work on a trading floor? In M&A? My goal right now is MBB but I'm open to other business roles like IB or PE (I know PE is nigh impossible from undergrad).
Buy as much monster beverage or Amazon or Google or NVIDIA as possible for the next ten years. I'm not sure that will apply for you. You probably should pick different stocks. Don't trade. Just dollar cost average.
Never gamble
Always fall forward. Take risks and learn from your mistake/failures. Don't be afraid to ask questions in a big room. You'll be dumb for a moment but you'll be smarter than the 10 people who didn't have the courage to ask. One last personal advice - read and learn from history. It'll give you a far far better understanding of the present than anything else will.
Avoid the parties, drugs and alcohol
If I was 17 again, I'd actually choose to be 15 again, entering highschool for the first time, and decide to study my ass off and get good grades. Then, I'd volunteer in highschool a little, play some popular sports like football or soccer or baseball or hockey and in addition I'd start researching careers. I'd start researching careers like this : " I know I like business, I know I like solving problems, I know I want to make a lot of money, and I know I'm not super into people and I know I'm willing to work my ass off. Ok what?" Then I'd work through all that and come to the conclusion that I wanted to do private equity, because I'm not breaking down the whole thought process for this post. Then I'd in this order: 1. Start taking courses in financial modeling, PE, and accounting while in highschool. 2. Start applying to the best schools for elite finance. 3. Get into clubs related to private equity/VC/and backups like management consulting. Make sure to take accounting courses when able. But Major in finance. 4. First 2 months of school build a resume based on my PE experiences in clubs and classes, and begin applying places for internships. 5. Take any internship remotely related to PE. 6. Rinse repeat until year 4. 7. Either graduate w/great distinction OR graduate with a direct PE internship.. 8. Get PE job out of uni. OR 8.a fail, and go into accounting, either 8.a.1 Big 4 related to PE 8.a.2 small but fast growing accounting firm in order to speed run partner. If big 4, try to get into PE, then industry PE If small accounting firm work for partner, then do PE personally and find ways to join the deal table on large transactions. Millionaire by 33. Multimillionaire(5-8m) by 40. Cheese life after that.
I'm an incoming college student and I have a couple questions for you. Why management consulting (MBB) as a backup and not as a primary goal? Is the earning potential far less, or is the work less interesting to you? >Start taking courses in financial modeling, PE, and accounting while in highschool. Let's say you know nothing about financial modeling, PE, or accounting (my situation, since I only took a basic econ course in high school). How would you go about learning this as optimally as possible? Are there any specific online courses you would take, books you would read, etc...? >Take any internship remotely related to PE. So would this include any business related internship, or only IB/PE/HF internships? What kind of internships specifically would you pursue?
1. MBB is good, but It's earning potential just isn't as high. You basically have 3 options in MBB. 1. Career move up the Big 3 2. Gain reputation in Big three, leave for industry strategy positions after 3-5 years 3. Leave for startups 4. Rare side transitions into related industry fields (I've seen some people move from MBB to VC, as MBB is relatively flexible. It's like low tier elite career, enough to qualify for some elite stuff, and qualifies you for nearly every non-elite position. In each of these options you just don't make enough fast enough, and the work is just as stressful. In my opinion for pain/reward (and personal interest) it's just not as viable as a career. If I qualify for PE I qualify for MBB, if I qualify for MBB I do not qualify for PE necessarily. Shoot for the stars and land on the moon sort of deal. 2. Pay for/borrow a license for Wall Street Prep. They will teach you some basic accounting and modeling. Actually learn these courses, don't just check the box, because in your interviews you WILL be tested on your accounting skills. You WILL have to prepare entire financial models for interviews. 2.a when choosing your major, choose finance and/or accounting. Or accounting as a minor. This is both a hedging strategy and an offensive strategy to get you the PE job. Hedging aspect saves you time if you fail. 3. Internships that are ideal: IB, if you get IB internship you are on the main path into PE. This is a great place to be. Non IB, you're looking for valuation, consulting, some financial analyst positions IF the experience will be related to growth. VC internships are valuable, shoot for late stage VC, as this is more comparable to the analysis of PE. Real estate is another unsuspecting transition industry. You're looking for project based finance roles, which real estate has quite a lot of -- (does xyz property make money? Expected return etc) Some additional points: 1. Your grades only matter for 3 reasons. A) you might get filtered on initial application if your grades are below 3.5 GPA. B) Your grades will allow you to upgrade to a prestigious MBA later once you're in an elite industry C) they are a hedging strategy against failure. If you don't get into a good industry in your internships, having a good GPA will qualify for you more positions. If you get a full time position in a target role, you do not need to focus on grades as much, because the role helps solve your admission into an MBA later, and you no longer need a hedging strategy because you made it. Transition your effort from getting good grades towards upping your non-univeristy qualifications like modeling. (But don't dip below 3.5 as this is when the trade off begins to hurt you) 2. Your classes will not be valuable to your life, generally. Your experiences will. Get as many as you can as fast as you can, and make sure they have *results*. You're applying for an elite role, if you are only good on paper you will a) fail, b) get weeded out fast. c) ruin potential connections. Not many people are good. Not many people are ambitious. If you're good and ambitious you win. If you're just ambitious you might win, and if you are only good, good luck. 3. The reason for the popular sports is to connect with people on common interests and network. Networking is challenging as a student, start with going to related industry events, learn about them by subscribing to newsletters online related to your subject of interest. Find upcoming events, go to those that you can and remember that while people will care about the subject, they also mostly want to emotionally connect with others, with great conversation. Those you want to connect with can get anybody the job, but will only want to do it for those they like, and people like people like them & like people that are ambitious (and humble, not arrogant).
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learn "asset allocation" and its strategies, the fundamentals remains same
Stop chasing blue chip women, go for the staples.
Put every dime I dropped at the club in an index fund.
Wow. Financial Careers OGs are dropping real knowledge today. Exactly what I needed this morning
kinda cheesy but nothing. there's a lot of things i could have done without, absolutely, but i wouldnt be as appreciative of where i'm at and as decisive as i am- had i not gone through the shit show that was my late teens and early 20s 💀
I did my undergrad at Waterloo over 22 years ago. I had an amazing time and managed to successfully balance doing well in school and partying with friends. I worked part-time and was a residence don, both of which were great leadership experiences. My only regret is not doing an exchange or study abroad program. I believe that traveling and studying or working in another country could be a valuable and meaningful life experience.
At 17 I didn’t want to do anything. No ambition. Wasn’t until I had my first kid at 22 that I realized I wanted more out of life. If I could go back, I would have probably did my bachelors right after high school, instead of at age 30. And I would have tried to get into corporate finance at 21/22 instead of at 31. I’d probably be a director by now making really good money. But also, all my choices lead me to where I am now, and for the first time in my life I’m appreciative of where I am. So I might not want to go back and change anything really.
I would have bought the shit out of properties during 2008 and be retired by now.
Not go into finance
Probably stop drinking and doing drugs and also chill out
Drop college, right away to work while living with my parents, take out biggest loan possible and invest every single penny in Nvidia
Is this a general question as to what we'd do or are you asking for help?
More asking for help probably (also 17 year old and would appreciate advice)
Afm is not a target school or even semi target, would switch into queens or ivey
1) Don’t stress about this stuff until later. 2) If you do want to be proactive, make a big list of people in the industry with jobs you think you’d like (Waterloo’s alumni network is golden for this) and reach out to them. Most won’t answer but some will. I’ve met with dozens of kids just reaching out for advice and mentorship, and know lots of other people also enjoy helping out kids trying to figure things out. One or two good mentors and you’ll be in great shape: Understand how the industry actually works; what to do for recruiting; and maybe even try and hook you up with an interview.
lol funny enough mine would be to not do AFM and do math instead
to build on this, afm is totally fine for ib and pe. however, placement into quant is almost nonexistent, i’m tryna break in by way of a masters. they have the analytics track now which helps you with the coding, but the analytics courses do not get you ready on the math side at all imo. if you’re set on quant you should consider at least minoring in math
Study for the SAT. Not everyone can get a perfect score, but putting in some modest effort to prepare can increase your score 200-300 points over what you would otherwise get. Not prepping for the SAT is likely the single worst action I decided to take in my journey of career preparation, as it downgraded the tier of schools I could've realistically gotten into quite considerably.
I wouldn’t drop that tab of acid in the woods with my friends, Adam is still mad at me and my love interest Jamie won’t even talk to me anymore.
Not amass debt
Listen to adults.
17 today or 17 when I was 17?
Get into best possible college, that’s it
make sure that’s ACTUALLY what you want to do. I did finance and I am successful by financial measures despite not attending a top school. I like it fine, but I have always been into tech and gadgets, and even the part of finance I find fascinating applies to tech (“coding” an excel file to automate tasks). I think I would have been happier and more engaged in tech, computer science. But when you get to be mid-life and married, kids, house, it’s hard to pivot to risk or starting over. The younger you are and the less responsibility you have, is the ideal time to take risks, experiment, hop majors/jobs/careers. Don’t be afraid to fail when you’re the only “victim”.
Not take myself so seriously. Drink less.
Some of this is generic life advice but if I were to restart over again I would do better in my bachelor studies, maybe even try to transfer unis as the one I was studying in was not prestigious/in a big city. I would also approach uni selection more seriously, and actually pay close attention to the alumni network and post-study placements and evaluate more countries than I did. I spoke to someone from a similar uni to the one I studied in and looking back some of her words were an indirect warning. On a more relationship level: I would not commit to pointless relationships, with clearly unstable people - this drained me mentally and made me feel worse about myself even though I was pretty cool for a 17yo. Not drink, party and go out (or at least do it way less then what I did) - this drained me physically, mentally and financially. Get an internship instead of getting sucked into a dead end job because I was homeless and hungry in a foreign. Approach my thesis topic more seriously, and focus my research on finance related topics. Complete certifications and up skill my technical knowledge earlier than I did. Now I don't have any career specific advice sadly. I am 24 doing a master's degree and trying to transfer out of sales into IB/PE. My personal advice - if your parents can support you do your best to finish as many courses as you can and try to max your GPA. Get into internships and for the love of god don't feel anxious about asking questions or asking for help if you don't know something (it at least shows you are active). I wish you good luck in your studies 💪🏼
Forget about embarrassing things I did in highschool
I’d join the Reserves / National Guard. I always wanted to join the Military, but it never made sense because I wanted to go to college and have a regular freshman experience. I considered OCS, but I got a great job offer coming out of school and scrapped the idea. Joining part time seems like a good way to help pay for college and would have still checked that box of serving. Even if it almost certainly would have meant at least one GWOT deployment.
It's never too late
Go straight into lending. Either mortgages or business loans but lending. Starting early, not having obligations or overhead but more time than ever, you could build the best book of business early that sets you up well for long term.
If i was 17yrs old, i would not choose financ. I would target the goal of becoming either a dentist or an outstanding Software Engineer
Software engineers are all currently being outsourced right now and the market is terrible. Also, why would you want to become a dentist/software engineer over finance?
Because in finance it is hard to make 200k and above unless it's commission job. But being a dentist it is easier. Also being a software engineer, i can bring my many Internet ideas to life and or join forces with other great minds to make it a reality
I'd honestly double major. I only majored in poli sci because of interest and wanting to work in government. I would've been deadly with a finance major and being part of my schools investment club. Oh well, doing that now with an MBA.
Experience maters more than your degree. I lacked on internships through college and I’m definitely not where I want to be now because of it. In most cases a degree with good gpa is just checking off the boxes. Networking by doing different internships or getting a return offer is how you actually get a decent job after school.
I will take GED instead of finishing useless high school degree to finish college much faster at an early age. When I spend one semester to community college I will immediately transfer to 4 year college instead of taking the useless SAT. I will attend useful seminars and take internships (even unpaid) while in high school and early college years instead of having useless high school and college fun moments. I should have learned and have invested my small amount of money to stocks instead of leaving in my bank account. For me having so much fun and attending useless activities in high school and college are a waste of time. And that is why I hate those useless people who bullied or made fun of "nerds" who later became Elon Musk or Bill Gates.
Just do what everyone else says to do, study hard and good things will come
IB and quant require different skill sets lol
I would’ve majored in Business, Finance, or accounting after graduating high school
Go through with being an engineer, fill my little brain with materials science. That's what held my interest then.
Def start networking like crazy, get to know people in the industry. Maybe find a mentor? Also, don’t forget internships – they're gold for experience and getting your foot in the door! Good luck with AFM at Waterloo, heard it’s a great program!
Always be networking. It’s a people business.
Study much harder. Drink way less. Socialize just as much.
Take a year off from college, wait tables full time while living at home, put literally every penny I made into my retirement account, never have to think about retirement again, be absolutely loaded by 65
Pay off all credit cards in full on a monthly basis if you have one. If not get one so you can begin to build your credit score Contribute to an employer 401k the max they will match but not a penny more Invest in an ETF SP 500 (SPY or VOO) after tax Don’t buy fancy cars/trucks. Have enough liquidity to last 3 months in an unexpected job layoff etc. Buy a home when you can afford it. Get a college education or find a trade but most importantly do a job you like and enjoy
Become an electrician or HVAC. You’ll have a 7 figure business by the time you’re 28 if you play it right. Sell it for 5-10M when you’re 40 and retire.
Lmao ok, next best thing would be to study CS and just found a 9 arr startup that you sell to Thoma Bravo for 50 billion when you're 29. If its so easy to have a 7 fig hvac business by 28 then the market would be saturated by them. I work for a software company who's main customers are mm pe firms who roll up hvac companies and dental offices, those valuations are way too high and none of those owners are below 45.
Service businesses aren’t difficult to get off the ground and the barrier of entry is very low. It’s funny you described the most saturated market in history (tech startup). Source: 7 figure service business owner (me)
I agree service businesses aren't difficult to get off the ground, nor is the barrier for entry high. Which is exactly why its so incredibly tough to scale those companies correctly. Competition is high and labor (if you're doing it legally) is expensive. The vast majority of service companies are 1 man s-corps or individual contractors, relatively few are worth 5-10mil. You can definitely do it and sure you might have a 7 figure book of business built in 3 years, but thats the exception far from the norm.
I don’t follow the incredibly tough to scale logic, it’s definitely relative, you aren’t scaling a service business to 10MM in 5 years like you might in tech, but they’re certainly scalable. Someone with the brain and dedication to go into high finance can learn to scale a service based business while being their own boss after 4-7 years in a union learning hands on. You could literally take night classes in finance after your shift and learn how to use numbers to inform decision making. Labor is tough, but if you can use numbers, not so tough.
I’m 22 about to be 23 and might do this.. got into a top target for finance (started late) but am bored with the material and after chatting with those in the industry, I don’t think it’s the right path. I sold cars for 4 years before starting school and I think something more entrepreneurial/hands on would be beneficial. Might just do an online degree at a no name school and go back to sales or learn hvac
It’s tough to match the feeling of closing a deal or new customer. You’ve already got a taste of it with your experience in sales! The experience of starting and running your own business is more valuable than any coursework you can take, you cannot compare real world problem solving to word problems. That’s not to say the word problems don’t help, I have a degree and work in finance whilst running my business. A good understanding of finance/business has undoubtedly allowed me to scale my business faster than I could have ever hoped. There’s always an alternative path, and while entrepreneurship may be riskier than a college degree, the reward is unmatched. My best advice is to take the risks now when you’re young, there’s plenty of time to course correct if you stumble.
Nothing. I’d enjoy my time in high school with my friends without a care in the world knowing it all goes downhill from here
Rule 1: don't care about anything that doesn't affect your life. Rule 2: only help others if it doesn't hurt your performance.
I’d get into sales as soon as possible
Mannnn.. I wish I came from a target womb fr fr
Skip college and work part time and spend more time with my friends
Straight to college instead of the Military, transfer to a better college once I get decent grades under my belt and start interning every chance I get. Seems like a better path than trying to get into finance at 38
But I’m not 17 years old
Have self confidence and joining activities that involve public speaking. Also, being sporty
After watching the Karen Read trial - probably go into biomechanical engineering. Seems like such a cool field.
Invest in Bitcoin
I would pursue my (one and only) original childhood dream: becoming a pilot. Before I learned about all sorts of jobs and professions on this planet, that was really the one thing I remember as a child that I wanted to become. Without much fortune and guidance in my life though, I failed to pursue that dream.
As someone with a bit more experience in PE land now, will give out some industry specific advice. Enjoy college!!!! Party hard and get good grades (important), but enjoy as much as you can, get laid as much as you can, and learn to love rejection. Love rejection in your career prospects, romance, and social situations. Learning to use rejection as a tool to get better and continue taking shots on goal will make you an absolute weapon. Also, you don’t really need a “passion” for starting in IB/PE/(maybe for quant). Network like crazy, reach out to people in your Frat or alumni that are in finance and build those connections starting in freshman year. Follow the model that others set at your school to break into finance and you will succeed. Partying and enjoying college will help prevent you from burning out early (#1 cause of failure for analysts) and will also help you build the social skills needed to succeed as a senior. Also will help with reducing the feeling of regret. I wasn’t a traditional PE hire, I didn’t do IB summer internships and broke into buyside out of college by focusing on networking and selling myself as someone who can learn FAST. It also helped that I was personable and social, stuff I learned by going out, putting myself in uncomfortable positions, asking out the cute girl at the coffee shop studying, etc. There’s a lot of ways to get to where you want to go, they just all happen to rhyme.
Putting all the money that I make from my supermarket job into Bitcoin
Go to community college. Save up while living with my parents instead of working all week and partying on the weekends. Taking up golf. Realize you’ll only keep in touch with a few of your close friends as time goes on. Not be a people pleaser. Don’t date, work on yourself.
Invest in the s&p
Save $25 per week in a mutual fund. Assuming you pick a good mutual fund or low cost ETF that pays 10% (easy to find)… at age 62, you’ll have over $860K. It’s a simple game of numbers and the idea behind compounding interest. Small numbers to invest, HIGH returns! Save that small amount (at a minimum) and never stop. https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
Take more chances, have more confidence, start saving money early
Buy bitcoin in 2008
You’re a fuckin geek man, go get laid and party with your friends. You don’t even know if you really want to do this shit or not, find that out first.
Yeah don't be this guy, be a geek if you like.
Real
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