Anonymous
10/11/2025 08:52
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Interesting discussion. Such a different world. From my college days I dont remember people going into finance. Granted I kept a pretty small circle, but I was at an Ivy. Back in the day, lots of prelaw, engineering, business but also a lot of Teach for America, Peace Corp, or aimless finding myself type stuff with a goal of graduate school! I temped after graduation (for probably 10 months) before going into nonprofit work and graduate school. It didn't seem THAT unusual at the time.
I have to imagine that still happens? You just never see that on this board.
Also, I agree that PE can destroy businesses, services, and livelihoods. Look at PE in nursing home care or medical care. Do the kids gunning for that understand that I wonder?
I have to imagine that still happens? You just never see that on this board.
Also, I agree that PE can destroy businesses, services, and livelihoods. Look at PE in nursing home care or medical care. Do the kids gunning for that understand that I wonder?
Anonymous
10/11/2025 06:23
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Emory also has a huge cohort in the undergrad business program. It felt like everyone one there who isn’t pre-med is in Goizueta. The Midwestern LAC’s have done a better job of keeping the focus on the humanities.
Anonymous
10/11/2025 06:09
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
My kid is at Dartmouth and everyone there is also filling out finance club apps. Our kid called last night and asked us "should I be doing this?" We said no!
The pressure is high at these schools. it feels like 90% of the kids are pursuing economics/finance.
I’m glad you gave them a reality check. I’m sure the pressure is huge, but our best and brightest really should have more plurality of thought rather than all just being lemmings with these silly clubs.
Anonymous
10/11/2025 00:51
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
What are the far better options? 4 years of $60k per year followed by $600k per year seems pretty good to me.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No it's all the smart, FGLI (first gen low income) kids on Reddit too. Take some time and read--they ALL want to go into investment banking.
The in vogue career path has turned from computer science to econ/banking in the first gen/immigrant crowd.
The reality is that few of these kids will make it as it's not a meritocracy.
Yep. That’s why they should just stick to going into medicine.
People don’t go into medicine because they couldn’t get a finance job. Money grubs have no business in medicine.
Yeah dumb quote - and the money sucks for the amount of time required (my wife was a PGY-9). If that's your only concern, there are far better options elsewhere.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 22:34
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
My kid is at Dartmouth and everyone there is also filling out finance club apps. Our kid called last night and asked us "should I be doing this?" We said no!
The pressure is high at these schools. it feels like 90% of the kids are pursuing economics/finance.
At Dartmouth? They don’t even have a business degree.LOL Cornell and Wharton is where the Ivy business kids go.
Somewhere, a Tuck MBA is wincing.
It used to be uncool to have undergrad business degrees (except for Penn). Business degrees were for the relatively less smart kids. Cornell added undergrad business fairly recently compared with the age of their MBA program.
Econ is the traditional Ivy substitute and is not really much more intellectual or pro-social. Undergrad business includes lots of economics, psychology, statistics, etc.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 22:18
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
My kid is at Dartmouth and everyone there is also filling out finance club apps. Our kid called last night and asked us "should I be doing this?" We said no!
The pressure is high at these schools. it feels like 90% of the kids are pursuing economics/finance.
At Dartmouth? They don’t even have a business degree.LOL Cornell and Wharton is where the Ivy business kids go.
So naive.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 21:05
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
My kid is at Dartmouth and everyone there is also filling out finance club apps. Our kid called last night and asked us "should I be doing this?" We said no!
The pressure is high at these schools. it feels like 90% of the kids are pursuing economics/finance.
At Dartmouth? They don’t even have a business degree.LOL Cornell and Wharton is where the Ivy business kids go.
Intelligent banks don't just hire undergrad business majors. They hire smart kids and train them themselves. I actually often preferred to stay away from the undergrad business majors. This mentality that you must major in "business" undergrad to work on Wall Street is completely incorrect.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 20:33
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
My kid is at Dartmouth and everyone there is also filling out finance club apps. Our kid called last night and asked us "should I be doing this?" We said no!
The pressure is high at these schools. it feels like 90% of the kids are pursuing economics/finance.
At Dartmouth? They don’t even have a business degree.LOL Cornell and Wharton is where the Ivy business kids go.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 20:23
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
My kid is at Dartmouth and everyone there is also filling out finance club apps. Our kid called last night and asked us "should I be doing this?" We said no!
The pressure is high at these schools. it feels like 90% of the kids are pursuing economics/finance.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 19:32
Subject: Re:How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's a shame that every kid you know aspires to be a money grubbing dillweed. Sounds like a parenting issue. And issue with who you choose to spend your time with.
You do understand that everything you do or use in your life is there because of those people, don't you?
Bold assertion / major exaggeration.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 19:30
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
As a parent, this mindset is a huge turn off. Look how many kids never had an interest in it, and are just following the Pied Piper. My friend's DD who just started at Columbia is staying up all night filling out finance club applications. She had zero interest before. My main concern is where are the kids who think independently and are not afraid to go against the tide? Who have a strong set of ethics and intellectual curiosity? This trend does not bode well, in addition to all the other messed up things going on right now.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 16:44
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's absurd. Every kid I know personally is aiming for this. Every kid on Reddit. Every kid on here.
My own children are at an Ivy, a LAC and a state school and every kid they know is aiming for Wall Street as well.
Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it's pretty universal.
The reality is that none of them can even get into the investment CLUBs at their schools.
1% acceptance rates.
Getting competitive internships is even more insane.
And then easily 50-75% of the Wall Street jobs that the colleges brag about are nepo hires (the applicant's dad or uncle is in banking at a high level).
The closer I come to this through my kids I more I realize that 90% of jobs that a college brags about "10 to Goldman Sachs!" are based on who a kid's parents are and have absolutely nothing to do with grades, merit, etc
What is going to happen to all these kids? Is the job market going to absorb them?
Huge exaggeration. Huge. Your world is very small. And so is your Reddit interpretation
No offense, but I really don't think my world is small. I have kids in 3 different types of colleges. They came out of a very large public school. My spouse and I go to a large church and work in very economically diverse settings (not in banking). We ourselves attended top100 schools but nothing elite.
I’ve got 2 kids in college too and nobody they know is going into banking. One of them is at a pretty good NESCAC and an athlete and nobody on the team or outside of team is interested in banking.
You just ruled Amherst, Middlebury, and Williams out so which NESCAC? Probably ruled Bow out as well because I know multiple bankers from there.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 16:22
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's absurd. Every kid I know personally is aiming for this. Every kid on Reddit. Every kid on here.
My own children are at an Ivy, a LAC and a state school and every kid they know is aiming for Wall Street as well.
Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it's pretty universal.
The reality is that none of them can even get into the investment CLUBs at their schools.
1% acceptance rates.
Getting competitive internships is even more insane.
And then easily 50-75% of the Wall Street jobs that the colleges brag about are nepo hires (the applicant's dad or uncle is in banking at a high level).
The closer I come to this through my kids I more I realize that 90% of jobs that a college brags about "10 to Goldman Sachs!" are based on who a kid's parents are and have absolutely nothing to do with grades, merit, etc
What is going to happen to all these kids? Is the job market going to absorb them?
The real goal is not Investment Banking. It is to get into Private Equity. IB is just a stop on the way.
Private equity ruins companies and I’m convinced it’s a giant money laundering scheme. What a waste of a good brain and education.
PE is so so shady. Buy a company, leverage it to the hilt, payout a ton of bonuses to the PE guys, walk away leaving the company in huge debt. Should be totally illegal.
You have slept while PE changed. Sure there could be some of that. But PE is now where companies go to get capital -- no longer to banks -- it loans, invests, buys, manages and holds and then sells. I am sure there is some of what you are saying going on now but your view is about 10-20 years out of date. It's a new world and PE owns it.
Says the person cashing in.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 16:14
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's absurd. Every kid I know personally is aiming for this. Every kid on Reddit. Every kid on here.
My own children are at an Ivy, a LAC and a state school and every kid they know is aiming for Wall Street as well.
Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it's pretty universal.
The reality is that none of them can even get into the investment CLUBs at their schools.
1% acceptance rates.
Getting competitive internships is even more insane.
And then easily 50-75% of the Wall Street jobs that the colleges brag about are nepo hires (the applicant's dad or uncle is in banking at a high level).
The closer I come to this through my kids I more I realize that 90% of jobs that a college brags about "10 to Goldman Sachs!" are based on who a kid's parents are and have absolutely nothing to do with grades, merit, etc
What is going to happen to all these kids? Is the job market going to absorb them?
The real goal is not Investment Banking. It is to get into Private Equity. IB is just a stop on the way.
Private equity ruins companies and I’m convinced it’s a giant money laundering scheme. What a waste of a good brain and education.
PE is so so shady. Buy a company, leverage it to the hilt, payout a ton of bonuses to the PE guys, walk away leaving the company in huge debt. Should be totally illegal.
You have slept while PE changed. Sure there could be some of that. But PE is now where companies go to get capital -- no longer to banks -- it loans, invests, buys, manages and holds and then sells. I am sure there is some of what you are saying going on now but your view is about 10-20 years out of date. It's a new world and PE owns it.
Disgusting. Our society is doomed.
Anonymous
10/10/2025 15:28
Subject: How is every last kid going into Investment Banking?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:No it's all the smart, FGLI (first gen low income) kids on Reddit too. Take some time and read--they ALL want to go into investment banking.
The in vogue career path has turned from computer science to econ/banking in the first gen/immigrant crowd.
The reality is that few of these kids will make it as it's not a meritocracy.
Yep. That’s why they should just stick to going into medicine.
People don’t go into medicine because they couldn’t get a finance job. Money grubs have no business in medicine.
Yeah dumb quote - and the money sucks for the amount of time required (my wife was a PGY-9). If that's your only concern, there are far better options elsewhere.