Tech has a distorted view of prestige
Tech people have a distorted view of the comparative difficulty of landing a job at a top tech firm vs top finance firm. At the top colleges, it is SIGNIFICANTLY harder to get a job at a top quant trading firm, hedge fund, private equity firm, than it is to get a job at Meta/Google. Ditto for graduate programs. A place like Citadel or Blackstone will only give out handful of offers to undergrads nationwide. And it goes without saying that the long-term compensation of top finance firms is significantly higher than FAANG. Of course, big tech jobs are great and I'm not saying it's not prestigious. But relatively speaking, finance is still on top.
Are top finance firms top in consideration of WLB? I never bothered trying for them because I didnāt want to be in office 5 days a week from 8-5.
Try 9-8
7am for many. Gotta be in before markets open.
Hahahaha š¤£ ok
Well ya? But uhh... Blind has been saying that forever? Ren Tech, Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Optiver, Five Rings, YCombinator, etc. But most people at top colleges majoring in Comp Sci WANT to work in tech. They joined college with dreams of coding stuffs like autonomous cars, not coding to make money through trading stocks back and forth. True prestige in my mind are the top med schools. Doctors/surgeons are so much more useful to society than those finance firms. At least we create something at tech. How much more do we have to sacrifice our near nonexistent childhood dreams for more money? People have dreams and passions too. Life isn't purely about money. Tech has historically already been paying enough not to worry about money. Tech conferences, etc. are so much more fun than directly making money for some rich pig through stock tickers going up and down. By your logic, no one should major in humanities but people do. Those posting these probably never attended a top tier school. Head off to schools like MIT and you will notice people majoring in aerospace engineering/etc are all doing due to some dream/passion like working at SpaceX. I know a peer who ditched Jane Street offer for Databricks two years ago. A lot of motivated kids rather be in tech out of college. Tech sold its image very well past decade. The smartest guy (far smarter than peers I know in top trading firms) I know works at Twitch. Trading firms take a certain type of personality that doesn't fit every person.
I think you are underestimating the value of the financial sector. Attempting to be efficient at capital allocation on such a massive scale is important to the economy. There is this notion that because market makers just buy and sell that this has no economic value but it does, even on the secondary market
I am well aware. But are college students who don't know anything about stocks other than RSUs they are handed first time at graduation (or learning through Youtube or Robinhood) well aware what market makers do? What college students remember is the gamestop fiasco of how companies like Citadel are crooks to never work for. (and yes, I know it's due to margin requirements, etc. but college students don't know that) Remember, college students are still students. Students with dreams/passions and lots of naivety.
Don't finance people retire at 35 or something cuz of poor wlb. Also we joke about tech not contributing to the society like the medical field..... Finance is the even more not creating real value but high TC field.
Tech IS the medical field now, or do people not know that doctors are Googling symptoms and AI is finding cures for cancer in 30 minutes? That medical field value shxt is our propaganda lol. Surgeons and emergency responders are the only ones reasonably contributing.
You must be from India. Most people in the US donāt care about prestige. A lot of people who go to prestigious universities donāt have a job afterwards. The average Harvard graduate makes less than 100k. It takes 10 years for them to get around 130k.
Really? Data?
"Most people in the US donāt care about prestige" well explain this: https://www.insider.com/college-admissions-scandal-full-list-people-sentenced-2019-9
Theyāre not talked about bc many on Blind donāt have the pedigree generally for these positions. Whatās the point of thinking about it if you will never get an interview or be taken seriously? At least Meta/Google youāre on a level playing field as they interview everybody eventually and itās leetcode/Sys design. If you go to a top target school, is it really harder when you donāt have to grind anything as bad as leetcode? The people I know at top finance places are all extremely well connected/wealthy most of all, intelligent but idk if Iād say theyāre smarter than most at Google/Meta. For example, one is the son of a T20 STEM prof who owns multiple multi-million companies and went to HYP
Most people in tech donāt understand the nuances of the industry and rely on generalizations to form opinions. Thatās why FAANG companies are still regarded so highly (not saying they shouldnāt be, but like you said, there is a tier above these companies). Understanding of the industry dilutes even more the farther you get from tech, which is also understandable. When I interned at Cisco, people from my hometown in NC were singing my praises and I was just thinkingā¦ yeah, no, this isnāt a big deal people. Haha
Even within FAANG, it's hard. Profit centre, market leader in winner take all, career building positions doing not-ops-work, are just plain rare. Most engineers don't successfully manage an outstanding career. They just don't get lucky navigating the shoals.
Graduates working in quant trading at places like Jane Street, Optiver, Citadel are working 8 hours and making $350K. And comp science grads do want to work there but itās a lot harder to get in because of limited spots. So Op is spot on. Have family members at Jane Street and theyāre pulling that kind of money at 23.
Lol. Before covid bust, you could make far more in Bay Area joining a pre-ipo firm. All the while having all the fun experience of working in tech. Truth is, until past few months ago, tech was the cool shit. And the really cool shit for over a decade. And before covid? Tech absolutely was the coolest shit in town. VCs were throwing money everywhere and it was party time every other day. All the while seeing huge "impact" of your work to the real world. How exhilarating must it have been to be creating the first Uber or the first free trade brokerage to democratize finance for the masses (Robinhood) or work on the first serious worldwide gaming stream platform (Twitch) and the like? And to be there to experience it? That's why you would dream to study at Stanford, not to work for some lame stocks going up and down all day. The past decade had really cool projects in tech. And lots of benefits and good pay. And RSUs that only seemed to go up. And a job market that seemed limitless. Post covid world is completely different from pre covid world.
Dude what are you smoking man? Show me one VC funded startup that was paying $350K to 23 year old graduates, any any time in the last 10 years. And Iām not talking paper money where some folks got lucky with a 5X return. Iām talking about target TC. Finance doesnāt pay RSUs. Thatās cash straight up year after year.
Feel better after smacking us down?
Why so sensitive?
OK