This is a blog about careers in investment banking, but nowadays, when investment banking is in crisis, you need to be aware that there is plethora of lucrative opportunities also outside finance industry. Not surprisingly, some of these opportunities are more life-friendly than any job in investment banking could be.
Investment banking is very special industry. People are lured to it by above average salaries and opportunities for quick career progression. For majority of students Investment Banking is the most desired career - it is prestigious and it seems to be lucrative.
However, for many of these people career in other industries (like in FMCG, Marketing etc.) would be a much better option. First, because of much lower competition you will be able to progress much faster. Surely the salary of a managing director in Lehman Brothers may be twice as large as the salary of managing director working for example in Mediacom. However, for a clever guy the chances of becoming a managing director in Mediacom are at least ten times higher than chances of becoming a managing director in Lehman Brothers, and so the expected income from working in Mediacom (which is here given just as an example) would be higher than expected income in Lehman Brothers... (Intuition: It is easier to make a career and become MD if you are the best among averages then to do it when you are average among the bests) . Second, you will be able to live normal life, not the life of IBank nerd who is sitting in work for 15 hours daily.
My subjective list of industries that may provide lucrative opportunities are:
- IT - (Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, etc)
- Energy - (Shell, BP, Exxon, etc)
- FMG - (P&G, Mars, Unilever, L'Oreal, etc)
- Marketing/Reseach/Media (Mediacom, IPSOS, BBC, etc)
and many, many others.
Although it seems that IBanking is the only interesting career, this must not be true. It's possible there are other careers that you find more interesting, and that would provide you with higher income on average. Your life - your choice.
Investment banking is very special industry. People are lured to it by above average salaries and opportunities for quick career progression. For majority of students Investment Banking is the most desired career - it is prestigious and it seems to be lucrative.
However, for many of these people career in other industries (like in FMCG, Marketing etc.) would be a much better option. First, because of much lower competition you will be able to progress much faster. Surely the salary of a managing director in Lehman Brothers may be twice as large as the salary of managing director working for example in Mediacom. However, for a clever guy the chances of becoming a managing director in Mediacom are at least ten times higher than chances of becoming a managing director in Lehman Brothers, and so the expected income from working in Mediacom (which is here given just as an example) would be higher than expected income in Lehman Brothers... (Intuition: It is easier to make a career and become MD if you are the best among averages then to do it when you are average among the bests) . Second, you will be able to live normal life, not the life of IBank nerd who is sitting in work for 15 hours daily.
My subjective list of industries that may provide lucrative opportunities are:
- IT - (Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, etc)
- Energy - (Shell, BP, Exxon, etc)
- FMG - (P&G, Mars, Unilever, L'Oreal, etc)
- Marketing/Reseach/Media (Mediacom, IPSOS, BBC, etc)
and many, many others.
Although it seems that IBanking is the only interesting career, this must not be true. It's possible there are other careers that you find more interesting, and that would provide you with higher income on average. Your life - your choice.
4 comments:
What does FMG stand for?
Sorry I meant FMCG... :)
Which stands for
"Fast Moving Consumer Goods"
Hi..
I am curious that the different industries you mentioned.Do these industries offer the variety and learning curve that is present in finance.I am basically a person who is good at relationship between different things(right brain)more than handling minute details.For example in Mechanics the same Newton's Law can be applied to wide variety of problems.I like the beauty of mechanics.
In organic Chemistry you can find problems involving synthesizing one compound from a different compound.I can use reactions from totally different functional group to get the desired result.I like when lot of information have simple underlying principle and we can explain the behaviour based on those principles.I like when problems where there is some information and one of the information best fits the situation.I try to find a truth out of a unclear situation.For an easy example I like to search what is the average chance of a person with an IT work ex to get into a core finance job post MBA.I like to try to find a genearlity.I like the corporate environment more than academic environment so an academic career doesn't interest me.I see people as an equal as a friend and I think respect should come naturally and not be forced due to hierarchy.
I like to advise people when they come up with their problems to me.I like knowledge,concepts,advising and freedom.However I feel in a purely academic career I would be not motivated to perform and tend to become lazy due to lack of pressure and structure.
u forgot 1 ->SAP industry..
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