If you don’t go to a target school, you should really just skip the financial sector altogether if you’re in it for the “money” and go into a field that will give you a “fair” look based on the skills you have versus the name of the school you went to on your resume. The financial sector isn’t nearly as lucrative as it once was and considering that most of the major financial hubs are located in the most expensive places to live, you may actually do better financially elsewhere.
For example, I graduated with a BS Computer Science and a 2.7 GPA from a state university. I had zero connections. I applied online to a defense contractor in Maryland after graduation, had a 30 min phone interview, and was given an offer letter within 30 days of graduation. I was offered $80k/year (close to $100k/year including my military income from the National Guard), 35 hour work weeks, over 6 weeks of vacation per year, excellent health care, unlimited tuition reimbursement, etc. In order to maintain the same standard of living, I would need a guaranteed $160k/year (none of this BS bonus that’s taxed at almost 50% at the end of the year) and the same work/life balance in a place like NYC … for an entry level software engineer. The demand in this sector was so high that where I worked could be classified as an absolute zoo – with skilled engineers having the most ridiculous upper hand over employers in the employment game. During an annual review, another engineer stopped a manager short and said, “Look. I don’t care whether you rate me a 1 or a 5. I don’t care if you say I come in at 11am and leave at 2pm and do nothing in-between. You need me so just pay me.”
The financial sector is asking you to do a LOT of work (get into/go to an Ivy level school, living in a expensive place low six figures is still poverty, work 70+ hour work weeks, etc.) for a lifestyle that isn’t particularly impressive (at least not to me).