<p>Does an Ivy MBA grad from Harvard / Wharton have long term job stability / employment in terms of maintaining high salary, and marketability due to age? From everything I’ve read, it leaves me wondering about the long term effects of working on wall street, i.e. looking past the smoke screen initial salaries and into long term employment. My general impression of investment banking, hedge funds, VC, equity, etc., is a pyramid with the same number of people competing for fewer positions, while trying to climb the ladder…i.e. there are no 10 or 20 yr. associates or VPs. So where do they go if they don’t go up or have a lateral move to another bank? I understand that most people put in a good 3-6 years, discover they’re not going anywhere, and quit due to burn-out of 70-120 hour work weeks. Are there always opportunities (on Wall Street or elsewhere) for Ivy grads after killing themselves for 3-6 years? </p>
<p>Everyone on this forum discusses the huge salaries and bonuses of working on Wall Street, but I what of the long term opportunities available? On average, what is the typical career path for someone in the financial sector and the % probability of having a successful career go the way you want it to?</p>
<p>I am under the impression the top 1/3 of an MBA class (700 person class?) are lucky enough to have an investment banking, hedge fund, VC, financial consulting interview with a bulge bracket firm. Most of the 1/3 are lucky to land a job offer from one of the above. Of the people who take a job offer, they have 3 years to work like mad and avoid getting fired? After year 3, some are fired and the rest stay, maybe a few promoted to VP, and the process repeats again. So, if the axe comes down, what is the probability of maintaining the high-rolling salaries if one must move outside the bulge bracket? Or is the approach to make as much money as possible in 3-6 years and then take a normal 120K management job with reasonable hours and forget the Wall Street ladder?</p>
<p>I guess any time theres volatility, theres a good chance for big money, but what is the probability maybe something like 1 out of 100 associates actually makes managing director?</p>
<p>yes Virginia, there is no such think as LT job security in finance, baseball, medicine, etc. (oh wait, maybe LT job sec as a mortician).
You are correct that the system, the pyramid and the systemic approach of forcing out the bottom performers all contribute to a dynamic workplace.</p>
<p>So with that said, you should not expect a stable LT workplace. If you look at the economies of France and Germany these countries have very protectionist laws for the employee. These laws have a unintended effect of stifling hiring. That is, once you are hired in France or Germany its very difficult to fire, layoff or otherwise get rid of employees. so, companies and employers are very reluctant to hire. This leads to higher rates of unemployment and a less dynamic and flexible economy/workforce.</p>
<p>Bottomline, is that the only LT stable thing you can expect is that there will constant change. So study hard, make lots of friends, save money, and constantly look around at the changing landscape to see what role/s you can play.</p>
<p>It seems most anecdotes from people in said positions state that working in Wall Street gives you great exit opportunities, but you must keep in mind that once you’re in that first door after MBA, the critical factor in every career move after this will be how you perform in the workplace. A person with a Harvard MBA and poor results on a trading floor isn’t going to be picked by a hedge fund for a job compared to the hard working corporate accountant with a state U degree.</p>
<p>As stated above, work hard and network, but also consider all options and look perhaps overseas for jobs that help you to stand out from the pack.</p>
<p>It’s called working for the IRS, or State tax commission doing tax audits. There will never be a time that this function disappears, and after you’ve been at either of these employers for over a year, it’s next to impossible to get fired… that’s long term stability for ya.</p>
<p>I heard that venture capital has quite a bit of long term job security…according to what I’ve read about the industry you most likely don’t leave because the job is too “fun.”</p>
<p>And apparently that’s the reason it’s so hard to get into venture capital.</p>
<p>Anyway if you want job security DON’T become a trader. They have no job security since you might be a firm’s top trader one year and fired the next.</p>
<p>Otherwise ibanking’s pretty secure if you’re above average. But you might never make MD. And most will just move to private equity after a few years in banking.</p>