<p>How hard is it for an Asian (Chinese in particular) of average height (5''6) to get (from HAAS) into investment banking? I hear it's a white dominated field, with heightism playing an immense role in higher positions. What about getting into investment banking in Hong Kong, from Berkeley HAAS? How hard would that be?</p>
<p>5’6" is pretty short. </p>
<p>Good luck going for investment banking, those guys are built strong like horses. Work 80+ hours a week, not sure if a small petite Asian frame can handle that grind. </p>
<p>May I suggest accounting?</p>
<p>Ew. I’d rather die than take on such an inferior job!</p>
<p>Well, some of the discussion here:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1359246-lower-tier-schools-investment-banking.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1359246-lower-tier-schools-investment-banking.html</a>
does point to investment banking favoring inherited socioeconomic eliteness as well as academic eliteness, though certain types of “hooks” (e.g. playing lacrosse, having language and international knowledge for international finance, exceptional achievement of some kind even in comparison to the academic and socioeconomic elites, strong math skills for quantitative finance, etc.) may allow “outsiders” in.</p>
<p>Wow, that is depressing. I guess being smart is never enough.</p>
<p>No, it’s not depressing. As long as you show the ability that you are able to earn more money than average, people will recognize you and you will step up. Sure, it might be hard to get the first job, but plenty of relatively-short Asians thrive in business as long as you have skills! I am saying this w/ some experience and what I observed after working at a bank last summer.</p>
<p>I think it would be more comfortable to hang around people of similar stature and ethnicity. How hard is it to get into the BB (from Berkeley HAAS) in Shanghai or Hong Kong? Is it pretty much the same in difficulty as landing those jobs here in CA/SF? </p>
<p>Also, do you guys grow in height, like at all, in your four years at Berkeley? I’m going to be a freshmen this fall (yes, I know there’s no guarantee in HAAS, I’m just planning ahead), and it would be nice to grow a few more inches… I’ve started to up my milk intake though.</p>
<p>For some reason I anticipate that this thread is going to be very entertaining. All the conditions are there. It just needs a few more posts.</p>
<p>Hey stupid, don’t even worry about it man. I heard the business frats can really increase your chances of landing internships and jobs. I’ve also heard they are dominated by Asians. You’ll be in good company!</p>
<p>[DSP</a> Rho Chapter](<a href=“berkeleyrho.com”>http://www.dsp-rho.com/)
Just take a look at their webpage.</p>
<p>Seriously… height does not play that big of a role. As long as you have a great GPA and internships, you will get an interview. Once you get the interview, you nail it, you will get the job. If you perform (you bring in the money), you will be promoted.</p>
<p>I don’t see how height plays an “immense role” - it plays a slight role, if anything.</p>
<p>Lloyd Blankfein, the King of Wall Street, is 5’6"</p>
<p>@MeStudyStuff, are these business fraternities really that helpful, or are they simply hedonistic organizations with a business front? I doubt that joining the frat alone would bootstrap me into banking greatness.</p>
<p>@terenc, most people inevitably judge one another by their looks - it is a visceral stereotype rooted in our genes. Short people are often paid less than tall people ([Why</a> tall people make more money - CNN.com](<a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/02/02/cb.tall.people/index.html]Why”>http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/02/02/cb.tall.people/index.html)), and ninety percent of chief executives are of above average height ([Articles</a> by Jonathan Rauch: <b>Height Discrimination: Short Guys Finish Last</b>](<a href=“Articles by Jonathan Rauch”>Articles by Jonathan Rauch: <b>Height discrimination: short guys finish last</b>)). Heightism is real everywhere across the globe. </p>
<p>Unanswered questions: How hard is it to get into the BB (from Berkeley HAAS) in Shanghai or Hong Kong? Is it pretty much the same in difficulty as landing those jobs here in CA/SF?</p>
<p>I’m not going to sugar coat this one.</p>
<p>Height, whether you like it or not, plays a huge role in terms of job placement and career opportunities. Research on this has been done countless times. Nobody is going to say it to your face when they meet you or at an interview, but its the elephant in the room. Especially in a profession as elitist as investment banking. </p>
<p>It’s all association with investment banking. These guys thrive on looks and appearances. Think of it this way, if you’re a girl, would you feel comfortable dating a guy shorter than you? These elitist snobs don’t want to be associated with anything less than their worth. It’s the sad and simple fact. Bankers don’t work 80 hours a week to talk with the common folk, they do it because their ego is precious. They won’t want to be seen with you in public and what’s even more detrimental, they’ll always look down upon you; literally and figuratively. </p>
<p>I mean, I’m not saying it’s impossible, but you’re going to have to be 3 times smarter, 3 times more out-going, 3 times more narcissistic, and work 3 times harder.</p>
<p>^ Aiyah! I need more MILK! Fast!</p>
<p>Garbage thread is garbage.</p>
<p>^It’s okay to be mad about your short stature - you’re not alone.</p>
<p>
You seem rather self-convinced of your own inferiority. </p>
<p>The first article you cited says:
I hope you see the irony in your self-assured statements insisting on your own inferiority, when the article states that the sole reason tall people make more money is because they have higher self-esteem and more self-confidence.</p>
<p>The problem is not that you’re too short. The problem is that people who are short tend not to be socially involved, apparently.
Are you content to live you life in accordance to the averages? Very well, then the concept that shorter people tend to be less socialized applies to you, and you are at a disadvantage. By the way, you also make less than $45,000 per year, most certainly don’t attend UC Berkeley, and probably work a service job.
Your height is not going to be a problem unless you are also a shy, unsociable person.</p>
<p>This effect might also explain the second article, since taller people are more likely to play sports –> social and leadership skills –> become CEO.</p>
<p>I’m 5’8’‘. Michael Bloomberg is 5’6’‘. Lloyd Blankfein is roughly 5’6’‘. Steve Schwarzman is 5’6’’ (CEO Blackstone).
OMGGGG I am going to make more money than them!</p>
<p>
I have no personal experience with this, but, I would guess that it is very good, since UC Berkeley’s reputation in Asia is even higher than its reputation in the US (in Asian, many people think UC Berkeley = Stanford/Harvard, without making undergrad/grad distinctions).</p>
<p>I have heard studies that are consistent with some of those mentioned - namely that height does correlate with earnings and with job offers from interviews. However, correlation does not imply causation. Granted, perhaps tall people’s height confers them with more confidence than they’d otherwise have (and conversely with short people), but I haven’t myself encountered (but can’t say positively that it doesn’t exist) anything correlating height with intelligence. The point I’m trying to make is that if you are calling into question your ability to reach your goals based on your height, especially if they don’t directly require height like professional basketball, your handicapping your ability to achieve them before you’ve even started.</p>
<p>Unless they know who you are personally, which would likely be a good thing to begin with, Haas admissions will never know your height. This means that your major concern is getting a finance job after you graduate. If you really want it, you will do 2 things: you will build your professional network in order to help yourself secure internships/jobs both before and after Haas and you teach yourself to “speak/think finance” by reading The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, etc. and/or researching finance-related concepts/terms (even The Khan Academy will help you there). That’s what business is about - if you think about it, you could have also been any combination of URM, disabled, LGBT, observe a minority religion, have any type of speech impediment, etc. and some employers may, intentionally or unintentionally (but certainly wrongly) discriminate against you in an interview. If they do discriminate against you, would you really want to spend well over 40 hours/week working for them to begin with? If you want to be in finance, become a potential asset to a financial company with a network and you’ll have no need at all to think twice about anything you can’t control, like your race or height.</p>
<p>Huh? Do you have any idea what banking really is or do you just want to do it for the “moddles and bottles”? If you had even the slightest clue of what Ibanking was you would know that a good portion of Wall Street titans are quite short in stature. Banks could care less about you as a person all they care about is how much work you can do as an analyst and how much $$ you can generate as a VP or MD.</p>
<p>Who cares if you’re a 5"6 asian? Do what you want to do. If you believe it, you can make it happen and be better than those white, strong males.</p>