<p>What is the average starting pay for someone coming out of wharton with their business major?
It is ok if your guys answers are not exact but I am just wondering</p>
<p>I can help you. And my answer is pretty exact.</p>
<p>On the first one, check out the alumni surveys. The second one is basically the undergrad potential student site, and it highlights some pretty cool things Whartonites have done.</p>
<p>Do not apply to wharton based on starting salaries. If you don't know now, for certain, that you aren't completely interested in business you probably won't make the average salary -- you'll probably make far less or at the very least less than you would have had you gone into something you enjoy because the people who succeed int he business world -- whether they are CEOs, investment bankers, traders, et al all love what they do.</p>
<p>Depending on how mature or how old you are, you'll take this advice or regret regret not taking it.</p>
<p>stop being so cynical</p>
<p>"Do not apply to wharton based on starting salaries. If you don't know now, for certain, that you aren't completely interested in business you probably won't make the average salary -- you'll probably make far less or at the very least less than you would have had you gone into something you enjoy because the people who succeed int he business world -- whether they are CEOs, investment bankers, traders, et al all love what they do."</p>
<p>Are you at Wharton now? I would never advocate going just for the money because its a sure way to make yourself miserable. But I gotta say the majority of my graduating class doesn't love being in IB or trading--they love money, they love talking about how much money they have/will have, and they love the lifestyle that they will eventually have. Every once in a while they can fake it and talk about their love of finance and then it takes about 30 seconds to snap back to reality and admit that money is the only motivator for them. For goodness sakes I know traders who start conversations with, I've made $x so far today, and my takehome will be y% of it. I'd say the ones who truly love finance are few and far between.</p>
<p>i doubt there are many people in the world who are certain they know exactly what they want to do when they are 18</p>
<p>There aren't many but there is a definite proportion at Wharton how 'knows' what they want to do at age 18. I kid you not, the first day of frosh orientation at wharton this girl starts talking to me, asking what I wanted to concentrate in. I said I didn't know, just wanted to get a feel for business etc. She replies 'i'm going to concentrate in finance and work in IB at Goldman Sachs doing mergers & acquisition work.' I asked why [thinking maybe she had a parent or close relative in IB and really knew the industry, companies, departments], her response was 'IB is where the $ is, Goldman is the #1 ibank and M&A makes the most $ cause they do hardcore finance.' </p>
<p>After hearing this sort of thing on the first day, in the first moments of school [and she wasn't the only one saying this type of thing], I find it very hard to even try to defend the idea that the majority of wharton students aren't in it solely for the money.</p>
<p>well said :-)</p>
<p>I'm a Wharton alum and I can say that the people I had classes with weren't like that at all... but maybe that's because I didn't do Finance.</p>
<p>aj, from the many people in the financial world I've talked to (many in my family) i can tell you that a love of money does not equal a love of business. your peers who actually love business will simply (in the words of one of my friends who went to northwestern for business school) "school you" at your job because they'll enjoy it and you'll be focused on the money.</p>
<p>don't get me wrong -- choosing between two jobs and accepting the higher paying job isn't a bad thing (like aj's pre-IB girl) at all -- if you know you want to be in that field and you're doing it because you love that field.</p>
<p>Well, in her explanation, she clearly said that her reason for picking it was because it offered the most money.</p>
<p>Here, here pandas......you are wise beyond your years.</p>
<p>Completely agree..nothing wrong with choosing a job that pays well. All I'm saying is that many students/alums, particularly in finance, take it to the extreme of choosing jobs for money and no other reason. That's why you meet lots of frosh & soph who say 'i'm going into IB, i don't know what they do but they make a lot of $.' Thats why when its time for recruiting, juniors prep with seniors/MBAs to learn the answer to the question of 'why i-banking' because they have no concrete reason wanting to pursue the profession. They can't exactly say $, so they rehearse and memorize a generic answer--so a large # of students end up saying the exact same answer to every interviewer. </p>
<p>I was talking to a close friend recently and I said that something would be an awesome learning opportunity even though it would be an pay cut for 1 yr. His response 'learning? what will you get out of it? when you return will your firm give you a huge bonus to make up for the lack of $ you made the yr before; will they give you a substantial raise; do you realize that while you're off learning everyone else will be making double your salary?' And this wasn't for some outlandish idea taking me off my career path, this was a completely mainstream 1 yr learning activity for my profession.</p>
<p>There are enough examples of this stuff that it becomes hard to say that most students love business--a good number just love personal wealth.</p>
<p>no she didn't, jose.</p>
<p>yeah aj, and I'd bet the students who end up the richest are the ones who fall into the former group!</p>
<p>(in fact, i just read something in psych class that quoted study after study saying that income and personal success do not correlate with happiness at all, which was really interesting, and the author also said what i've been saying).</p>
<p>i don't remember if i mentioned this, but the ceos of fortune 500 companies are coming less and less from the ivy leagues and more and more from State U.</p>
<p>
[quote]
She replies 'i'm going to concentrate in finance and work in IB at Goldman Sachs doing mergers & acquisition work.' I asked why [thinking maybe she had a parent or close relative in IB and really knew the industry, companies, departments], her response was 'IB is where the $ is, Goldman is the #1 ibank and M&A makes the most $ cause they do hardcore finance.'
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thanks for your time, Pandas.</p>
<p>I think the starting salaries for seas are higher.</p>
<p>I wouldn't be surprised if SEAS avg starting salaries are higher. However, the reason that wharton students pursue IB and consulting, esp. IB, is not the just the starting salary but also the yearly bonuses; in good years, for someone who is at the top of his analyst class, these bonuses can rival the salary figure. Many go into IB expecting these types of bonuses. I'm not sure if the bonuses would be reflected anywhere in the Career Services surveys because they obviously come well after graduation.</p>
<p>
[quote]
She replies 'i'm going to concentrate in finance and work in IB at Goldman Sachs doing mergers & acquisition work.' I asked why [thinking maybe she had a parent or close relative in IB and really knew the industry, companies, departments], her response was 'IB is where the $ is, Goldman is the #1 ibank and M&A makes the most $ cause they do hardcore finance.
[/quote]
and compare the mentality with
don't get me wrong -- choosing between two jobs and accepting the higher paying job isn't a bad thing (like aj's pre-IB girl) at all -- if you know you want to be in that field and you're doing it because you love that field.
admirable selective reading skills.</p>
<p>and, no problem at all jose.</p>
<p>Yes, but there is no mention of love in her response. None at all. It is all about choosing the best institution, and the best division in terms of salary. Maybe love is implied. I doubt it.</p>