<p>I mean I understand that geniuses go to those schools, but how is that they can do the job without any business training or background. I was watching a tv show about something else, but they showed two Ibankers who were both less than 2 years in, and one had a history degree from Yale and the other a film studies major from Dartmouth. How can you be in high level banking without even basic accounting and finance knowledge? Do the employers train them? Thanks.</p>
<p>Because investment banking is not very quantitative in my opinion. Accounting is very (I must stress very) simple and so it financial mathematics.</p>
<p>You learn everything on the job real quickly. You’re working 90 hours a week - you learn fast. The reason banks hire Ivy grads is because they know they are smart and can learn the trade quickly - which is better than a trained, but less “quick” person. You can always train people but you can’t make them smarter. </p>
<p>Also top consulting and banking are real elitist. They will just assume a Dartmouth grad is smarter than a business major from Emory, Michigan, or UVA just because of the selectivity and reputation.</p>
<p>They are all as smart as George W. Bush - Yale BA History, Harvard MBA. It’s why our economy have never been stronger and our future is bright. Where would we be without elite strategery?</p>
<p>Students hired by the BB’s have to take a test to determine if they have to go to “boot camp.” If so, a lot of the basics are taught there. If not, and for students who passed the test, they go to training for several months and have to pass training and national exams.</p>
<p>My D was not a business major, but did take an accounting and finance course. She also took some economics and stat courses. She passed the boot camp test and is now in training. Training is a lot of finance, accounting, etc. </p>
<p>It is definitely an advantage to have a business background. But, if you are really smart, they teach you.</p>
<p>Analysts do a lot of grunt work; you have to be a quick learner though, their work is supervised. They are also given 2-year contracts. Those who have little background in finance will go back for MBA. Those who can handle more advanced work and are stars, will be asked to stay a 3rd year or 4th. Most of them will have more solid finance background. I am talking about IBD. S&T would be different, they generally require less finance background.</p>
<p>Ivy leaguers have superior work ethic, and can grasp knowledge faster.</p>
<p>Well, there are IBankers who hail from schools like Berkeley (minus Haas)), UVa (minus McIntire), Michigan (minus Ross), Mudd, Pomona or Rice. So, its not just about the program or the school alone. There are many factors other than the school you graduated from.</p>
<p>They want trainable employees, but a trained trainable employee is a plus.</p>
<p>^ On top of that, they get people with great personality, and it’s not a hidden secret that many of them come from the top schools, especially Ivies.</p>
<p>Ivy league = good personalities?</p>
<p>Well, let’s face it. A lot of Ivy league educated have great personality and good connections in the banking and finance industry. A lot fo them are also good in interviews. But that is not to say that there aren’t like them outside of Ivies.</p>
<p>Do you know a lot of Ivy leaguers?</p>
<p>lol, Ivy Leagues = good personality? I guess it depends on what kind of personality one considers “good.” I’m not saying that lower ranked schools have people with better personalities, but I am saying that I am quite sure Ivy Leagues have a lot of rich and middle-class snobs (not saying all rich and middle-class are snobs) as well as others who are more “used car salesman” personalities where every other word they say is totally absent of sincerity (with or without bad intentions). To me, neither of those are good personalities. Though the latter one can be advantageous in a career.</p>
<p>“Ivy leaguers have superior work ethic, and can grasp knowledge faster.”</p>
<p>“A lot of Ivy league educated have great personality…”</p>
<p>I detect a lot of unwarranted romanticizing of the Ivy League.</p>
<p>Let me add this: A lot of Ivy league educated I-bankers are totally incompetent and completely lack business ethics. Real-world proof of this is in the economic meltdown. So, you were saying about those great personalities…</p>
<p>I got flamed on here several weeks ago for a post I made about an Ivy-league educated Ibanker I met who I called totally incompetent. People really need to wake up.</p>
<p>^^^ well, there are still a lot of people in awe of the Ivy league and a lot of wannabe banksters that think “greed is good”…</p>
<p>I’m not in awe of anything, get over it. The average ivy league grad is smarter and has way more work ethic than the most college grads. Quit crying like a baby. I also don’t think ivy leaguers have superior personalities, if anything they have inferior ones.</p>
<p>LOL @ Ivie Leaguers with great personalities. I haven’t met one that doesn’t end up going on and on about how their school is the best. It’s great when you get two of them from different schools with a couple of drinks in them. They will go on for HOURS debating which school is better. It’s like the hardcore frat boys who can’t talk about anything besides how drunk they’ve been for 4-6 years. </p>
<p><strong>GAG</strong></p>
<p>
Haha, some maybe. </p>
<p>My D was told by her MD that all of the interns “have the ability to do the work” because they come from the top schools (Ivies plus the others–Stanford, etc.) and have proven themselves, but all do not “fit.” At the end of the summer, a fellow intern, good friend, Yale student was not offered a job.</p>
<p>How to “fit” depends on the company and desk. But it is an important consideration.</p>