<p>I don’t recall the OP ever saying anything bad about Ivy League schools or investment banking. Why so hostile? Going to an Ivy League school doesn’t prove one’s worth and doesn’t entitle one to be an *******. Getting into a particular college doesn’t make a “successful” life. Expressing a lack of interest in going into a particular career isn’t an insult to a particular career path, and even if he said he hated it, I still don’t understand why you’re so angry with his opinion. Why you’re so enamored by investment banking and Ivy Leagues is beyond me. </p>
<p>That’s why you’re immature. You attack someone over the internet for not wanting to make sweet love to investment bankers. </p>
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<p>Because so many people are under the misguided impression that having a nice car and big house = happiness and a life well spent? You might want to look into the hedonistic scale. Once you have a luxury car, you need a better luxury car. Once you have your five bedroom house, you need an eight bedroom house. But if your real goal in life is to make money, you’ll experience the dissatisfaction that accompanies that path.</p>
<p>i love business, i find it fascinating. I am decent with numbers, but i really hate them. I would never do investment banking in my life. I plan on majoring in marketing or sales or management. Obviously i will ahve to work with statistics a lot, but this works out because that is my favorite math subject and the onyl one i can tolerate for the 40 years i will be working. </p>
<p>on the ivy league issue-</p>
<p>I may not be able to get into a TOP school, but i will definitely get into some solid ones. Let me tell you now that i am simply not motivated by the high school curriculum and that is why i will nto get into an ivy, but i will get an education and i am good with peopel, so i think i have what it takes to climb the corporate ladder.</p>
<p>at this point i would like to quote sun tzu who said- “appear weak when you are strong”</p>
<p>many ivy league graduates will underestimate the abilities of those graduating from schools with a lower reputation, and that is quite fine by me.</p>
<p>I’ve known a lot of investment bankers. I have taught in a b-school for 20 years, including in NYC. </p>
<p>Oddly, all the bankers I know (which may not be representative of bankers!), do not like their job very much. They love the income. Many said they’d just keep doing it for awhile. Save up. Leave. Many said they’d retire early. </p>
<p>Most have kept to it because once invested in spending at that income, hard to turn it off. Doesn’t mean they are happy- they aren’t- they just feel trapped as it would mean such a drastic lifestyle change.</p>
<p>*When one has acquired the patience to work at any particular job, then he has the patience to do any job in the world. If you could do any job in the world, why not choose the most lucrative one that will let you retire early? *</p>
<p>Because, student01, contrary to what you think, your job has a huge effect on your happiness. A librarian who loves her job and does it until she’s seventy-five will be happier than an investment banker who retires early. Especially when, starbright pointed out, people on high salaries don’t want a downgrade in their lifestyle.</p>
<p>If you’re in it for the money at least pick a job you’d prefer.</p>
<p>Well I guess that’s just the case for me then, since playing the violin and socializing are the only two things that make me happy.</p>
<p>But there are not many lucrative jobs for that, so I’m just going to have to go with patience and bite the bullet on some career that will at least guarantee stability. I don’t see how this can’t be the rational decision.</p>
<p>Personally, I think this whole “do what makes you fulfilled” movement comes from people’s overbloated egos these days.</p>
<p>There is a point where we have to say there’s no “perfect” career just waiting out there for us. At that point, we have to learn to adapt and stick with the limitations we’re given.</p>
<p>obviously I don’t enjoy analyzing statistics when i could be at a party or playing bass or snowboarding. You would be hard pressed to fisn soemone like that. A job will never be enjoyed as much as recreational activity, but you can amke the best of it anyway. Marketing is simply the job i would enjoy most wehn compared to OTHER JOBS, not what i do for fun.</p>
<p>I definitely agree with you about the opportunity cost of I-banking - to me it does not seem worth it to spend your youth working ungodly hours and I personally took a long time mulling over that cost and whether or not it would be worth the sacrifice. However, I think it’s incredibly ignorant to state that Ivy League kids/graduates are “very full of themselves” and cast such a general statement of derision on such a diverse demographic. Yes, I myself go to an Ivy League school and I have had more than one encounter with a condescending debate club member or that frat boy with the proverbial stick up his ass but I can honestly say that I have also met some of the most inspiring and ambitious people in my life at my college who have gone to pursue careers in medicine, international policy, and of course investment banking. Do not confuse the amalgamation of confidence, talent, and ambition in those who are truly exceptional with blunt arrogance without a grounded examination.</p>
<p>I think everyone can find a career that suits their interests and personality. Sure, it might not be as exciting as your favorite hobby… But it’s work… Work isn’t supposed to be fun. The only way I see money making a difference in your overall happiness is if it funds your hobbies that make you enjoy life. And if buying a 130K Mercedes-Benz or airplane suits you, then save up.</p>