<p>i have recently considered joining the air guard (reserves) and im wondering if i did would it hinder future opportunities in IB due to the fact it has absolutely nothing to do with IB (basically security guard)</p>
<p>If you are considering investment banking in the North east, you should perhaps know that in the northeast, particularly among the intellegencia, there is a presumption that anything military is working class, southern, republican, and not too bright. </p>
<p>Join if you want, but it won’t help you in the halls of Wall Street.</p>
<p>I have to disagree, being in military provides a foundation of leadership and discipline and wealth of experiences that can be applied to the corporate life style. I know at least two upper level executives who both served in the military and are now excelling at in Corporate America.</p>
<p>im only interested in the Air force sector i feel like they have a little more respect than just a bunch of grunts with guns. im most concerned that if i get called to active duty it will screw with my schooling.</p>
<p>Why do you want to join?<br>
What do you hope to take out of the experience?</p>
<p>Will that assist in accomplishing your goal(s)?</p>
<p>there was recently a washington post article about the hinderences of being a reservist.</p>
<p>once you get out, they may still decide to call you up for duty. the risk of losing an employee with days’ notice is one that I-banking folks especially may not be enthusiastic about taking.</p>
<p>it’s not fair, and it sucks, but that’s the deal</p>
<p>
Coming from someone in the military, I would agree that the presumption stated above is more prevalent in the Northeast than the in the South.
Are you kidding? You have that completely wrong! If you look at all the top commanders (generals who have promoted quickly), nearly all of them come from combat arms branches such as infantry. When you look at the slots for higher ranking officers (O-6 and above), you will quickly realize that other branches don’t have nearly the same promotional opportunties. In the end, I believe that higher rank commands more respect than branch of service or functional branch.
The people that command respect are the ones who have been through more ***** than others, but also have the credentials to prove that they are in fact very intelligent and capable in all regards.
Ie. The reserve Army doctor (who was a former Infantry company commander (CAB, Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger-tabbed, etc.), has an MD/JD and makes 7+ figures/year, and now a COL at age 37-38 (considered extremely young especially for a reservist and even active duty).
To a great extent this is true. However, if you have the credentials to very quickly rise in rank and command, then your military service could be of benefit to your Ibanking career if you are able to set major policy and be politically connected at the very minimum state level.</p>
<p>Remember, the military is a huge commitment. You won’t really grasp that until you’re already in.</p>
<p>I would imagine the ‘republican’ part of being in the army wouldn’t offend quite so much on Wall Street. Or is Wall Street dominated more by democrats/liberals?</p>
<p>Wall Street likes their money. Democrats want to take their money. Ergo…no.</p>
<p>
Maybe for the army. The “fighter pilot mafia” is losing power in the AF. Not all of the top generals are combat pilots.</p>
<p>I really don’t get the last part of your comment. What do you mean?</p>
<p>does being an officer help? i have a mandatory military service coming up soon, and i was just curious if being an ‘officer’ would help you when you applied for the job?</p>
<p>It is a leadership/management position, so most places would rate it higher than enlisted positions. It does depend on the type of work you applied for.</p>
<p>Officer positions usually require more formal education and longer commitments.</p>
<p>
By “branches” I did not mean branch of service (ie. Army - Active, Reserves, NG, Marines, USAF, etc.) . I meant branch of function (ie. Infantry, MP, Corps of Engineers, Armor, etc.).
It’s easier to branch Infantry first and then switch your branch to another specialty later on than to do it in reverse. If you’re looking to make O-6 or higher in a shorter time, you need to pick a branch function that has the greatest promotional opportunities. In the Army, that would be Infantry.</p>
<p>I think the leadership would actually make you look better (but, hey, I’m just a college kid interning so don’t take my word for it). I now the head of a dept. at a BB who was in the military and he speaks very fondly of it and how much it has helped him.</p>
<p>
Military experience does without a doubt make you a better leader. But as someone who knows something about the commitment for the reserve component, I question whether you would be able to juggle both an real investment banking career and a military commitment at the same time.
You could serve in the military first, and then try to get into investment banking afterwards, but you could potentially be at least 3 years older than your peers and the question is at that age can you handle the lifestyle?</p>