Many altruists are interested in earning to give, but don’t know where to start. Finance is an attractive option, and with good reason. It offers very high expected earnings, opportunities to use a wide variety of skillsets, and a wide range of career possibilities with different combinations of competitiveness, demandingness and compensation. Finance can be a good fit for someone who is good at analytical thinking, works well with other people, and willing to work hard in a serious environment.
If that sounds like you, then congratulations! Even if you have literally no idea what you are doing, you have come to the right place. In this short guide we will go over the basic types of careers in finance, make some points about various aspects of the finance industry that aspiring altruists should think about, point you to further resources and send you on your way.
Link to full article which I wrote
Special thanks to Kit Harris, Alex Foster and Robert Wiblin for looking over the draft.
This is not my experience at all. I know many people who got jobs at top banks despite (seemingly) no connections or prestige. They are more meritocratic than you give them credit for (and the average applicant is worse!).
Yes, some people believe that. On the other hand, I've seen people be promoted to senior positions, over more qualified people, explicitly because the firm needed more 'diversity'. You shouldn't deter people from applying to the industry on the basis of "some people believe" while not even mentioning the fact that they receive objective advantages that will help them.
I agree that this applies much less at smaller firms.
40 or so? I did work in investment banking for a while.
You're writing a "Finance Careers for Earning to Give" guide and don't consider "being an EA who is interested in applying to banks" a relevant reference class? These weren't a random sample of EAs, these were EAs who thought working in IB might be a good idea for them.
Though perhaps it has worked out for some more recently and I just don't know who they are.
No, if everyone trying something (EtG in a bank) decided it was a bad idea, that is definitely valuable information. It's not a rumor, Ben could tell you who they are. We don't want neutrality, we want accuracy.
People in the industry? Who?
Doing investment banking? Or doing other things at investment banks? It's a very rare phenomenon. You might see some people who were accepted that way, but you're not seeing the hundreds of equivalent people who weren't. If you want a job then you network your way in or go to a target school - that is the standard advice you will get f... (read more)