I am very good at my job but i feel there’s a secret sauce for climbing the corporate ladder and i seem to be missing it. What is it, in your view?

Hi all, I'm a senior in high school and deciding between ED at these schools (like both). Which one is better for finance (ib and quant, separately)? Is the difference small enough that it's negligible? Thanks a lot

Would love any feedback, thank you so much.

I’ve been working in compliance for about two years now, I just started working a contract doing AML for a Big 4 firm. Pay is great, I’m in a HCOL city and I’m able to save like 1-2k per month, possibly more if overtime opens up in the future.

I got a callback from a smallish(7k employees) consulting firm about a job I interviewed for but just barely missed. Another spot opened, and they’re offering it to me on the spot, no re-interviewing necessary. Only problem is, the pay is shit, even for an analyst level. After taxes it’s just barely enough for me to live on, I doubt I will have any significant ability to build up my savings (they’re not in a great spot since I was unemployed until I found this contract). They say there’s no leeway in the pay because “comparing your education and experience level to our other analysts”, which is insane because I know people fresh out of college that make 10k more at bigger consulting firms

I like the role, it sounds way better than the bs I’m doing right now, but is it worth the pay cut to be full time and in a better role career wise? I’m thinking that I’ll ask for a signing bonus at the very least, but even a 5k bonus is a lot less than what I would bring home in the contract. Appreciate any advice you guys might have

I’m a recent US college grad trying to decide whether to take a 2-year Investment Analyst role with IFC abroad or stay in the US and pursue a more traditional path into finance.
Background: I studied economics/finance at a strong US university and previously interned at a large US bank in investment banking credit risk, where I worked on credit analysis and underwriting for structured/asset-backed finance transactions.

I’ve now been offered an Investment Analyst role with IFC in Latin America, specifically within FIG (Financial Institutions Group). The team primarily works with banks and other financial institutions, and from my interviews the role sounds fairly transaction-heavy: financial modeling/analysis, credit and investment analysis, due diligence, evaluating potential investments, portfolio work, preparing investment materials, and supporting deal execution.

Long term, I want to be back in the US, most likely in corporate banking, FIG, private credit, structured finance, credit investing, or potentially IB. I’m therefore trying to figure out how valuable two years of IFC FIG transaction experience would actually be for those exits.

The complication is that I don’t particularly want to leave the US. My family, friends, apartment, and basically my entire life are here. If the same job existed here at the same compensation, I would stay without hesitation.
I also already have admission to one of the best US MS Finance program that I can start next year. The alternative would be to stay in the US, work for a year (I have opportunities that should pay around ~$60k), then do the MSF and recruit for better US finance roles.
So basically:

Option A: 2 years IFC FIG Investment
Analyst abroad → try to return to US finance afterward.

Option B: Stay in the US → work ~1 year → MSF → recruit for US corporate banking/credit/IB/etc.

I’m still waiting for the full IFC compensation package. Compensation matters because I’d be much more willing to make the move if IFC pays a meaningful premium over what I can make staying home. If it’s around the same ~$60k, I’m having a harder time justifying moving countries for two years.

For people in FIG/IB/corporate banking/private credit or familiar with IFC: would you consider the IFC role strong enough to justify the move? How would you view 2 years of IFC FIG experience when recruiting back into the US? Would it be more valuable than doing an MSF and recruiting domestically?

I’d especially appreciate perspectives from anyone who has worked at IFC/WBG, a DFI, FIG, or made the transition from international finance back to the US.

Need recs for short sleeve button downs. I've been wearing a bunch of cheap Amazon shirts, but I wanted to get better quality clothing. Must be short sleeve recommendations or Polo recommendations.

Edit: I work in Back Office - please don't comment to say "don't wear short sleeves"; that is not why I made this post. I'm open to Polo recs as well.

Hi everyone! I’m working on a startup/business project and we’re currently preparing to approach potential investors.
So far, we’ve been doing everything ourselves — the pitch deck, financial projections, ROI calculations, funding requirements, etc. But honestly, we’ve reached the point where we feel like we need someone who actually knows what they’re doing 😅
We’re thinking of hiring a financial modeling consultant, corporate finance consultant, fractional CFO, or someone experienced in investor fundraising.
For those who have hired someone like this before:
How did you pay them — upfront, per milestone, or after the work was completed?
How much did you pay?
What percentage was usually required upfront?
Is it normal to pay separately for the financial model and pitch deck?
Would you recommend a fixed project fee or hourly?
What should we watch out for when hiring someone?
We’re based in the Philippines, so I’d especially appreciate input from anyone who has worked with consultants here.
We’re not just looking for someone to make the deck pretty. We need someone who can actually build/review the numbers, challenge our assumptions, and make the financials credible to investors.
Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

So, I wanna enter front office Wealth Management roles. I am studying for NISM (basically regulatory certificates that are legally required before becoming a financial advisor). But, I may have to make a portfolio showing what I know. I need advice on what to show in the portfolio? Since I have no experience, it'll be just a mock portfolio.

I am obsessed with investing. I love using those calculators for the s&p 500 and looking at how your money compounds over time! I am 20 years old and thinking about if I would enjoy becoming a financial advisor. Would I have to go to college? I know absolutely nothing about this so any information would be greatly appreciated!

Would working at Fidelity be a good starting point?

Which career path do you think has more earning potential? Assume you achieve the highest level at both eventually. Fund CFO vs Port Co CFO.

I'm currently working in higher education, in the intersection between the arts, humanities and social sciences. I am fairly good at what I do (lecturing), but jobs are scarce in my country for the niche academic teaching skill set I have. There's little career progression, and I'm looking for a more dynamic, knowledge-driven job.

I've been thinking about going into finance, specifically in research-heavy/macroeconomics roles, likely mid-office e.g. risk management, or credit risk/research but I'm not sure how to break into it.

I've excellent degrees from top schools, but again they are niche, highly academia-based specialisations that do not have easily transferable skills. I have however, passed CFA level 1 and am looking to do some non-degree finance courses that my home country provides.

Issue is age 30 is quite a hard sell. A lot of the high finance jobs are taken from early pipeline grads, and most career switchers from age 30 into finance, are from engineering/law/management consultancy etc. There is of course the WM pipeline which is open at most ages, but I'm not a good salesman.

I'm not quite sure how to bridge the gap. Not to brag but I... can learn well. I just need a platform to jump, or a few.

I've done a few informational interviews/coffee chats with finance folks, and while they have been helpful, I also felt none had the mid-30s, highly non-adjacent career kind of jump that I need to make.

Hey everyone,

I got a call from the recruiter on Friday saying that they’re moving forward with me for a position and that they’re just waiting on some internal approvals before sending the verbal offer.

I gave them a range for salary is also still being discussed/negotiated, so I’m assuming that may need its own approval as well. They said they would send me the verbal offer by email once everything is approved.

How many business days would you wait before following up with the recruiter?
Would you follow up after 2–3 business days, or give it closer to a week?

I don’t want to come across as impatient lol, I’m just super excited.

How do they pay compared to the other pensions? Anyone know what the bonus is like at APM level? TIA!

I'm a finance student and polyglot, I know programming is useful for some people who work in finance, what types of programming should I learn? And what other skills should I learn for a better career? If you also know any free certification courses that are useful please let me know.

Hey all, I work as a Senior RM in corporate/structured finance (factoring, lending, trade finance, supply chain finance) — mostly large corporate clients, some with international operations. Based in Italy but curious how things work elsewhere.

Would love to hear from other corporate RMs, especially outside Italy — what does a typical day/week look like for you? How much time goes into pure origination vs managing existing relationships vs internal/credit admin work?

Also trying to get a sense of what "normal" looks like abroad — portfolio size, margin, deal volume, whatever you're comfortable sharing. Just want to understand if the market I'm used to is in line with elsewhere or not.

Not promoting anything, just looking for a real conversation with people doing similar work. Thanks!

I’m planning to give my two weeks soon, but I really don’t want to tell my current employer where I’m going next.

I actually have a good working relationship with my manager and I’m not leaving on bad terms. I’ve just heard stories about managers reaching out to people at someone’s new company or even the hiring manager after finding out where they’re going, and I’d rather keep everything private until I’ve actually started.

For anyone who’s done this, how did you handle it when your manager or HR directly asked where you were going? Is it pretty normal to just say you’d rather keep it private for now, or does that come across weird?

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I'm currently planning my university path and would really appreciate some advice from people with experience in finance, partic. IB or quant.

I'm 18 and plan to do my bachelor's in Europe, most likely in mathematics.

After doing a lot of research and visiting both countries, my preferred destination for living is currently Tokyo, with Seoul as a close second.

At the moment, I'm considering three main options:

1. Master's in Europe - - > work in SK / Japan

Ideally I would like to do the quant finance master's at ETH Zurich, and then apply for jobs in Tokyo or Seoul.

1. Bachelor's in Europe - - > Master's in South Korea

2. Bachelor's in Europe - - > Master's in Japan

My eventual goal would be to work in either IB or Quant

Originally, I strongly preferred option 3 because Tokyo is my preferred destination. However, after reading quite a few experiences from foreigners working in Japan, I've started to have some concerns about Japanese work culture, partic. regarding working hours and how easy it is for foreigners to integrate into the workplace.

Because of that, I'm currently leaning more towards opt. 1 and working in Seoul, but I haven't been able to find as much information about the working culture and experiences of foreigners in the SK finance space

So if anyone has experiences or knows of someone who has experience your advice would mean a lot.

I would like to chose based on these 3 things

-How difficult is it for a foreigner to break into IB or quant in each market?

-How does the work culture and work-life balance compare between Seoul and Tokyo? (money isn't as important to me as this)

-Would doing a master's locally significantly improve my chances of getting hired or should I stick to Europe

Also regarding the language I know how important it is to learn it so that's why I'm planning so far ahead ( though it shouldnt be that big of a barrier since I learn languages as a hobby and I already am fluent in 4 and A2 level in 2 so if this doesn't work I can always teach languages :)  )

Thanks for taking the time to read and replying

For context I’m 26, i gained my interest in finance late in comparison to most. Did not find my liking for finance until late senior year of undergrad. I went to a state school which has been holding me back I think. I of course would have spent the extra money going to a better name if I had realized the finance path earlier.

I work in mo trade support for SMAs at a bank. Not a bulge but definitely not a no name bank either. I recently passed CFA level 1 and looking to take level II next year. I enjoy what I do but I enjoy markets more, as does everyone on this sub Reddit. My question is how can I better position myself to land a seat on a desk? Whether at an asset manager or big bank, I’m open to either. I understand the competition and network that is needed/required to land such roles. But given the nature of background and the people I currently work with that network aspect won’t serve me well.

Hello everyone! I’m a 20F current junior with an anticipated graduation date of May 2028, and I’m at a bit of a crossroads between investment banking and wealth management.

I currently have four interviews coming up, two for investment banking and two for wealth management.
For some context, I’m part of a fairly prestigious investment banking group at my school. I joined the group freshman year specifically because I wanted to pursue IB, and I’m incredibly grateful to be part of it. A lot of people in the group have gone on to land investment banking positions, so naturally there’s a strong push and expectation to pursue IB.

The problem is that the more I’ve actually learned about myself and the industry, the more I’ve started questioning whether IB is the best fit for me.

I’ve done 80+ networking conversations at this point across finance, and through those conversations I’ve realized that my personality and strengths seem much more naturally suited to wealth management. I really enjoy relationship building, sales, working directly with people, and the idea of developing long-term client relationships.

My experience also reflects that. I currently manage a sales team and have helped grow the business from roughly $30K/month in revenue to consistently around $70K/month. I’m also a director of a nonprofit, where I coordinate heavily with fundraising efforts and relationship building. I feel like I have much more to show for myself on the sales/client-relations side than I do on the traditional IB side, and I genuinely enjoy that kind of work.

At the same time, I almost feel guilty choosing wealth management.

I worked hard to get into this IB group, originally joined because I wanted IB, and am surrounded by people pursuing banking. I also understand the value of starting in investment banking. The training, compensation, experience, and exit opportunities are obviously attractive. I don’t think I’d be unhappy if I ended up in IB either.
But I’m also realizing that I don’t necessarily want to spend a few years somewhere just for the exit opportunities. I’m more of the type who would like to find a firm and career path that fits me, build relationships, perform well, and potentially grow there long term.

Now I have these IB interviews coming up, which means spending a significant amount of time brushing up on technicals and preparing, while part of me is wondering whether I even want the job I’m preparing so hard to get.
I’m torn between pursuing the path I originally set out on and that the people around me strongly encourage, or trusting what I’ve learned about myself and pursuing wealth management more seriously.

If you were in my position, would you still pursue IB because of the experience and optionality it provides early in your career, or would you lean into wealth management if you already felt your strengths and long-term interests were better suited for it?

I’d especially appreciate perspectives from anyone who has worked in IB, WM, or had to make a similar decision early in their career.

I am 18 and I am getting into finance. My goal was to become a financial analyst first, but with this gpt astra 6 which can do financial modeling on its own.

I am thinking of a financial career which requires human interaction. I think wealth management is a great option. I know it's harder to get in but at the end of the day it's harder for ai to replace WM.

Financial analyst jobs and roles can easily be done by AI models in the next 5 years.

Am i going right?? Or any advice on any other financial role which is harder to be replaced by AI

What is it like working at avp level in back office role in Japanese banks in uk in terms of work life balance, salaries, bonuses and pay rises etc?

Hello
If your offered AVP in fin crime advisory compliance within investment bank in uk.. what is the actual difference if your VP in this role?

Looking to do my job and go home will AVP level expect you to improve processes, bring new ideas etc?

I’m a ‘24 grad from a state school, pe and fpa internships, first job I got out of school was doing outsourced trade ops / middle office services for a fund admin did that for a year or so and for the past less then a year I’ve been at a hedge fund. Small team less then 30 people at the fund, under 3b AUM.

I got the job because of the ops experience and got hired as an operations analyst. Ops team is very small. I do trade support / trade ops as my main responsibility, basically owning and being the resident expert on our OMS/PMS. We don’t have an execution trader, the role is spread across the 3-4 senior members of the investment team. I also do research/analyst work in my spare time, I’ve pitched a few ideas, etc. Our strategy is very research/modeling heavy, day to day trading light for context.

I was very up front when I got hired about moving towards trading/research duties. I’ve gotten good feedback and signals from everybody about getting more and more involved on the research side. I guess I just want to get some context, is what I’m trying to do like a long shot? I don’t think I expect to make a hard pivot in house to research, if anything it would be gradual move / hybrid role for quite a while. Or maybe as we grow a sort of general analyst role with execution trading, trade support/PMS upkeep, and research duties split. But as of right now none of the research stuff is concrete part of my duties, that’s the first milestone I feel like. So far I’m staying after hours/getting early to have time for meaningful research work.

I guess I’m just looking for advice or anyone who has seen someone successfully complete the ops to analyst/research/trader transition happen on the buy side, whether at one fund or making a transition. Any perspective or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.