I really enjoy compliance, easy work, good pay, excellent work life balance. I listen to podcasts and music all day working on reports due weeks in advance. It's chill and i love it
@musazwane6049 good call, I personally like the back office life even if it's boring to some. I came from a call center where it was beyond stressful. The pace here is much better.
Spoke to a charterholder today (in real life). He said it’s about the journey, not the ending. He said enjoy studying, don’t do it if you’re stressing out. He said it’s suppose to be enjoyable and enlightening.
I agree that is is very much about the journey, but not that studying needs to be enjoyable. If people only studied when they enjoyed it, there would be very few charterholders.
100% correct. I won't lie and say that career prospects wasn't a consideration in me taking it but I also took it because I wanted a better understanding of how the world works and boy have I gotten that understanding. Nothing on the news seems alien to me anymore.
I work in corporate finance but for a smaller company that’s not yet public and I really like it. I get solid variety in my work and get to have some input on decision making. Also the worklife balance is AWESOME which isn’t typical of finance. Hybrid work and only like 25-35 hr a week!
Was that your first job out of school or did you work a few different places to build a resume first? I have heard similar experiences among finance jobs working with smaller companies!
I am also curious what the best path to get into this role is. I would also love to take this kind of route. Did you have to do work in investment banking before jumping to corporate strategy? Or how would you recommend someone goes about getting a role like that?
Fixed Income research is work life balance at its finest. Can't believe it ranks on par with Investment banking. You get decent pay, and the skills without the back breaking work.
Retail banking is awful. Another terrible thing is the job security, I myself got laid off in March from a firm-wide restructuring. Retail banking jobs are super disposable. I'm looking to move into a non-sales position going forward!
Here, fixed for you :) S - HF, PE A - IB, Trading, AM B - Equity Research, Fixed Income Research, Sales C - Corporate Finance, Retail Banking, Wealth M. D - Compliance, Back Office
I work in Retail banking for JP Morgan Chase. I think your job description of it is fairly accurate. I almost left the positon then found a differnt branch located near the 1% earners of my city. I will say the job becuase fairly lucrative and rewarding if you can join the 1% of high achieving branches in my opinion.
What if I’m 21 with a finance bachelors and a mba masters and I want to eventually get a cpa and work in equity research or asset management or portfolio management.
Truth be told: An accounting or finance degree opens up many opportunities for you! But in general most jobs are very boring. I love the business area and I graduated in finance, today I am also graduating in accounting (which is exclusive to the market here in Brazil). Despite these two degrees, my main highlight is in the area of business management. Focusing on business performance, increasing sales, reducing costs, expanding profit margins and good financial planning for investment applications while maintaining fiscal and accounting integrity. At this point, a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting is extremely important in my career for me to be a Manager/Controller/CEO with strong management skills aligned with a high technical level in financial analysis.
hey there Im a fresh high school graduate (currently trying to understand which subject to study in uni ) and you spoke exactly my mind (main highlight is in the area of business management. Focusing on business performance, increasing sales, reducing costs, expanding profit margins and good financial planning for investment applications while maintaining fiscal and accounting integrity.) I want to to be a manager / CEO / product manager in future , I'm good at leadership roles and analytical thinking but the problem is Im confused whether I should to study finance or economics in my undergrad or any other business subject like management . Personally I dont like accounting that much that's why i didn't mentioned it can you kindly share your insights and thoughts on what cloud be the best fit for me also keeping the future ?AI revolution in mind ? kid regards,
@@komedicing3867It’s late but your best off choosing finance or accounting. Finance is closer to what you said but you can be an accountant and be FP&A or financial manager. The two overlap but they still specialize so major in one and minor in the other and then you can potentially get a masters in one.
I’m a MBA graduate (Finance), currently playing professional basketball in Europe. The last bit at the end about not loving anything you have to do everyday felt like you were talking to me personally. Thanks for the video, I don’t have any traditional work experience in the field and this video has helped me a lot.
As a tall af dude, I wish I gotten into basketball but I had my growth spurt in college Just feel out of place where I'm at lol, I would rather priotize my health and happiness. Ideally I could work a job that allows me to travel and live my best life, but that's never going to happen
hey man, im currently a junior in highschool i just transferred to the U.S for basketball and im looking to pursue finance as my major in college. I have some questions if that’s okay and would love to speak to you about this. Please reach out if you can
that may be because you just graduated from college and/or are still in school. in the real world, nobody gives a shit about bullshit forecasts. if you have money and can make good returns on it, nobody cares about how you make forecasts. whereas if you don't have any money to manage and want to pretend you're relevant, you will come up with all types of fancy forecast models to justify your existence. again; nobody cares.
Honestly, Retail Banking was the absolute worst finance role I have done, literally just getting yelled at all day lol, especially with lending where you have to turn people away for loans/mortgages, etc :(. So glad to be a CFP and working in wealth management now. I love it, it's so rewarding (excluding the last 10 months lol, but it's still rewarding to give guidance during hard times)
@@saidalcapone3964 I am not sure! I have not been in commercial banking so I cannot say. I can imagine it may be more interesting as you're dealing with corporations and likely more affluent clients. I do know that the Capital Markets sides of banks are really neat as well as I have a few colleagues at a few FI's in those. There are so many places you can explore in FI's!
@@wallstreetzoomer not at all! I mean yes, you are working with people, but you are not working with day to day banking transactions. You are working with your own set of clients, who you pick, and who want to be there and want your help. I have about 300 clients, I don't need any more than that, and they love the work I do for them, and I love working with them. It's completely different than dealing with the general public and thousands of clients in a year.
@@saidalcapone3964 I can't speak to commercial banking, I am not sure what it's like over there and I don't have any work-friends of personal friends who work in it. Sorry I couldn't be more help!
Retail banking here. Worked my way up to being an investment/portfolio affluent banker. When you have the Series 7/66 and are a higher up banker, you don’t help just anyone off the street. The regular bankers do that and they have to transfer all the high affluent customers to you. You make a rather big salary and if you are successful in bringing in new clients, you get big quarterly bonuses too. Not the best career but definitely not D tier. Maybe c+ to b tier.
On a larger level I disagree. To achieve elite success one almost always has to adore their work to be able to outwork everyone else in that path, I am an intense believer in extremely strong correlations between output and enjoyment of work. Humans are dopamine-tolerance adjusting so if one strips out all dopamine-creating activities (this is an extreme) and has a job that is net positive in dopamine creation then they can have extraordinary success. A net negative dopamine creation (even in a job you have relative strength in therefore a competitive advantage) is predisposed to lesser success.
I work in compliance for one of the bulge bracket global banks and what I love about it is how laid back it is. I have a full time contract yet I actually only have to put in 1 to 2 hours of real work per day to get the job done, and the salary is still decent (equivalent of ~$140k per year and I have 2 years experience). Compliance is amazing if you’re kinda lazy and want a good work life balance that allows you to go to the hairdresser or for a walk during your working hours. Also you can work from home as much as you want. Obviously if you’re very ambitious or after fat bonuses, compliance clearly isn’t for you.
I’m 30 with no degree 10 years of accounting experience, been moving up the corporate ladder with my current employer and now facing a road block where I cannot grow no more within the company which is why I am now finishing up my BBA in Finance, which should be done next May. Thank you for sharing this information.
Im a 42 y.o. professional project manager, bachelors of science in business administration and I want to pivot my career to a specialization in finance. This content is very helpful to plan my journey. Thankyou 😊
Not sure why you didn't mention Commercial credit. It's related to fixed income, but quite a bit different. The hours are very good and the pay is decent. Really underrated job.
Great list, lines up with what I hear. I'm aiming to get in Broking which is basically sales but in Commodities which is less public facing than stockbroking, should be more interesting and secure.
Hi I work in Retail Banking with 3 years experience and its really not that bad... I make 140k a year plus bonus. I rarely get angry customer, its really how you communicate with people that will prevent that. Im a candidate for cfa1 so Im just looking into growing in the finance industry.
Why nobody includes corporate banking areas in these lists? There's so many types of finance activities that are not even mentioned, debt financing, global markets, transaction banking, etc.
LOL! I moved from Consulting to Corporate Finance in Industry. CF is pretty exciting at the Series A stage because of the aggressive expansion, new markets so we're constantly raising or planning an expansion strategy. I laughed so hard when he said "No disrespect to slavery at all but..."
The depth of this piece is remarkable. I read a book with similar material that inspired a fundamental life change. "Game Theory and the Pursuit of Algorithmic Fairness" by Jack Frostwell
I think it depends how to rate those different jobs into these categories. For Warren Buffett (and alike) this is (part of) his life (not only a job) so it is probably an S tier category! 😍
ex Big 4 consulting, presently a software engineer at a FAANG company. GMAT score 760 (2 weeks back). I will spend some time learning about corporate finance As of now, I don't really have a clue but it's common knowledge that this industry pays well.
I am in wholesale, working on my MBA, already completed the CFP coursework. For what the job entails, and understanding sales is a skill that can be developed, it can be very rewarding. Unfortunately it seems like there are 100 wholesalers calling each advisor on a daily basis. I can't tell you the last time I've genuinely pitched a product without expressed interest from the FA. You can make the job pretty tolerable and the compensation does come along with that if you figure out a process that feels comfortable to you. It can be a pretty brutal job if you get into a sweatshop (I won't name them, but there are multiple) - 50 calls, meeting requirements etc. Find a decent boutique and while you may sacrifice a small amount of compensation, you will at least have autonomy. With the MBA and CFP, I think the only other thing I could see long-term would be a move into wealth management. I'm sure it feels less transactional than wholesale, but at the end of the day I really care about the advisors that choose to work with me. I'm not the typical type-a sales guy, I struggle with the rejection, I do find it stressful, but I seem to be decent at the sales process and reading people.
Head of Portfolio Management at for a large RIA/OCIO here. You are right. So many wholesalers. Anywhere from 60-90 emails every day. 10-25 phone calls/voicemails. Just from product providers. ETFs/MFs, SMA managers, capital raisers, PE firms, Alts aggregator platforms (CAIS, iCapital), analytics providers, research providers, forever. It's too much. Sorry, most get deleted after a quick scan. The actual work at an OCIO doing the investment allocation and selection process is probably one of the best jobs in finance. I agree that the asset management jobs are A tier, and for certain firms (a very open-minded SFO or OCIO firm), easily S-tier. I love my job, It is super interesting, challenging, and well-compensated. And I can work 100% remote forever. Win-win. Make NY salary in a state with 60% lower cost of living.
Damn where are the commercial real estate guys? There’s such a variety of finance roles in real estate like Brokerage, AM, and Real Estate Private Equity!
Retail banking is awful. Another terrible thing is the job security, I myself got laid off in March from a firm-wide restructuring. Retail banking jobs are super disposable. I'm looking to move into a non-sales position going forward!
Can't completely agree with this as a WSO finance hardo with multiple MF and BB offers. Based on prifteege I would say it is really firm/group dependant but: S- PE (MF), HF (Top performing) A- CON (MBB), IB (BB, EB) B- AM (that is not "PE"), ER, FIR C- CORP D/F- Rest of the jobs here. Not really on the same bucket of work and unfair to compare but would probably be an F from the high finance perspective.
I wouldn't say easier than retail. Definitely more stimulating; work life balance and comp are actually a pretty good mix as far as finance careers go. @@saidalcapone3964
Hey AJ! Nice video, just discovered your channel. I'm 26 years old, got my B.Com in Finance about 2 years ago. Currently enrolled in CFA Level 1, I'm interested to get into equity research/fixed income research. I work for TD Bank of Canada in as an Analyst in their financial operations. Would you think a pivot to commercial banking (like a credit analyst role) would help me pivot once I have some more CFA levels done?
You don't need a CFA for commercial banking. Waste of time and money. CFA is no joke, you HAVE to want to be a buysider or a publishing SS analyst for it to be worth it. Seriously, just network yourself at TD and you'll get a commercial banking role.
Just curious as to where you'd put corporate/commercial banking? Definitely not a prestigious finance career but not as bad or as boring as retail banking.
Thank you AJ ! I'm preparing my first lvl of CFA, and currently studying for my first year of a master's degree. What internship would you think it's a cool one ? thank you AJ !
The coolest internship is one in the sector that you might want to be working in! It will provide much insight into the career. Best of luck on the exam!
Speaking of fixed income research, my firm has Money Market Analysts and Traders. Not sure what they do all day but sounds like a snooze fest. Would rate a D with compliance
@@TheGoat-dp5xy they help manage the money market funds - which if you don’t know, are cash equivalents. So they’re trading the underlying securities, which are a bunch of cash equivalents. I have no idea what that entails, but trading a bunch of low-yielding cash equivalents doesn’t sound thrilling to me
Hey AJ, it is a great video coming from someone who works in the industry. But I was wondering, with AI coming into play with the recent years, especially Algo trading or HFT. Will there be an increase demand in the next few years in your opinion? How would you rate it in your chart? Thanks!
Private equity gets paid more than HF and works less. It's a different skill set, but no one wants to go from PE > HF. if anything it's the other way around. HF much easier (relatively) to break into than big long only because this dynamic. HF and PE should definitely be swapped
Hi AJ, appreciate your videos. I am curious about what you've said when you come to private equity, that you don't have the resume to go into it. Why do think so ? I am an actuary with a strong financial background, studying towards the CFA. Private equity is a field in which I am interested in making a future career move so I would love to know more about your opinion . Best, Rosen
Hi Rosen, I don't have much of the background that is needed to get into PE. I suppose I could try to build that background if I really wanted to get in, but I'm happy with my current career.
What about Venture Capital? Is it Asset Management and if so isn’t that too broad a category? What about sovereign wealth funds? Are insurance jobs part of finance?
" compliance worse job on this list no bodiy like you" hahahaha dying here thank you that was soo true. I remember a broker screaming at the complaince guy "I'll say whatever the (bleep) I want." haha Good times
Always hated compliance/auditor ppl. Not them as individuals, but the role itself. Theyre always finding things to ding people for, which in turn affect bonuses
Si you mind talking about the compensation of each of these jobs in one video? And which of these are “easier” to get to as a CFA. Also, great videos! Keep it up
Sure! I do have a video about CFA compensation and it goes into different positions a bit. I will make another video about comp for each of these jobs.
@@kolonniki6356 Not sure if you're still considering options! However, I recently started in a PE firm doing data science/software. From my experience in the "fintech" industry, tech side tends to be a lot more lax and hours are almost always better across the board. Definitely worth some consideration if you really like data science, analytics, modeling, etc, as that's where a lot of money is being put. Hope this helps!
Hi, would you put corporate treasury for a large investment company (i.e., dealing with investors' funding / liquidity & cash management / bond pricing models / etc...) as a sub-set of corporate finance? I just accepted an offer, what they offer seem interesting, but obviously one can never 100% know!
Is earning a masters degree comparable to the CFA? You keep saying masters but most of your channel is about the CFA. Maybe you could do a video comparing the two
question. How come I keep seeing finance industry videos, but no one mentions insurance? I have a lot of connection within that industry, and they all say it is very lucrative, good pay & work life balance.
I really enjoy compliance, easy work, good pay, excellent work life balance. I listen to podcasts and music all day working on reports due weeks in advance. It's chill and i love it
What were your majors in college?
@musazwane6049 political science and history, so I have a good sense for regulations. Worked out nicely
@@TT-qc2mu great. I'll look into it as well. Sick and tired of accounts department with the long hours. I'm bailing😂💔
@musazwane6049 good call, I personally like the back office life even if it's boring to some. I came from a call center where it was beyond stressful. The pace here is much better.
@@TT-qc2mubruh how did u get the job
Spoke to a charterholder today (in real life). He said it’s about the journey, not the ending. He said enjoy studying, don’t do it if you’re stressing out. He said it’s suppose to be enjoyable and enlightening.
@ Star Lord
That's true. Its about the attitude
More of ' I get to do it' instead of ' I have to do it' as Mark Meldrum said it.
I agree that is is very much about the journey, but not that studying needs to be enjoyable. If people only studied when they enjoyed it, there would be very few charterholders.
100% true
100% correct. I won't lie and say that career prospects wasn't a consideration in me taking it but I also took it because I wanted a better understanding of how the world works and boy have I gotten that understanding. Nothing on the news seems alien to me anymore.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 AJ with the straight talks *fire emoji*
Severely accurate depiction of retail banking lmao.
lol I guess you've had some experiences with those angry customers
this hit home
😂
I work in corporate finance but for a smaller company that’s not yet public and I really like it. I get solid variety in my work and get to have some input on decision making. Also the worklife balance is AWESOME which isn’t typical of finance. Hybrid work and only like 25-35 hr a week!
What is your educational background?
Was that your first job out of school or did you work a few different places to build a resume first? I have heard similar experiences among finance jobs working with smaller companies!
I am also curious what the best path to get into this role is. I would also love to take this kind of route. Did you have to do work in investment banking before jumping to corporate strategy? Or how would you recommend someone goes about getting a role like that?
@@andrew6226fr im curious too
damn how much do you make ik its kinda personal but just asking
Fixed Income research is work life balance at its finest. Can't believe it ranks on par with Investment banking. You get decent pay, and the skills without the back breaking work.
What city do you work in? Just curious, thinking about switching degrees and that was recommended to me in finance degree targets
Retail banking is awful. Another terrible thing is the job security, I myself got laid off in March from a firm-wide restructuring. Retail banking jobs are super disposable. I'm looking to move into a non-sales position going forward!
Here, fixed for you :)
S - HF, PE
A - IB, Trading, AM
B - Equity Research, Fixed Income Research, Sales
C - Corporate Finance, Retail Banking, Wealth M.
D - Compliance, Back Office
I work in Retail banking for JP Morgan Chase. I think your job description of it is fairly accurate. I almost left the positon then found a differnt branch located near the 1% earners of my city. I will say the job becuase fairly lucrative and rewarding if you can join the 1% of high achieving branches in my opinion.
What if I’m 21 with a finance bachelors and a mba masters and I want to eventually get a cpa and work in equity research or asset management or portfolio management.
Truth be told:
An accounting or finance degree opens up many opportunities for you!
But in general most jobs are very boring. I love the business area and I graduated in finance, today I am also graduating in accounting (which is exclusive to the market here in Brazil).
Despite these two degrees, my main highlight is in the area of business management.
Focusing on business performance, increasing sales, reducing costs, expanding profit margins and good financial planning for investment applications while maintaining fiscal and accounting integrity.
At this point, a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting is extremely important in my career for me to be a Manager/Controller/CEO with strong management skills aligned with a high technical level in financial analysis.
hey there Im a fresh high school graduate (currently trying to understand which subject to study in uni )
and you spoke exactly my mind (main highlight is in the area of business management.
Focusing on business performance, increasing sales, reducing costs, expanding profit margins and good financial planning for investment applications while maintaining fiscal and accounting integrity.)
I want to to be a manager / CEO / product manager in future , I'm good at leadership roles and analytical thinking
but the problem is Im confused whether I should to study finance or economics in my undergrad or any other business subject like management . Personally I dont like accounting that much that's why i didn't mentioned it
can you kindly share your insights and thoughts on what cloud be the best fit for me also keeping the future ?AI revolution in mind ?
kid regards,
@@komedicing3867It’s late but your best off choosing finance or accounting. Finance is closer to what you said but you can be an accountant and be FP&A or financial manager. The two overlap but they still specialize so major in one and minor in the other and then you can potentially get a masters in one.
I’m a MBA graduate (Finance), currently playing professional basketball in Europe. The last bit at the end about not loving anything you have to do everyday felt like you were talking to me personally. Thanks for the video, I don’t have any traditional work experience in the field and this video has helped me a lot.
What team do you play for?
As a tall af dude, I wish I gotten into basketball but I had my growth spurt in college
Just feel out of place where I'm at lol, I would rather priotize my health and happiness. Ideally I could work a job that allows me to travel and live my best life, but that's never going to happen
@@resa574how tall are you and what job do you work
Bro's Wemby
hey man, im currently a junior in highschool i just transferred to the U.S for basketball and im looking to pursue finance as my major in college. I have some questions if that’s okay and would love to speak to you about this. Please reach out if you can
I find the DCF models the most interesting part of equity research, coming up with forecasting ideas is really exciting for me.
that may be because you just graduated from college and/or are still in school. in the real world, nobody gives a shit about bullshit forecasts. if you have money and can make good returns on it, nobody cares about how you make forecasts. whereas if you don't have any money to manage and want to pretend you're relevant, you will come up with all types of fancy forecast models to justify your existence. again; nobody cares.
Honestly, Retail Banking was the absolute worst finance role I have done, literally just getting yelled at all day lol, especially with lending where you have to turn people away for loans/mortgages, etc :(. So glad to be a CFP and working in wealth management now. I love it, it's so rewarding (excluding the last 10 months lol, but it's still rewarding to give guidance during hard times)
Do you think commercial banking is better ?
@@saidalcapone3964 I am not sure! I have not been in commercial banking so I cannot say. I can imagine it may be more interesting as you're dealing with corporations and likely more affluent clients. I do know that the Capital Markets sides of banks are really neat as well as I have a few colleagues at a few FI's in those. There are so many places you can explore in FI's!
Aren’t they the same? You are still serving retail clients?
@@wallstreetzoomer not at all! I mean yes, you are working with people, but you are not working with day to day banking transactions. You are working with your own set of clients, who you pick, and who want to be there and want your help. I have about 300 clients, I don't need any more than that, and they love the work I do for them, and I love working with them. It's completely different than dealing with the general public and thousands of clients in a year.
@@saidalcapone3964 I can't speak to commercial banking, I am not sure what it's like over there and I don't have any work-friends of personal friends who work in it. Sorry I couldn't be more help!
Retail banking here. Worked my way up to being an investment/portfolio affluent banker. When you have the Series 7/66 and are a higher up banker, you don’t help just anyone off the street. The regular bankers do that and they have to transfer all the high affluent customers to you. You make a rather big salary and if you are successful in bringing in new clients, you get big quarterly bonuses too. Not the best career but definitely not D tier. Maybe c+ to b tier.
I agree that we do NOT have to love what we do. It is work. Period. Nothing magical about. But yes, your list is well shared and summed up. Thanks!
I agree, we do have to tolerate it though lol
On a larger level I disagree. To achieve elite success one almost always has to adore their work to be able to outwork everyone else in that path, I am an intense believer in extremely strong correlations between output and enjoyment of work. Humans are dopamine-tolerance adjusting so if one strips out all dopamine-creating activities (this is an extreme) and has a job that is net positive in dopamine creation then they can have extraordinary success. A net negative dopamine creation (even in a job you have relative strength in therefore a competitive advantage) is predisposed to lesser success.
Totally agree about IBD, worst days in my career by far
But was it worth it?
I work in compliance for one of the bulge bracket global banks and what I love about it is how laid back it is. I have a full time contract yet I actually only have to put in 1 to 2 hours of real work per day to get the job done, and the salary is still decent (equivalent of ~$140k per year and I have 2 years experience). Compliance is amazing if you’re kinda lazy and want a good work life balance that allows you to go to the hairdresser or for a walk during your working hours. Also you can work from home as much as you want. Obviously if you’re very ambitious or after fat bonuses, compliance clearly isn’t for you.
Wow, it sounds like you are being serious. I don't think I have heard of a finance job that is that easy before. That's..... kinda cool.
I am not in finance but this video was informative, thanks! I like that there aren't any S-tier jobs.
Maybe the stier jobs are global marcroeconomics you feel me
IB is great if you are in 20s and right out of the college. If you are in your 30s, IB is not for you ..thats my humble opinion
I’m 30 with no degree 10 years of accounting experience, been moving up the corporate ladder with my current employer and now facing a road block where I cannot grow no more within the company which is why I am now finishing up my BBA in Finance, which should be done next May.
Thank you for sharing this information.
Keep up the hard work! The BBA should help you move into a great role.
Interesting. Im 30 and going to back to school soon for Finance. Seems like I made the right decision. Good luck!
How did u study and work at the same time?
Bro your video should be worth 1/3 of my finance degree. amazing job
Haha, thank you.
Im a 42 y.o. professional project manager, bachelors of science in business administration and I want to pivot my career to a specialization in finance. This content is very helpful to plan my journey. Thankyou 😊
Thanks for watching!
How's the journey going?
Not sure why you didn't mention Commercial credit. It's related to fixed income, but quite a bit different. The hours are very good and the pay is decent. Really underrated job.
Lies under corporate finance
@@sean4850not the same
I can't thank you enough for this video. Just found it. Thank you so much!!
Sure thing! Thanks for watching.
Here we go Asset Management! #A
Great list, lines up with what I hear. I'm aiming to get in Broking which is basically sales but in Commodities which is less public facing than stockbroking, should be more interesting and secure.
Video was really helpful. I work in compliance and i HATE it. I need an alternative role in Finance.
Hi I work in Retail Banking with 3 years experience and its really not that bad... I make 140k a year plus bonus. I rarely get angry customer, its really how you communicate with people that will prevent that. Im a candidate for cfa1 so Im just looking into growing in the finance industry.
what do you do for retail banking to make that much salary?
@Peter Kim hey man I help people finance their homes
@@MsJz00141 is it better than commercial banking ?
Why nobody includes corporate banking areas in these lists? There's so many types of finance activities that are not even mentioned, debt financing, global markets, transaction banking, etc.
Sales definitely S tier job.
- A Sales role from a Big Tech
LOL! I moved from Consulting to Corporate Finance in Industry. CF is pretty exciting at the Series A stage because of the aggressive expansion, new markets so we're constantly raising or planning an expansion strategy.
I laughed so hard when he said "No disrespect to slavery at all but..."
I hope you are enjoying the switch! Haha thanks!
"Of course you're still getting paid a lot of money, which is why it's far better than slavery." 💀
The depth of this piece is remarkable. I read a book with similar material that inspired a fundamental life change. "Game Theory and the Pursuit of Algorithmic Fairness" by Jack Frostwell
Depending on where you are in the cycle investment banking is A tier, you ignore the sub sectors and general cyclicality.
I'm in compliance. It's a solid D.
Lol
I agree with you on retail banking, my job is into this and I see or meet lot of awful angry people.
I think it depends how to rate those different jobs into these categories. For Warren Buffett (and alike) this is (part of) his life (not only a job) so it is probably an S tier category! 😍
ex Big 4 consulting, presently a software engineer at a FAANG company.
GMAT score 760 (2 weeks back).
I will spend some time learning about corporate finance
As of now, I don't really have a clue but it's common knowledge that this industry pays well.
Fantastic video 🙌🏻
Thank you !)
I am in wholesale, working on my MBA, already completed the CFP coursework. For what the job entails, and understanding sales is a skill that can be developed, it can be very rewarding. Unfortunately it seems like there are 100 wholesalers calling each advisor on a daily basis. I can't tell you the last time I've genuinely pitched a product without expressed interest from the FA. You can make the job pretty tolerable and the compensation does come along with that if you figure out a process that feels comfortable to you. It can be a pretty brutal job if you get into a sweatshop (I won't name them, but there are multiple) - 50 calls, meeting requirements etc. Find a decent boutique and while you may sacrifice a small amount of compensation, you will at least have autonomy. With the MBA and CFP, I think the only other thing I could see long-term would be a move into wealth management. I'm sure it feels less transactional than wholesale, but at the end of the day I really care about the advisors that choose to work with me. I'm not the typical type-a sales guy, I struggle with the rejection, I do find it stressful, but I seem to be decent at the sales process and reading people.
Hey Gabe,
I really like your perspective on this. Best of luck to you!
AJ
Head of Portfolio Management at for a large RIA/OCIO here. You are right. So many wholesalers. Anywhere from 60-90 emails every day. 10-25 phone calls/voicemails. Just from product providers. ETFs/MFs, SMA managers, capital raisers, PE firms, Alts aggregator platforms (CAIS, iCapital), analytics providers, research providers, forever. It's too much. Sorry, most get deleted after a quick scan.
The actual work at an OCIO doing the investment allocation and selection process is probably one of the best jobs in finance. I agree that the asset management jobs are A tier, and for certain firms (a very open-minded SFO or OCIO firm), easily S-tier. I love my job, It is super interesting, challenging, and well-compensated. And I can work 100% remote forever. Win-win. Make NY salary in a state with 60% lower cost of living.
13:20 I'm gonna come back to this later
Damn where are the commercial real estate guys? There’s such a variety of finance roles in real estate like Brokerage, AM, and Real Estate Private Equity!
that would count as the sales category in my opinion
5:15 as a Compliance person, can confirm. Don't join if you enjoy being liked.
Thanks for your great content 🙏👌💯
Great info!
Good point with don’t picking up a finance job into S, probably every job has the potential, however just if you do it as your own business.
I really enjoyed this video thanks
Great informative video!
Thanks!
As a junior advisor at a retail bank, i am just biding my time until i can get into an asset management firm lol
not a bad plan at all.
Retail banking is awful. Another terrible thing is the job security, I myself got laid off in March from a firm-wide restructuring. Retail banking jobs are super disposable. I'm looking to move into a non-sales position going forward!
What I think everyone need is a Financial Adviser, who can help you get in and out of any investment at any time and you'd sure be in Profit.
Hope you find a great new position!
Thanks for this incredible video. How will you rate jobs in risk management profiles ?
Thank you Aj! Very cool!
Can't completely agree with this as a WSO finance hardo with multiple MF and BB offers. Based on prifteege I would say it is really firm/group dependant but:
S- PE (MF), HF (Top performing)
A- CON (MBB), IB (BB, EB)
B- AM (that is not "PE"), ER, FIR
C- CORP
D/F- Rest of the jobs here. Not really on the same bucket of work and unfair to compare but would probably be an F from the high finance perspective.
Thank you for another great video.
Thank you for this video! Very informative.
Glad it could help!
God bless you for this 🙏🏼
amazing video! but how about risk management?
Brilliant idea to do a video on this! Cheers AJ
I think corporate finance is a solid job, I would put in B. And Sales is super shitty, that’s a D lmao.
Commercial banking should be in this list. That's what I've found a lot of disillusioned charter holders end up doing. Probably C tier.
How was it ? Is it easier than retail? I've just accepted as RM commercial
I wouldn't say easier than retail. Definitely more stimulating; work life balance and comp are actually a pretty good mix as far as finance careers go. @@saidalcapone3964
The only good job in retail banking is underwriting, credit manager of secured loans
Yea I could see that being a bit more fun than some of the other roles.
"they are not gonna want to because your compliances" LOL :D
Hey AJ! Nice video, just discovered your channel. I'm 26 years old, got my B.Com in Finance about 2 years ago. Currently enrolled in CFA Level 1, I'm interested to get into equity research/fixed income research. I work for TD Bank of Canada in as an Analyst in their financial operations. Would you think a pivot to commercial banking (like a credit analyst role) would help me pivot once I have some more CFA levels done?
Hey Emmanuel,
Yea I think it could definitely help for that!
AJ
You don't need a CFA for commercial banking. Waste of time and money. CFA is no joke, you HAVE to want to be a buysider or a publishing SS analyst for it to be worth it.
Seriously, just network yourself at TD and you'll get a commercial banking role.
Thanks!
Just curious as to where you'd put corporate/commercial banking? Definitely not a prestigious finance career but not as bad or as boring as retail banking.
Probably with corporate finance.
Thank you AJ ! I'm preparing my first lvl of CFA, and currently studying for my first year of a master's degree. What internship would you think it's a cool one ? thank you AJ !
The coolest internship is one in the sector that you might want to be working in! It will provide much insight into the career. Best of luck on the exam!
Bro Sales can be A tier with the right company
Yea that's true, but how many people love their sales job and stay with it for 30+ years. There is a lot of turnover.
Im pretty sure in Private Equity you work almost the same hours as someone in IB. Also Wealth Management sucks as a career.
PE is a bit less unless you are talking about the VP role or higher in banking.
i like this job most
What, UA-cam?
Nice vid! I just wish you hadn't lumped all the investment banking jobs together
True, M&A, LBO, IPO, they can be pretty different yea?
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 Exactly ! DCM and ECM too
I feel like they vary on work life balance too
I’m surprised commercial banking is never included on these lists
Speaking of fixed income research, my firm has Money Market Analysts and Traders. Not sure what they do all day but sounds like a snooze fest. Would rate a D with compliance
Could you elaborate? I’ve been considering fixed income trading/analysis
@@TheGoat-dp5xy they help manage the money market funds - which if you don’t know, are cash equivalents. So they’re trading the underlying securities, which are a bunch of cash equivalents. I have no idea what that entails, but trading a bunch of low-yielding cash equivalents doesn’t sound thrilling to me
Hey AJ, it is a great video coming from someone who works in the industry. But I was wondering, with AI coming into play with the recent years, especially Algo trading or HFT. Will there be an increase demand in the next few years in your opinion? How would you rate it in your chart? Thanks!
No, I still don't think "algorithmic trading" will be a popular job title for a while.
Missed Corporate Banking and Structured Finance here
Will add corporate banking to the next video!
Private equity gets paid more than HF and works less. It's a different skill set, but no one wants to go from PE > HF. if anything it's the other way around. HF much easier (relatively) to break into than big long only because this dynamic. HF and PE should definitely be swapped
Good points, thanks!
Trading at hedge funds pays more than PE
what about risk management/analyst?
Hi AJ, appreciate your videos.
I am curious about what you've said when you come to private equity, that you don't have the resume to go into it. Why do think so ?
I am an actuary with a strong financial background, studying towards the CFA. Private equity is a field in which I am interested in making a future career move so I would love to know more about your opinion .
Best, Rosen
Hi Rosen,
I don't have much of the background that is needed to get into PE. I suppose I could try to build that background if I really wanted to get in, but I'm happy with my current career.
PE usually hires ex investment bankers, that’s the profile/background you need to break into PE.
My job (risk mgmt) isnt there lol
Compliance allows you to exist. We all work for the benefit of the company and their values. Without compliance you’d be in jail
I don't think I would be in jail, but I might have to field a lot of nonsense from regulators lol.
You didn’t rate Risk management and Quants?
Putting PE and Wealth Management in the same category is crazy lol
Work life balance my friend!
Why do you rate asset management higher than wealth management? Seems like WM is the more diverse version of doing the same thing.
That's true, but asset management is generally considered more prestigious and I think pays more on average.
What about Venture Capital? Is it Asset Management and if so isn’t that too broad a category?
What about sovereign wealth funds?
Are insurance jobs part of finance?
May add VC to the next list. I wouldn't consider swf or insurance applicable.
" compliance worse job on this list no bodiy like you" hahahaha dying here thank you that was soo true.
I remember a broker screaming at the complaince guy "I'll say whatever the (bleep) I want." haha Good times
Lol wow that broker sounds like he needs a chill pill.
What do u think about Risk management and Treasury position in Banking ?
Always hated compliance/auditor ppl. Not them as individuals, but the role itself. Theyre always finding things to ding people for, which in turn affect bonuses
90% of the ones I interact with are actually very down to earth and just want to keep things clean for the regulators.
What are your thoughts on commercial/ corporate banking?
Pretty cool job, especially for getting new expierence.
Si you mind talking about the compensation of each of these jobs in one video? And which of these are “easier” to get to as a CFA.
Also, great videos! Keep it up
Sure! I do have a video about CFA compensation and it goes into different positions a bit. I will make another video about comp for each of these jobs.
Did you grab this chart from the Benjamin channel?
No, I made it on the tier list generator website.
I'm curious how you feel about the data science part of the financial services industry!
I don't have much of an opinion on it yet, sorry.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 one of the things I'm trying to decide is whether I should go all in on the CFA path or the data science path!
@@kolonniki6356 Not sure if you're still considering options! However, I recently started in a PE firm doing data science/software. From my experience in the "fintech" industry, tech side tends to be a lot more lax and hours are almost always better across the board. Definitely worth some consideration if you really like data science, analytics, modeling, etc, as that's where a lot of money is being put. Hope this helps!
@@UglyG82 what tech stack do you use if you don't mind me asking?
@@HarshvardhanKanthode I primarily work in Python and postgresql
best finance careers are the ones you’re actually good in. be the best in your field and you’ll earn a lot of money lol
Hi, would you put corporate treasury for a large investment company (i.e., dealing with investors' funding / liquidity & cash management / bond pricing models / etc...) as a sub-set of corporate finance? I just accepted an offer, what they offer seem interesting, but obviously one can never 100% know!
Yes I suppose I would, but I don't know much about corporate treasury! Seems interesting.
I always assumed wealth management was sales? anyways accurate list lol
Some of it is, some is more service oriented.
I been in it for 4 years it felt like sales to me@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323
Is earning a masters degree comparable to the CFA? You keep saying masters but most of your channel is about the CFA. Maybe you could do a video comparing the two
No, CFA is considered more useful and accomplished than most masters programs. A top 10 MBA would "beat" the CFA though.
Where do private bankers rank? Or did you consider it the same as wealth management?
Slightly above retail banking.
@@straighttalks-ajsrmek323 bruh Private Banking is literally a synonym for WM
what are your thoughts on where Structuring within S&T fits in this list?
question. How come I keep seeing finance industry videos, but no one mentions insurance? I have a lot of connection within that industry, and they all say it is very lucrative, good pay & work life balance.
Good question, I don't know too much about the internal insurance industry!
Which of these groups, if any, would include/describe a position such as credit analyst at Wells Fargo?
Corporate finance
You didn’t mention stockbrokers
just landed an internship at morningstar :)
That should be a sick place to work!
basically any stream in finance can be a s tier all depends on environment
Hey, what about Corporate Development?