I'm not an accountant but lets not forget that accounting is one of the most important skills to learn in finance since it is literally language of businesses
Accounting is quite boring (I'm an accountant). But I'd say it offers a more equitable entry point and opens doors to many career options. Finance often requires connections and being strictly "finance bro cultured"...
@@mango-strawberry it depends so much you can't just make a ranking like that. I love QT. And QD and QR have so much overlap in some companies they're the same / QDs do the same as QR
accountant shortage at the current moment...same as in 2009 when i graduated. no one is laying us off. in fact, the entire tech staff will get laid off before u let go of ur accountants, because someone needs to watch the money and you need a person to sign off on those internal controls and those financials, by law. the best accountants always have a place to work you dont have an economy without accountants
"because someone needs to watch the money and you need a person to sign off on those internal controls and those financials" For an accountant you seem to miss that there is only a certain amount of accounting to be done, and when automation and optimization happens you need less actual humans because 1 human can do more in their work day. He didn't claim it would go away in a year or two, he said 3 decades, and that isn't completely erased in 3 decades, but 90% less jobs as a pure accountant.
@@bobbabb Bro, after automation for some reason there is even more demand for accountants. Accounting isnt just putting numbers from invoices into the systems, its needed to make decisions, for investors and regulatory bodies. No amount of automation will ever replace accounting.
@ Can only speak for my country. Invoice recording is minimum wage job, my position of accounting data analysis pays me 3 times the average wage in my country.
Accounting as a CPA is undervalued. As you know there is more to accounting. Public accounting which includes Outsourced Accounting, Tax, Audit. And there’s industry jobs for the above. Owning your own firm can yield to 10x your salary if you are patient with growing the business. There’s also a CPA shortage so getting your CPA would counter any automations that are coming.
Its funny to me when people who have no clue of accounting talks about it being automated. Sure the low end account receivable and payable might be automated but we still need actual people looking at books so that there isn't another Enron.
@@martinlutherkingjr.5582 No. Like can you explain how would it even be possible? For example i spotted misappropriation of money on luxury cars by spotting weird increase in asset depreciation in company in high volume business. After they you have to dig up the actual invoice (which might not exist or be provided) because bookings dont have any description, so you dont know what is valid and what is not. So how would you know someone is misappropriating funds?
As dirty and mundane an accounting work (which this dude allegedly said), all the top tier careers listed by dude rely on the end products and deliverables of an accountant. All the above at varying degrees need information from the C tiered accountant and financial statements.
No one said dirty, idiot, and there’s no accounting without revenue which finance guys produce for CPA’s to even have their mundane work. Go read a book, kid! 🙇🏽♂️😂
@@brodude9208 actually there are interesting work scopes in accounting, i.e. M&A, corporate restructuring, due diligence, tax planning, financing, investor relations, corporate planning, transformation etc. Probably bro's level in the company is not there yet or bro's company is huge, thus too specialised.
You need to do more research on the CPA profession. A CPA can do what a finance bro can, but a finance bro can’t do what a CPA does. Exist strategies are greater for a CPA. I’ve seen people from my firm easily get into PE and other finance bro careers.
@@arslan9665I wouldn’t ask people with a CFA or CPA, maybe a CFP about which of the two is better. Either side will be biased heavily. Look at what people say as a whole and which tests are harder.
What’s with all this accounting cope? We can all agree that CPAs are essential to business, but to say CPAs are snatching PE roles and coveted high finance positions is a joke. Stop obfuscating the truth and say it as is. Just look at the salary discrepancy between accounts and any other finance role…
Saying ER pigeonholes you less than IB is pretty incorrect. Your exit opps with ER are extremely limited compared to IB. Coming from someone in top ER.
6:00 100%, which is why I.B is so competitive because it always you to transition into so many other roles and opens alot of doors which you wouldn't have had if you didn't start out in I.B
@@UnknownUser-fr5yztrue this, as a stratops guy, we do lots of megaprojects with various IB consortium and it led to multiple offers and connections just from partying with the IB bros. IB and strat consulting might be hazardous to your health but the connections are top notch
Here we go with accounting, you can’t talk about accounting as a whole, were you talking about Tax? Internal accounting? Audit? Those are so different. Accounting has the most longevity out of any of these, you can’t rely on AI to conduct an audit for you example, you can ask AI to find and pitch stocks.
CPA here - Accounting is incredibly nuanced, and while a lot of it is rules based, many people don't understand the complexity of those rules, nor do they understand that a lot of rules (esp. in IFRS) are judgement-based in some way. As far as tax is concerned, it's an even more complicated mess that also requires an immense level of judgement. This all goes before mentioning the level of Info Sys knowledge required for a true understanding of the end-to-end when it comes to process design. I think the number one misconception about accounting is that it is not people-facing. It couldn't be further from the truth. If you're in public accounting doing tax, audit, or advisory, your ability to interact with people is more than half of what it takes to succeed. If you're in a corporate function, the company you work for is your client, and you need to be politically inclined in order to move up the chain - your ability to work with business partners outside of accounting will define your success. Another piece not mentioned for those that do make the big bucks in this racket is knowing how to change processes meaningfully and influence that change to people who are generally not motivated to go beyond their job scope. I do agree that AI is going to modernize a lot of what we do, but I don't believe we're going to get to a point where it outright replaces human beings. This is a great career for the average person, and you can easily make 120K+/year within 5-7 years in the US, assuming you make the right moves.
Unfortunately, this vid has a lot of generalizations. He’s not necessarily 100% wrong about accountants, but there’s several niches in accounting other than just managing the books for a company. The profession can be extremely judgement based, especially in technical accounting topics that a lot of companies don’t know how to account for during financial reporting season. In my case, I have a way larger probability to be able to work fully remote. Pay isn’t Private Equity-esque. However, the supply of accountants keeps declining. So it’s a good career for people who go the client service route, care about WLB, and other quality of life benefits. These other finance careers definitely pay way better but the competition is so high.
Too often, technical accountants confuse "judgment" with "discretion." The Accounting Standards Codification is rules based, so it's relatively easy for knowledgeable accountants to make accounting decisions based on the rules. I think I could automate a lot of technical accounting jobs, especially revenue recognition. That said, technical accountants are still important for big and mid-size businesses.
To elaborate more, heard of careers as quant portfolio management, quant risk management, etc. i guess if qr qt and qd were all s tier there wouldn’t be a point for a video, but maybe a vid about the differences etc. Thanks 😄
Interesting breakdown of the finance world. I always thought investment banking was the top choice, but now I see there are pros and cons to every path.
I’m a QR at one of those firms you listed when describing QT. You did a great job describing the role. I was offered QT/QD as well, but chose QR because these days the comp is similar to QT, but there’s more job security. If your desk is losing money, they might fire the QT but they’ll usually just shuffle the QR to a different desk because he’s just doing math. That makes the comp to job security the best out of the QT/QR/QD bunch.
As an IA/WMA your assessment is generally fair but there are exceptions. I can guarantee in 15 minutes of chatting about your portfolio and overall finances I’d uncover tens of thousands of dollars of inefficiencies. Yes, even you :) You are VERY well educated and someone I personally learn from in tangential fields. It’s just a matter of deep specialization and expertise. And a good WMA can’t be automated because nothing can replace a good human relationship - next to one’s attorney and doctor we’re among probably the next-most important relationship for a successful professional.
Yeah, I think the numbers guy doesn't quite appreciate that some people trust people more than algorithms and also need a personalized way of framing things that comes from relating human to human. You can't learn everything from Yahoo Finance. Reminds me of the saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The chief thing I think an IA does is exclude what doesn't ideally apply to that person and help them understand why they need to focus a certain way, such that the person actually sticks with it when emotion kicks in during normal market vol.
There are two types of accountants. Financial accountant (CPA) manages the historical financial information that has already happened. Management accountant (CMA) can manages strategies that steer the financial results.
Regarding Investment Advisors, the target market is mostly those worth over 50m thats where the ideal client resides and they never want to focus on their financial education, just their own businesses. People forget its not the business of generating wealth, it's the business of preserving wealth.
The biggest pros of IB is not the money but the power and network. Depending on your projects and sector, you can get well connected with cabinet members and the network you get is insane, at least in my country. VC and Quant guys print more money tho
@davontawilliams3958 but i have seen some workarounds. like if you could show recruiters that you have other achievements then that could help a bit as well
If you you want to work in finance you better like working for the man. You can be a freelance accountant but I've never heard of a freelance investment banker.
Basically all the other finance roles expect accounting tell you about the not certain future and accounting tells you the past and present also known as the truth. Be fake or not fake…
As a CFA, I can assure you that a small asset manager/ portfolio manager is significantly more at risk than a accountant is for automation. There will always be some human interpretation necessary. The small AM's near me just do basic equity research and add no value. Their AUM is suffering for it
In your opinion, how much risk does the accounting profession have to automation? I've heard some accountants say it isn't since it's more than just bookkeeping (to simplify), but it's more of also an advisory role to an extent. Would you say that is true? What is your opinion? I would really like to know, most of the information I know is from other accountants, such could be abit bias
@@john.10347 just like anything else - if you are going deeper than just writing journal entries then you can make hella bank at a much faster pace and at a super easy entry into the market almost instantaneously after graduation assuming you pursue a CPA
kudos to me, the first time when I have to choose a major for university, I chose Risk Management over Air tech. Only to be told in my senior years that every banking or insurance company only need 1-5 for the position, working nonstop, and there were only 1 who had ever taken the job coming from my uni lol
Not sure what people thinking of when they talk about “Accounting” (maybe audits?) but many accounting firms are rapidly transitioning from firms that audit to firms that actually design financial/engineering models that bankers/advisers use when structuring deals. Not necessarily an “easily automated” field as those models run under assumptions that require lots of intuiting and “outside box thinking”
Currently in risk management and I handle derivatives. Came as an investment analyst. They liked my modelling from my last job. So far so good and work life balance is very good. Helps me with law school lots vs my last job where I sometimes worked till the sun showed up. Might go to another industry after I pass the bar! Would recommend it if you wanna pursue the CFA esp lvl 2 since you ‘could’ be pricing derivatives every day and need to know the math to sense check it. You also need to know the greeks!
Thanks bro I found this video very helpful, I’m 17 and going to college this fall to begin getting my Business Finance Degree. I already Trade stock Options and have built myself a healthy stock portfolio. I love Financial markets and can’t wait to work one of these jobs.
In RM right now, i think the exposure for the work life balance you get is really great. But i just feel like in my 20s i should be doing something more exciting 😅
I'd say Accounting (together with risk manager) is risk free compared to the other careers - at least in terms of P&L or revenue pressure. So it is much more safe. You could call it 'boring' because of that but if you want a long and safe career that's the way to go even against a backdrop of more automation. It will always be there and it will always provide a lot of jobs
Is it really a long-term safe career? Half the job has already been relegated to computers in just a few years, I don't think the looming promise of artificial intelligence makes the half that's left seem more valuable
Accounting may be boring but it drives the economy to flourish. Without auditors, or accountants, external users would never trust the market enough to invest in it. Stock market would collapse for sure. Think of accounting as the exoskeleton of business. No accounting, no business, no finance.
These are accounting careers (other than actuary). It's quite obvious why this video ranks accounting the lowest. He doesn't have much understanding about the career like he does with finance (which is fair since he's in finance). Despite the perception that accounting is dull and low-paying, I'd say it offers the most stability, flexibility, and a more equitable entry point. As long as you study hard, and get the certifications for your chosen specialization, a comfortable middle-class lifestyle is well within reach. Unlike finance, where entry can hinge on connections or being a top 1% performer.
generally agree with this list but when making a decision on which of these fields to enter out of college i would advise against optimizing too much based on tier lists. also, as an analyst/associate for most VC firms majority of your time is just going to be cold outreach/basically sales, spamming outreach to startups that fit your firm's investment thesis. and especially at the pre-seed/seed stage, there is rarely any financial modelling at all - there's nothing to model when companies are pre-revenue or low revenue and nowhere near PMF. instead, just optimize based on what you would enjoy doing (research? sales? modelling?)
I work in Accounting at a quant/prop trading firm (originally as an accountant, now as an accounting automation pm). No idea how to feel about this tier list lmao
Bro can you please make a detailed video on portfolio manager(pm), how does one get into that field and what are the skills and degrees required for this? Would Cfa help in getting into portfolio manager role for big companies?
For someone who wants to work in high finance jobs like hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, etc., which is better: double majoring in economics and Finance or double majoring in Computer Science and Finance? What about just majoring in CS?
i worked at optiver for 3 years -- i agree with you in p much every way -- but the problem i think is that there's limited upside unless you're running the desk or getting partnership, and even then you're still getting capped (and then your comp is deferred). Your comp is mostly discretionary and that CAN suck. Our top guys back when I was there (who were partners of the delta 1 desk) -- were only pulling like 1 mil per year -- and honestly for the amt of stress it's not totally worth it -- everyone eventually moves on to do PM or VC lmao but i met the smartest coolest ppl ever there so i still think it's S tier
@codingjesus Can we get another video on day trading? I feel like a lot of day traders haven't learned their lesson despite not being profitable since your last video.
Appreciate the detailed breakdown! I need some advice: I have a okx wallet with money, and I have the seed phrase: (proof inner hobby bounce blouse able donate virtual luggage cart morning ticket). How can transfer them to Binance?
hey bro, not nearly smart enough to be a quant, just interested in your general worldview and takes as someone who is. would you make more videos outside that topic?
the job that young people do at investment banks isnt investment banking bro.. if you are less than VP at investment banking you are not doing the actual job of an investment banker. you are like a powerpoint marker essentially. the job itself is all about soft skills and reaching out and networking with ceos.
Glad to see QT as S - I'm interning this year at an OMM as a QTA intern but honestly am fucking terrified of not being able to make the cut. Would you say people who get fired / burnt out from QT end up going anywhere like the ST people (HFs in particular) - for some reason I don't see much of this happening.
I want to establish a business and rent homes, but I also want the Financial saviness to better manage risks and make investments. Which career would be better?
I don't think this guy really knows what hes talking about. >Accounting, probably the most insulated from layoffs, largely at risk from outsourcing overseas rather than automation. Currently going through a headcount shortage. Gives it a C when its probably closer to B or B+. Actuary closer to A-. Pay is solid but licensing is rough.
Where did you get the idea that IB has a low technical barrier to entry? You mean it's not coding? That's why its called banking. Are you a finance expert? Wouldn't it be nice if excel and finance were the same thing? I gurantee you the IT department is useless in a financial environment. Not to mention IT in a bank is only installing software, restarting computers, changing peripherals and maybe looking at porn on the job? That is categorically a low expertise to salary ratio.
Do you include Audit of Financial Statements in accounting? because they are called accountants too and that's client facing work calling out client's bullshit and lies
Respectfully you don’t have the right take on accounting. We are inherently more client-facing than you might initially think. You have to expand your thinking beyond monotonous accounting clerk jobs and realize most accountants have specific skill sets, such as tax, audit, and financial advising that are extremely involved with important stakeholders within a company. In fact, most CFOs are knowledgeable in accounting processes, and major C-suite personnel value a ground-up understanding of the accounting cycle. We are not math/CS/physics nerds applying math, we are BUSINESS professionals applying a comprehensive understanding of how a business operates-from the inside out.
You made me consider Risk Management, but the problem is that the best studies I've found for that are Actuarial sciences or realted studies. And I really don't want to become a real actuary, more a risk analyst etc. and I fear I can't find the job I want and just end up an actuary.
You don't have to be mathematician to work as a risk analyst, but you should be a numbers guy. My background is in economics and finance, major in statistics. It's a diverse field, the larger the firm the more specialized the job. There can also quite some overlap with treasury, if you want to have opportunities outside the financial sector.
There’s different kinds of Risk analyst. In an investment bank - M&A department , its more focused on reading terms, statements, not your math and excel skills. Risk is typically a secondary career paths, you move to that after some time on the front lines
Personally, I disagree with ranking on VC. While I agree it’s a great exit opp for those that came from PE and IB for something with similar/higher pay for fewer hours, I personally think it is one of careers in finance that truly is a bad choice at least from a personal development perspective coming right out of school. You develop effectively no transferable skills except for sales and communication (via relationship management, deal sourcing, understanding complex tech and biz models and pitching to partners, etc). There are so many VCs out there that are completely useless and add little no value in their current role and their financial sophistication compared to PE guys is laughable. In many cases, they merely act as a conduit for family offices or HNWIs to potentially high multiple investments, the vast majority of which disappoint unless you get lucky with the right company. If you take 10 random VCs vs 10 PE guys and ask each to build a business, switch jobs with each other, or ask them to manage a fund, my money’s on the PE guys all day
As a Proud PE guy for 5 years now I need to make a few things clear. Firstly, Quants are literally dog shit unless you work for a top firm, it’s that simple. His opinion is a very poor representation of what the finance sector is actually like.
such an L take on accounting, it’s not fun. but it’s literally illegal to sign off on audits and taxes with AI, so until legislation changes that (probably not gonna happen for another 50 years with this government). It’s not gonna go anywhere anytime soon in our generation only thing being threatened is data entry roles.
@@muhamamdabdullahHow else is he gonna know what the job is like? AI replacing auditors and tax people would have so many legal implications it's stupid to think about
Yoo broo, i wanted to ask... Do you think you can make a vid reviewing the certificate in quantitative finance qualification and whether it's a worthwhile investment?
I'm not an accountant but lets not forget that accounting is one of the most important skills to learn in finance since it is literally language of businesses
this guy is definitely an accountant
Accounting is the most soul sucking job. But I can't disagree
If becoming a CPA is such a poor career choice, why do so many c suite execs have accounting backgrounds?
@@EkoEchoEko credit analyst lol
@@leonaskindra179 Wdym credit analyst? That's one or that execs were?
Accounting is not boring, accountants are boring. Great video!
I'd say both are boring
Yes both are very boring
Accounting's not even a finance career. This video has way too many problems with overgeneralization and straight up wrong info
@@sharpasacueball please explain some of the problems, more than happy to hear
Accounting is quite boring (I'm an accountant). But I'd say it offers a more equitable entry point and opens doors to many career options. Finance often requires connections and being strictly "finance bro cultured"...
Would love to hear you talk more specifically on the differences between Quant roles (dev, trader, research) and best path to take for each.
Dimitri Bianco have done it already kinda.
Researcher> Trader > Dev
dev is cs/ee. not finance
@@mango-strawberry it depends so much you can't just make a ranking like that. I love QT. And QD and QR have so much overlap in some companies they're the same / QDs do the same as QR
Go to a Top 20 University (preferably HYPSM) and then study math or CS and do it really well.
For anyone looking to polish their resume, I've read that Resubot has some great features for making it ATS-friendly. Just a thought.
accountant shortage at the current moment...same as in 2009 when i graduated. no one is laying us off. in fact, the entire tech staff will get laid off before u let go of ur accountants, because someone needs to watch the money and you need a person to sign off on those internal controls and those financials, by law. the best accountants always have a place to work you dont have an economy without accountants
"because someone needs to watch the money and you need a person to sign off on those internal controls and those financials" For an accountant you seem to miss that there is only a certain amount of accounting to be done, and when automation and optimization happens you need less actual humans because 1 human can do more in their work day. He didn't claim it would go away in a year or two, he said 3 decades, and that isn't completely erased in 3 decades, but 90% less jobs as a pure accountant.
@@bobbabb Bro, after automation for some reason there is even more demand for accountants. Accounting isnt just putting numbers from invoices into the systems, its needed to make decisions, for investors and regulatory bodies. No amount of automation will ever replace accounting.
are your salaries shit then ?
@Erwin93200 naw the salaries are going up across all positions
@ Can only speak for my country. Invoice recording is minimum wage job, my position of accounting data analysis pays me 3 times the average wage in my country.
YO BABE WAKEUP NEW CODING JESUS VID DROPPED
This one going viral
@@daniellewis622884k views and counting…you’re right!!! 🏆🤩✨
Accounting as a CPA is undervalued. As you know there is more to accounting. Public accounting which includes Outsourced Accounting, Tax, Audit. And there’s industry jobs for the above. Owning your own firm can yield to 10x your salary if you are patient with growing the business.
There’s also a CPA shortage so getting your CPA would counter any automations that are coming.
If becoming a CPA is such a poor career choice as he claims, why do so many c suite execs have accounting backgrounds?
Its funny to me when people who have no clue of accounting talks about it being automated. Sure the low end account receivable and payable might be automated but we still need actual people looking at books so that there isn't another Enron.
so true. cpa firm owners are rich
@@CocoHunter-f5tAI couldn’t have spotted something like the problems at Enron?
@@martinlutherkingjr.5582 No. Like can you explain how would it even be possible? For example i spotted misappropriation of money on luxury cars by spotting weird increase in asset depreciation in company in high volume business. After they you have to dig up the actual invoice (which might not exist or be provided) because bookings dont have any description, so you dont know what is valid and what is not. So how would you know someone is misappropriating funds?
As dirty and mundane an accounting work (which this dude allegedly said), all the top tier careers listed by dude rely on the end products and deliverables of an accountant. All the above at varying degrees need information from the C tiered accountant and financial statements.
Yeah all of that is true, but its still boring work and the least interesting aspect.
No one said dirty, idiot, and there’s no accounting without revenue which finance guys produce for CPA’s to even have their mundane work. Go read a book, kid! 🙇🏽♂️😂
He's not judging based on the utility of the work, of course
@@brodude9208 actually there are interesting work scopes in accounting, i.e. M&A, corporate restructuring, due diligence, tax planning, financing, investor relations, corporate planning, transformation etc. Probably bro's level in the company is not there yet or bro's company is huge, thus too specialised.
CFO
You need to do more research on the CPA profession. A CPA can do what a finance bro can, but a finance bro can’t do what a CPA does. Exist strategies are greater for a CPA. I’ve seen people from my firm easily get into PE and other finance bro careers.
Aspiring CPA/CFA here, do you believe it's better if I attain my CPA over obtaining a CFA for the higher finance jobs?
No. There’s a reason a CFA is the highest credited credential you can get ahead of the CPA.
@@arslan9665I wouldn’t ask people with a CFA or CPA, maybe a CFP about which of the two is better. Either side will be biased heavily. Look at what people say as a whole and which tests are harder.
What’s with all this accounting cope? We can all agree that CPAs are essential to business, but to say CPAs are snatching PE roles and coveted high finance positions is a joke. Stop obfuscating the truth and say it as is. Just look at the salary discrepancy between accounts and any other finance role…
@@arslan9665Focus on the CFA don’t let these accounting bros trick you into taking an L.
Saying ER pigeonholes you less than IB is pretty incorrect. Your exit opps with ER are extremely limited compared to IB. Coming from someone in top ER.
This guy knows absolutely nothing lmao
Yea dude is a quant developer they are not well exposed to careers outside their world…
Studying for my CPA, you dropped the ball on accounting.
The CPA is a great choice. Most dude bro finance guys are glorified sales reps.
Bro is speaking out his ass , cuz u can't talk finance without mentioning accounting
😂😂😂 I worked in big 4 as an actuary,accountants were least paid of all finance folks😂
6:00 100%, which is why I.B is so competitive because it always you to transition into so many other roles and opens alot of doors which you wouldn't have had if you didn't start out in I.B
Pretty much the same for Strategy Consulting
@@UnknownUser-fr5yztrue this, as a stratops guy, we do lots of megaprojects with various IB consortium and it led to multiple offers and connections just from partying with the IB bros. IB and strat consulting might be hazardous to your health but the connections are top notch
The way you explained the different tiers was super helpful. I'm trying to decide on my career path in finance.
You forgot to tier working at Home Depot
Home Depot
@@Hacker_da_Stories Corrected
F tier
Here we go with accounting, you can’t talk about accounting as a whole, were you talking about Tax? Internal accounting? Audit? Those are so different. Accounting has the most longevity out of any of these, you can’t rely on AI to conduct an audit for you example, you can ask AI to find and pitch stocks.
CPA here - Accounting is incredibly nuanced, and while a lot of it is rules based, many people don't understand the complexity of those rules, nor do they understand that a lot of rules (esp. in IFRS) are judgement-based in some way. As far as tax is concerned, it's an even more complicated mess that also requires an immense level of judgement. This all goes before mentioning the level of Info Sys knowledge required for a true understanding of the end-to-end when it comes to process design. I think the number one misconception about accounting is that it is not people-facing. It couldn't be further from the truth. If you're in public accounting doing tax, audit, or advisory, your ability to interact with people is more than half of what it takes to succeed. If you're in a corporate function, the company you work for is your client, and you need to be politically inclined in order to move up the chain - your ability to work with business partners outside of accounting will define your success. Another piece not mentioned for those that do make the big bucks in this racket is knowing how to change processes meaningfully and influence that change to people who are generally not motivated to go beyond their job scope. I do agree that AI is going to modernize a lot of what we do, but I don't believe we're going to get to a point where it outright replaces human beings. This is a great career for the average person, and you can easily make 120K+/year within 5-7 years in the US, assuming you make the right moves.
Unfortunately, this vid has a lot of generalizations. He’s not necessarily 100% wrong about accountants, but there’s several niches in accounting other than just managing the books for a company. The profession can be extremely judgement based, especially in technical accounting topics that a lot of companies don’t know how to account for during financial reporting season.
In my case, I have a way larger probability to be able to work fully remote. Pay isn’t Private Equity-esque. However, the supply of accountants keeps declining. So it’s a good career for people who go the client service route, care about WLB, and other quality of life benefits. These other finance careers definitely pay way better but the competition is so high.
Too often, technical accountants confuse "judgment" with "discretion."
The Accounting Standards Codification is rules based, so it's relatively easy for knowledgeable accountants to make accounting decisions based on the rules.
I think I could automate a lot of technical accounting jobs, especially revenue recognition.
That said, technical accountants are still important for big and mid-size businesses.
This was really insightful. I didn't realize how much each finance career varies in lifestyle and stress levels.
Could you do a part 2 with quant finance careers like quant research, quant dev, quant trading and others. Love your content 👑
To elaborate more, heard of careers as quant portfolio management, quant risk management, etc. i guess if qr qt and qd were all s tier there wouldn’t be a point for a video, but maybe a vid about the differences etc.
Thanks 😄
yeah he made a video from your request
Interesting breakdown of the finance world. I always thought investment banking was the top choice, but now I see there are pros and cons to every path.
I’m a QR at one of those firms you listed when describing QT. You did a great job describing the role.
I was offered QT/QD as well, but chose QR because these days the comp is similar to QT, but there’s more job security.
If your desk is losing money, they might fire the QT but they’ll usually just shuffle the QR to a different desk because he’s just doing math.
That makes the comp to job security the best out of the QT/QR/QD bunch.
What did you study to get the role
@@jlakra5729 EECS. Was in HKN. Top 5 ranked EECS program in the USA.
@@The.Harsh.Truthscan an Btech grad make into quant !?
@@hemasaithaninki442 what’s BTech?
Can a finance undergrads break in?
As an IA/WMA your assessment is generally fair but there are exceptions. I can guarantee in 15 minutes of chatting about your portfolio and overall finances I’d uncover tens of thousands of dollars of inefficiencies. Yes, even you :) You are VERY well educated and someone I personally learn from in tangential fields. It’s just a matter of deep specialization and expertise.
And a good WMA can’t be automated because nothing can replace a good human relationship - next to one’s attorney and doctor we’re among probably the next-most important relationship for a successful professional.
Yeah, I think the numbers guy doesn't quite appreciate that some people trust people more than algorithms and also need a personalized way of framing things that comes from relating human to human. You can't learn everything from Yahoo Finance. Reminds me of the saying that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The chief thing I think an IA does is exclude what doesn't ideally apply to that person and help them understand why they need to focus a certain way, such that the person actually sticks with it when emotion kicks in during normal market vol.
There are two types of accountants. Financial accountant (CPA) manages the historical financial information that has already happened. Management accountant (CMA) can manages strategies that steer the financial results.
Another con with quant trading is requirement for a P.H.D in Math from MIT. At least to land at a decent place like Renaissance or Citadel.
A MSc in financial mathematics from a top 30 university can get you in
@@davidc4408 Top 30 uni, no problem that does not seem that hard. Lmao.
@@sakjdhprobably not as hard as a math phd from mit
I have friends with bachelors/masters from top 600 uni(from Ukraine) who landed jobs in Jane street/Citadel/Optiver
@@illiabovtriuk2166 When did they get that job?
Regarding Investment Advisors, the target market is mostly those worth over 50m thats where the ideal client resides and they never want to focus on their financial education, just their own businesses. People forget its not the business of generating wealth, it's the business of preserving wealth.
The biggest pros of IB is not the money but the power and network. Depending on your projects and sector, you can get well connected with cabinet members and the network you get is insane, at least in my country. VC and Quant guys print more money tho
so hard to get into ib from non target
You’re not wrong but VC’s are big on network building as well.
@@mango-strawberrysame
@davontawilliams3958 but i have seen some workarounds. like if you could show recruiters that you have other achievements then that could help a bit as well
@@mango-strawberry I don’t have a perfect gpa 💀, the finance clubs at my school are all try hards.
You should definitely discuss the difference between BS ER vs SS ER
great video! first time watching, i work in the canadian banking and hope to learn lots more from this channel!
Don't forget, Accounting is the second most common career for individuals with a net worth > one million.
(after engineering).
Great vid, what’s ur opinion on ai having to do with accounting, in what span would ai take over.
If you you want to work in finance you better like working for the man. You can be a freelance accountant but I've never heard of a freelance investment banker.
Your assessment of PM is correct
Another Banger video... these breakdown videos are always lit 🔥
please share your knowledge about being a portfolio manager and what a PM’s life looks like. It would be great to listen to you speaking about that!
Great video, it’s exactly what I was looking for to shed lights on finance careers trying to move in from a different one. @Coding Jesus keep it up!
Basically all the other finance roles expect accounting tell you about the not certain future and accounting tells you the past and present also known as the truth. Be fake or not fake…
As a CFA, I can assure you that a small asset manager/ portfolio manager is significantly more at risk than a accountant is for automation. There will always be some human interpretation necessary.
The small AM's near me just do basic equity research and add no value. Their AUM is suffering for it
What would you say about equity research?
In your opinion, how much risk does the accounting profession have to automation? I've heard some accountants say it isn't since it's more than just bookkeeping (to simplify), but it's more of also an advisory role to an extent. Would you say that is true? What is your opinion? I would really like to know, most of the information I know is from other accountants, such could be abit bias
@@john.10347 just like anything else - if you are going deeper than just writing journal entries then you can make hella bank at a much faster pace and at a super easy entry into the market almost instantaneously after graduation assuming you pursue a CPA
should i as a business student who has worked as software dev intern, think about pursuing CFA in 2025?
kudos to me, the first time when I have to choose a major for university, I chose Risk Management over Air tech. Only to be told in my senior years that every banking or insurance company only need 1-5 for the position, working nonstop, and there were only 1 who had ever taken the job coming from my uni lol
The description you provided for Equity Research is at a senior level.
All are for senior level
Placing investment banking over accounting is a choice
This was perfect timing upload for me graduating with a finance degree in a couple weeks in NYC
If ur graduating then it's too late
@@TLiu-1bno. Can still network in or do internships then do masters
@@TLiu-1bcan you explain why?
@@pandaketamineyou will almost never be able to network like you can in college
I'm in 3nd semester, math major. Is it too late for me?s@@TrendyTryhard
I agree with the investment advisor sentiment… that being said I believe the position is here to stay for the ultra wealthy/private wealth.
Not sure what people thinking of when they talk about “Accounting” (maybe audits?) but many accounting firms are rapidly transitioning from firms that audit to firms that actually design financial/engineering models that bankers/advisers use when structuring deals. Not necessarily an “easily automated” field as those models run under assumptions that require lots of intuiting and “outside box thinking”
Currently in risk management and I handle derivatives. Came as an investment analyst. They liked my modelling from my last job. So far so good and work life balance is very good. Helps me with law school lots vs my last job where I sometimes worked till the sun showed up. Might go to another industry after I pass the bar! Would recommend it if you wanna pursue the CFA esp lvl 2 since you ‘could’ be pricing derivatives every day and need to know the math to sense check it. You also need to know the greeks!
Thanks bro I found this video very helpful, I’m 17 and going to college this fall to begin getting my Business Finance Degree. I already Trade stock Options and have built myself a healthy stock portfolio. I love Financial markets and can’t wait to work one of these jobs.
my man is back
In RM right now, i think the exposure for the work life balance you get is really great. But i just feel like in my 20s i should be doing something more exciting 😅
You missed fund wholesalers - get paid to play golf and eat lunch with investment advisors and pitch product. Can be a great gig for a while.
bro said murders and acquisitions 😹😹
I'd say Accounting (together with risk manager) is risk free compared to the other careers - at least in terms of P&L or revenue pressure. So it is much more safe. You could call it 'boring' because of that but if you want a long and safe career that's the way to go even against a backdrop of more automation. It will always be there and it will always provide a lot of jobs
I'm actually happy with everyone saying accounting is a bad career. That keeps the workforce small with less competition :)
Is it really a long-term safe career? Half the job has already been relegated to computers in just a few years, I don't think the looming promise of artificial intelligence makes the half that's left seem more valuable
Liked your take on PM, also as others have said, accounting skills are essential.
Quant is hard to get into and u rly need a strong math/CS background
Accounting is in every business though? Is it not the only useful one on this list?
Y'all are cost center bro😭fking liabilities for a company
Accounting may be boring but it drives the economy to flourish. Without auditors, or accountants, external users would never trust the market enough to invest in it. Stock market would collapse for sure. Think of accounting as the exoskeleton of business. No accounting, no business, no finance.
HARDLY is this "every" finance career. what about actuary, risk, audit, taxes, fp&a?
these are the ones ppl care about
an accountant does literally all of that
Those aren't finance
@@sharpasacueball what are those then
These are accounting careers (other than actuary). It's quite obvious why this video ranks accounting the lowest. He doesn't have much understanding about the career like he does with finance (which is fair since he's in finance).
Despite the perception that accounting is dull and low-paying, I'd say it offers the most stability, flexibility, and a more equitable entry point. As long as you study hard, and get the certifications for your chosen specialization, a comfortable middle-class lifestyle is well within reach. Unlike finance, where entry can hinge on connections or being a top 1% performer.
Thanks for the video!
generally agree with this list but when making a decision on which of these fields to enter out of college i would advise against optimizing too much based on tier lists.
also, as an analyst/associate for most VC firms majority of your time is just going to be cold outreach/basically sales, spamming outreach to startups that fit your firm's investment thesis. and especially at the pre-seed/seed stage, there is rarely any financial modelling at all - there's nothing to model when companies are pre-revenue or low revenue and nowhere near PMF.
instead, just optimize based on what you would enjoy doing (research? sales? modelling?)
Can you do tech careers next?
Sure
Accounting is underrated.
Its overrated 😅
It’s so wild that 200k tc is the above average in the finance world.
The key to become successful at finance is understanding accounting
Can you please make a video about how to break into venture capital? This is really interesting
Private equity normally run an old company into the ground and asset strip it. They are the worst. Evil bastards.
after a long time I find out what interest me a lot.
I work in Accounting at a quant/prop trading firm (originally as an accountant, now as an accounting automation pm).
No idea how to feel about this tier list lmao
Bro can you please make a detailed video on portfolio manager(pm), how does one get into that field and what are the skills and degrees required for this?
Would Cfa help in getting into portfolio manager role for big companies?
You missed FP&A and corporate development career path in corporations.
Monk in Thailand floating on a mountain lmao 😂 keep the content coming 👍
I think the best entry into IB is as an associate not an analyst
>50% of burnout and never recover. Seen it happen many times
For someone who wants to work in high finance jobs like hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, etc., which is better: double majoring in economics and Finance or double majoring in Computer Science and Finance? What about just majoring in CS?
i worked at optiver for 3 years -- i agree with you in p much every way -- but the problem i think is that there's limited upside unless you're running the desk or getting partnership, and even then you're still getting capped (and then your comp is deferred). Your comp is mostly discretionary and that CAN suck. Our top guys back when I was there (who were partners of the delta 1 desk) -- were only pulling like 1 mil per year -- and honestly for the amt of stress it's not totally worth it -- everyone eventually moves on to do PM or VC lmao
but i met the smartest coolest ppl ever there so i still think it's S tier
@codingjesus Can we get another video on day trading? I feel like a lot of day traders haven't learned their lesson despite not being profitable since your last video.
Appreciate the detailed breakdown! I need some advice: I have a okx wallet with money, and I have the seed phrase: (proof inner hobby bounce blouse able donate virtual luggage cart morning ticket). How can transfer them to Binance?
Whats your go to burnout fix?
Drugs
Nice to see my PM pathway is S tier.
💪🏽 hell yeah! How is it so far? I’d love to hear your experience with it.
“When things fall apart faster than a Nature’s Valley granola bar.” 😂
Don’t know why you expected a coding guy to know about finance careers
s tier goes to people who live or die on their own
To be frank, early stage VC is more of pray and spray role. No need for technical financial modeling skills, just people management.
Good with people,
Articulate
Financial modeling skills
Good intuition
Able to sit at comp 8 hours a day
Sourcing deal
Executing deal
Fund raising
Managing funds with limited partners
Equity research
Industry
Fair play
Billions
hey bro, not nearly smart enough to be a quant, just interested in your general worldview and takes as someone who is. would you make more videos outside that topic?
People always forget about allocators -- what about those that work at pensions/endowments/singe family offices?
The titles for each segment of the video are hilarious.
Love guys who know nothing about accounting or finance in general, people with no qualifications love to talk about things that they don't know.
the job that young people do at investment banks isnt investment banking bro.. if you are less than VP at investment banking you are not doing the actual job of an investment banker. you are like a powerpoint marker essentially. the job itself is all about soft skills and reaching out and networking with ceos.
Glad to see QT as S - I'm interning this year at an OMM as a QTA intern but honestly am fucking terrified of not being able to make the cut. Would you say people who get fired / burnt out from QT end up going anywhere like the ST people (HFs in particular) - for some reason I don't see much of this happening.
PE funds also invest in succesful start-ups at the end of their starting life circle
What about Investor Relations, CFO and M&A? All of those are part of industry but still get decently paid unlike accounting.
I want to establish a business and rent homes, but I also want the Financial saviness to better manage risks and make investments. Which career would be better?
Why isn't actuary on the list?
I don't think this guy really knows what hes talking about.
>Accounting, probably the most insulated from layoffs, largely at risk from outsourcing overseas rather than automation. Currently going through a headcount shortage. Gives it a C when its probably closer to B or B+.
Actuary closer to A-. Pay is solid but licensing is rough.
Where did you get the idea that IB has a low technical barrier to entry? You mean it's not coding? That's why its called banking. Are you a finance expert? Wouldn't it be nice if excel and finance were the same thing? I gurantee you the IT department is useless in a financial environment. Not to mention IT in a bank is only installing software, restarting computers, changing peripherals and maybe looking at porn on the job? That is categorically a low expertise to salary ratio.
Good stuff What about LMM pe or even just like a search fund / ETA guy? c tier?
Do you include Audit of Financial Statements in accounting? because they are called accountants too and that's client facing work calling out client's bullshit and lies
I met one investment banker who had a sleeve tattoo
He wasn’t showing it off in the interview I can guarantee you that.
Of course. Was shocked myself. Met the guy at a night club
Respectfully you don’t have the right take on accounting. We are inherently more client-facing than you might initially think. You have to expand your thinking beyond monotonous accounting clerk jobs and realize most accountants have specific skill sets, such as tax, audit, and financial advising that are extremely involved with important stakeholders within a company. In fact, most CFOs are knowledgeable in accounting processes, and major C-suite personnel value a ground-up understanding of the accounting cycle. We are not math/CS/physics nerds applying math, we are BUSINESS professionals applying a comprehensive understanding of how a business operates-from the inside out.
You made me consider Risk Management, but the problem is that the best studies I've found for that are Actuarial sciences or realted studies.
And I really don't want to become a real actuary, more a risk analyst etc. and I fear I can't find the job I want and just end up an actuary.
You don't have to be mathematician to work as a risk analyst, but you should be a numbers guy. My background is in economics and finance, major in statistics. It's a diverse field, the larger the firm the more specialized the job. There can also quite some overlap with treasury, if you want to have opportunities outside the financial sector.
@@lucubrator4283 okay thank you so much !
So I think I'll stick to a quantitative economics/finance degree to get there
I do actuarial science for major (bachelor of science). Very difficult. Also has the most rigorous mathematics.
There’s different kinds of Risk analyst. In an investment bank - M&A department , its more focused on reading terms, statements, not your math and excel skills.
Risk is typically a secondary career paths, you move to that after some time on the front lines
@@lucubrator4283 can I get a job as a risk manager if gpa
Personally, I disagree with ranking on VC. While I agree it’s a great exit opp for those that came from PE and IB for something with similar/higher pay for fewer hours, I personally think it is one of careers in finance that truly is a bad choice at least from a personal development perspective coming right out of school. You develop effectively no transferable skills except for sales and communication (via relationship management, deal sourcing, understanding complex tech and biz models and pitching to partners, etc).
There are so many VCs out there that are completely useless and add little no value in their current role and their financial sophistication compared to PE guys is laughable. In many cases, they merely act as a conduit for family offices or HNWIs to potentially high multiple investments, the vast majority of which disappoint unless you get lucky with the right company.
If you take 10 random VCs vs 10 PE guys and ask each to build a business, switch jobs with each other, or ask them to manage a fund, my money’s on the PE guys all day
As a Proud PE guy for 5 years now I need to make a few things clear. Firstly, Quants are literally dog shit unless you work for a top firm, it’s that simple. His opinion is a very poor representation of what the finance sector is actually like.
such an L take on accounting, it’s not fun. but it’s literally illegal to sign off on audits and taxes with AI, so until legislation changes that (probably not gonna happen for another 50 years with this government). It’s not gonna go anywhere anytime soon in our generation only thing being threatened is data entry roles.
Tell me you’re in accounting without actually telling me you’re in accounting😂
@@muhamamdabdullahHow else is he gonna know what the job is like? AI replacing auditors and tax people would have so many legal implications it's stupid to think about
Yoo broo, i wanted to ask... Do you think you can make a vid reviewing the certificate in quantitative finance qualification and whether it's a worthwhile investment?
yes Another one is the Free Msc Financial engineering from World Quant University
@@princedube5008Yes please because I’m considering starting the program
Accidentally found the ideal guy to follow. 😊
You are such a sigma
No, he is a three sigma
what the sigma
What's ligma?
Brain rot