nytimes.com — Many young people on the fast track to fat paydays in the financial industry are choosing to forgo M.B.A. programs. As more Americans have become abundantly wealthy, young people are recalculating old assumptions about success. The flood of money into private equity and hedge funds over the last decade has made billionaires...
Sep 16, 2007 View in Crawl 4
bradmwSep 17, 2007
There are two types of MBAs you can get:1) The "Big Player" MBA: 3.9 GPA in college -> Wharton -> Goldman -> Banker making $250k/year starting2) The "Please Promote Me" MBA: ? GPA in college -> Anywhere that will take you -> Whatever company you work for -> management making +25k/year to your old salaryIf you think you can make it to #1 without a flawless academic record and a stellar MBA, you're dreaming.If you think you can make it to #2 without a MBA at all, you're absolutely correct.
the_dudeSep 17, 2007
Don't feel bad, the article also mentioned highly qualified people who took hedge fund jobs and got terminated in 6 months because they couldn't hack it. You're talking about immense amounts of stress to do a job like this. One's appetite for risk and personal energy level have to be off the charts. I'm talking about the traders here, not the analysts. The traders are the ones who make the most anyway. Probably makes being a surgeon look like a quiet desk job in comparison.
farkdogSep 17, 2007
Here is the meat of the article:"So he, too, decided to forgo an M.B.A.. Instead, he raised $5 million and started his own hedge fund, Alerian Capital Management, in 2004."Look, if you have the connections to "raise FIVE MILLION DOLLARS" clearly you don't need college of any kind - you are already set for life.How many people do you know can say, "Gee, I think I'll pass on college and just go RAISE 5 f**kING MILLION DOLLARS" instead.
rmxzSep 17, 2007
An MBA on your resume around here (silicon valley) typically means "couldn't find a job in the downturn after the .com crash".Seems most MBAs these days get it because it looks more socially acceptable than "unemployment" during the periods they can't keep jobs.
grabercSep 19, 2007
@kndeI would like a little evidence that the grades were infalted - dont' want to take the fact that "there were a lot of asians" as proof that something neafarious happened
grabercSep 19, 2007
@JerryparidOr Kelley, right! Top 30 is right though, don't waste your time elsewhere.
craighoxtonMar 26, 2008
Some funds are "vulture funds" that prey on financial advantages or invest in a company to "bust it out" by gaining shareholder control. But like them or not, they are part of the financial establishment now and everyone with a sci/maths doctorate is beating a path to hedge fund land because of the stratospheric salaries.