Too old?

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secretadversary

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At 39, would I be too old to get into Ibanking?
Thinking of getting into an MBA program in 2011 which means I’ll be 39 when I’m done…is it even worth it?
Already have my CFA charter but that is proving pretty worthless in getting into top firms or even the boutiques.
Thanks
 
You would definitely be too old. I’m not trying to be cruel, but I wouldn’t want to see you waste your time.
 
What’s your current job? Unless you are a hotshot in a closely related field, you’re probably too old.
 
You could always try to look into equity research. That would still be nearly impossible, but depending on what your industry experience is they may place some value on that.
 
secretadversary Wrote:
——————————————————-
> At 39, would I be too old to get into Ibanking?
>
> Thinking of getting into an MBA program in 2011
> which means I’ll be 39 when I’m done…is it even
> worth it?
>
> Already have my CFA charter but that is proving
> pretty worthless in getting into top firms or even
> the boutiques.
>
> Thanks
There was a 32 year old 1st year analyst at GS or BAC I forget which.
Kinda dumb IMHO.
 
Do you want to work at an Investment Bank (GS/MS etc) or do Ibanking (M&A, IPOs etc).
2 different things. The former, sure why not. The latter, probably not unless you figure out the magic combination (pictures of an Ibanking MD in a compromising position for example).
 
Well, 39 is still “youth” according to new standards of UNO
 
An acquaintance got into ER at 35. he had an MBA at 31 and all CFA levels passed before he got into ER. But, he had been doing IT strategy kind of work all his life and knew the tech sector pretty well. He took a pay cut initially but after 2 jumps in 2 years , is at a BB and I am guessing pulls in close to 200 - 225K
 
Just out of curiosity, if you did a career move like that later in life, as a charterholder/top 20 MBA, what kind of pay could you expect?
 
secretadversary Wrote:
——————————————————-
> At 39, would I be too old to get into Ibanking?
>
> Thinking of getting into an MBA program in 2011
> which means I’ll be 39 when I’m done…is it even
> worth it?
>
> Already have my CFA charter but that is proving
> pretty worthless in getting into top firms or even
> the boutiques.
>
> Thanks
IMO its all relative no its not too old per se but the point is in IB esp in the really big cities (read chicago, NY, HK, …..) you will be competing with the creme de la creme fresh grads with zero responsibility and shark like mentality ……….why woyuld you want to subject yourself to that at that point ………………consider the effects on your social/love life………….
 
Are you married? If so, don’t do it. Go into ER covering your previous industry.
 
I don’t understand why not. There are so many over 50-year olds who do sales and trading in my bank, and there are no sharks eating them alive fresh from undergrad. They themselves would eat anybody alive.
Why do young people think that older people are less sharp, or less aggressive?
 
And both young and old are out of the office much earlier than me, if they are in sales or trading. Just no use to sit around long after the closure of the exchange. Around 6-6.30pm, I don’t see why family men cannot do that
 
It depends on your experience I think. If you go to a decent MBA program with solid recruiting, you could get in to an associate level gig that way (obviously still very competitive, and you’ll have more to prove than a 25-27 year old with experience in IB). I think that’s probably your best shot.
 
secretadversary Wrote:
——————————————————-
> At 39, would I be too old to get into Ibanking?
>
> Thinking of getting into an MBA program in 2011
> which means I’ll be 39 when I’m done…is it even
> worth it?
>
> Already have my CFA charter but that is proving
> pretty worthless in getting into top firms or even
> the boutiques.
>
> Thanks
It would be a very long shot at any of the large BBs. You would have an easier, albeit still difficult, shot at getting into the boutiques. What is the allure of ibanking for you?
 
Valores Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I don’t understand why not. There are so many over
> 50-year olds who do sales and trading in my bank,
> and there are no sharks eating them alive fresh
> from undergrad. They themselves would eat anybody
> alive.
> Why do young people think that older people are
> less sharp, or less aggressive?
The older people on your desk are experienced, presumably. I believe the discussion is centering around junior / entry level.
 
Valores Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I don’t understand why not. There are so many over
> 50-year olds who do sales and trading in my bank,
> and there are no sharks eating them alive fresh
> from undergrad. They themselves would eat anybody
> alive.
> Why do young people think that older people are
> less sharp, or less aggressive?
Noone here is talking about S&T, we are talkinga bout IB and ER. If he wants to do S&T, maybe. Obviously there are also senior IB and ER guys, but older people just don’t fair well at the entry level (breaking in). The hours are too long given the obligations and family lifestyles older individuals have. Yes, I am making the assumption that people at that age have families, etc. Because the alternate assumption is that they don’t, in which case the fact that they’re just now fighting for the same positions as people have their age plays against them in a much worse way. That being said, it’s a biological fact that as you age it will be more difficult to absorb reams of new material, which is part of the entry level process. Going back to S&T, look at the senior guys, most of them started when they were young and were fairly aggressive young sharks back then, commonly S&T is structured so that you go bananas for your first decade acquiring clients & contacts then sit back on your connections over your last decade. No surprise there. And just because you’re not on the exchange floor doesn’t mean they aren’t working.
 
I don’t think its about the ability to do the work (which for an associate level is mostly grunt work) but the perception. 20 somethings are perceived to be easier to ‘train’ and only too happy pull all-nighters. At this level, you are simply expected to be able to hustle and ensure there are no errors in a 120 page deck.
This comes into question with older and more experienced entry level bankers. The larger question is, as chuck asked, why do you want to do this at this stage in your career?
 
cfaatsb Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I don’t think its about the ability to do the work
> (which for an associate level is mostly grunt
> work) but the perception. 20 somethings are
> perceived to be easier to ‘train’ and only too
> happy pull all-nighters. At this level, you are
> simply expected to be able to hustle and ensure
> there are no errors in a 120 page deck.
>
> This comes into question with older and more
> experienced entry level bankers. The larger
> question is, as chuck asked, why do you want to do
> this at this stage in your career?
You also have to look at the endgame, those companies spend a lot of time, $$ and energy training employees, thus they want to target employees with the longest perceived career.
 
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