tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post6790751982617048175..comments2024-01-13T18:57:18.243-05:00Comments on Information Processing: Jim Manzi: How elite business recruiting really worksSteve Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-20275315035550682262011-12-16T10:56:56.402-05:002011-12-16T10:56:56.402-05:00If talent is so common, why not start a whole pack...If talent is so common, why not start a whole pack of consulting firms to take advantage of that talent at a lower price? Seems like a business opportunity.athelas314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-28356250926723219152011-12-13T14:36:12.582-05:002011-12-13T14:36:12.582-05:00I will also add that working for the government wi...I will also add that working for the government will let me retire, although not early (maybe 55). I would be middle class, but never upper-middle, upper, or "top out-of-sight," as defined by Paul Fussell. I could afford 2-3 kids and take some boring vacations and drive a cheap car while living in a suburb. I would be pretty much just around "normals" as defined by Murray in Sam Hhttp://profiles.google.com/samh550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-806816645194825012011-12-13T12:46:40.650-05:002011-12-13T12:46:40.650-05:00Thanks for the advice.
I am actually in an MBA p...Thanks for the advice. <br /><br />I am actually in an MBA program right now and moved to the general track MBA away from the accounting MBA track (which I chose for the reasons you suggest, in hopes of getting a CPA) because I did very poorly in business tax and intermediate accounting I electives. I did okay in financial accounting and managerial accounting but these are core courses which Sam Hhttp://profiles.google.com/samh550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-41162114796231041922011-12-10T16:04:13.012-05:002011-12-10T16:04:13.012-05:00I pretty much agree with what David says here. Not...I pretty much agree with what David says here. Note I only mentioned govt because Shawn had said he was interested in that. Seems soul-deadening to me ;-)steve hsuhttp://duende.uoregon.edu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-68396586999706331662011-12-10T15:56:18.182-05:002011-12-10T15:56:18.182-05:00I worked 80 hours a week when I was an IB quant. ...I worked 80 hours a week when I was an IB quant. It actually made me very sick from exhaustion. I feel my experience was typical.David Versacenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-72241337898211964092011-12-10T15:55:26.098-05:002011-12-10T15:55:26.098-05:00Accounting, if all you are looking for is to maxim...Accounting, if all you are looking for is to maximize some effort:risk:earnings function.<br /><br />Steve suggests government, but that depends a lot on your personality and the specific opportunity. Running a nice restaurant is within the grasp of the group your talking about, and its a lot more volatile then being a government drone but its also a lot more free (in certain ways). The big David Versacenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-80946735681612447312011-12-10T05:25:20.474-05:002011-12-10T05:25:20.474-05:00"hubby is living large"
I'd love to..."hubby is living large"<br /><br />I'd love to have a rich wife. That sounds like a great career track.Maciano Van der Laannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-85303495374786249312011-12-10T00:43:13.552-05:002011-12-10T00:43:13.552-05:00I'll add track for biglaw:
mid: ~250k/yr, in ...I'll add track for biglaw:<br /><br />mid: ~250k/yr, in house, no early retirement<br />90th: partner, ~$1-2M/yr for 30 years, can't retire<br />99th: partner, ~$2-5M/yr for 30 years, can't retire (wifey or hubby is living large)<br />99.9th: ~250k/yr, in house, stock and options worth $100M (either as a tech GC, like David Drummond @ Google, or maybe CEO of Fortune 500)Commentariat1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-50380357385120815062011-12-09T23:00:18.819-05:002011-12-09T23:00:18.819-05:00It's a tough call. First thing, I'd say tr...It's a tough call. First thing, I'd say try to do something that actually interests you. Second, perhaps MBA heading into Fed track might work but I'm no expert. I do know the MBA credential from a 25-50 ranked school would be enough to get you a higher GSA rank, and the Feds aren't nearly as elitist as the tracks we've been discussing.steve hsuhttp://duende.uoregon.edu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-63365148422849064882011-12-09T22:25:37.579-05:002011-12-09T22:25:37.579-05:00"You have to have superhuman energy levels an..."You have to have superhuman energy levels and determination to be a successful entrepreneur."<br /><br />This makes me more motivated to try to be a Fed and just dabble in business on my downtime. :-)Sam Hhttp://profiles.google.com/samh550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-58194306673241555082011-12-09T22:20:59.402-05:002011-12-09T22:20:59.402-05:00I'm sure hours vary, but one thing about Ameri...I'm sure hours vary, but one thing about America: you're very unlikely to make it to the top without busting your ass.<br /><br />Re: tech startups, google around and you can find plenty of photos of sleeping bags under desks. How many other career tracks have that? Even rougher than that is the huge energy expenditure in: pitching potential customers, VCs, busdev partners, monitoring steve hsuhttp://duende.uoregon.edu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-82368936735765096842011-12-09T22:15:19.117-05:002011-12-09T22:15:19.117-05:00Yes good point. I am willing to consider that I ma...Yes good point. I am willing to consider that I may be wrong; I had always just heard horror stories about finance (well biglaw too) and thought a lot of startup guys don't work quite as hard; then again I have not been exposed to a lot of startup tech guys. So across all those rigorous fields the idea is that hours worked is roughly the same?Sam Hhttp://profiles.google.com/samh550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-41989407191153490612011-12-09T21:55:58.207-05:002011-12-09T21:55:58.207-05:0020% more than who? All of these tracks: consulting...20% more than who? All of these tracks: consulting, biglaw, IB, "hard" finance, startups are super intense. I wouldn't be surprised if biglaw and startup guys have the longest hours.steve hsuhttp://duende.uoregon.edu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-87842780515283099232011-12-09T21:29:44.961-05:002011-12-09T21:29:44.961-05:00Do you take into account that a banker works rough...Do you take into account that a banker works roughly 20% more hours? I wonder what the breakdown would look like on an hourly basis, with all forms of compensation taken into consideration. Sam Hhttp://profiles.google.com/samh550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-7259020517649030872011-12-09T20:05:31.037-05:002011-12-09T20:05:31.037-05:00Is he looking for raw talent (SAT scores) or skill...Is he looking for raw talent (SAT scores) or skills (math and science)? Is you're a teacher, you can do something about the second, but not the first. David Backushttp://profiles.google.com/david.backusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-35886559689942411702011-12-08T22:21:27.184-05:002011-12-08T22:21:27.184-05:00"Of course, it's free for anyone to volun..."Of course, it's free for anyone to volunteer for student bodies, but, let's get real, unless your parents or family explained this to you, you'd never know its importance unless you'd finished your studies first and tried to get a job at those firms."<br /><br />Unfortunately, a similar phenomenon exists in the world of American university admissions.<br /><br />http://Guy_Brodudenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-29970174492403326442011-12-08T12:27:13.024-05:002011-12-08T12:27:13.024-05:00 Every time I see this breakdown it stings.
To ... Every time I see this breakdown it stings. <br /><br /><i>To me it's not attractive to be in a rat race for the best years of one's life.</i><br /><br />As I sit here looking at the UltraMegaBigCareers HR database, I see myself under serious consideration for a lateral and a promotion to a different division. I am probably Candidate 2 for the promotion, so they are stringing me out in David Coughlinhttp://twitter.com/dscoughlinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-55010829889432917112011-12-08T11:43:30.609-05:002011-12-08T11:43:30.609-05:00Responding to Maciano below: regarding career trac...Responding to Maciano below: regarding career tracks at "soft" elite firms or at a big corporation, I think the payoff table is worse than the ones I give below for startup entrepreneurs and "hard" (money management, trading) finance jobs. Maybe IB has a better high end payout than the other soft tracks. To me it's not attractive to be in a rat race for the best years of steve hsuhttp://duende.uoregon.edu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-80959324043599107442011-12-08T11:15:11.462-05:002011-12-08T11:15:11.462-05:00My 2c
I recently participated in resume screening...My 2c<br /><br />I recently participated in resume screening for my alma mater, one of the schools on Manzi's list.<br /><br />I screened 30 resumes. 29 of the candidates had enough g for the job. One candidate was a special case because she was obviously very smart, but her math skills were probably only in the top 20%. She was a polyglot but we decided she wasn't a good fit for MrRupertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-68428619731476292892011-12-08T10:55:19.775-05:002011-12-08T10:55:19.775-05:00Yeah, Half Sigma once wrote a few insightful repor...Yeah, Half Sigma once wrote a few insightful reports on NY Times journalists to show that they were hardly a random set. Everyone of them came from an affluent elite background. Mostly affluent, well-connected (and, of course, smart) people can study stuff like english literature and still get a job at BCG or McKinsey. For those who come from average/normal backgrounds, STEM studies + high SATs Maciano Van der Laannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-5184943216322767332011-12-07T21:53:28.959-05:002011-12-07T21:53:28.959-05:00"Then, your degree should be in something har..."Then, your degree should be in something hard" LOL! This is completely false. I know a ton of MBB hires with humanities degrees and maybe a few soft econ classes.goodtastehttp://twitter.com/goodtasteblognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-39232650724346832132011-12-07T18:42:29.095-05:002011-12-07T18:42:29.095-05:00Harvard's reported range is 1390-1590, based o...Harvard's reported range is 1390-1590, based off of sites like US News. But my understanding has been that colleges typically exaggerate their test scores for officials rankings publications. But see this article here.<br /><br />"Oakes says he sometimes advises candidates with scores in the <br />mid-600s—very good by most standards—to retake the test if they're <br />hoping to landYan Shenhttp://profiles.google.com/yanshen71786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-60097401425021505962011-12-07T18:29:52.789-05:002011-12-07T18:29:52.789-05:00I am not sure. For one thing, he has to be talkin...I am not sure. For one thing, he has to be talking about post-1993 SATs (pre-recentering, there were generally fewer than 100 SAT scores > 1550 / year). In that context, Harvard 25-75 range is about 1390-1590 (taking M+R scores only), so I assume median is around 1490. So this equates to saying "should be above average at Harvard, maybe top 1/3 or better." That seems like a Commentariat1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-22189111006152985132011-12-07T18:11:22.442-05:002011-12-07T18:11:22.442-05:00"If you don’t have at least 750 on the math S..."If you don’t have at least 750 on the math SAT, you’re out. The most <br />common score is 800. Math plus verbal scores should be well over 1500, <br />and typically over 1550. GRE, GMAT and other scores should be scaled <br />similarly"<br /><br />I find this hard to believe. Everything I've heard suggests that elite consulting firms typically have a GMAT cut-off of around 700 Yan Shenhttp://profiles.google.com/yanshen71786noreply@blogger.com