Which career would make more money over time?

[baffledbaoutmycareer]

Big 4, consulting OR
Back office at an asset manager

taking into account career progression, exit opps etc.

Of course it does. Back office as an analyst is a very well trodden path. I work with these people, but think OP’s understanding and her vocabulary isn’t what is used.

So will back office tech analyst at an asset manager eventually make more money than a big 4 consultant?
esp. if i move to another company, e.g. a FAANG with my tech skills

How many threads can one poster put up about the same frigging subject?

Jeez

cut me some slack...i cant talk about this to anyone else bc my family are all doctors, i.e. in completely different fields

You’re confusing an investment analyst with other jobs. An investment analyst is the researcher for the fund manger. That said I know a techy at one of those companies and their stock sign on was £1m a year for the first 5. Then they got paid a lot. Now burnt out.

What matters here is skills and the individual. To be paid by anyone at the top you need to be outstanding.

Financial services, and tech are the biggest hitters. They are also extremely competitive.

You seem fixated on what people are paid. If you research the jobs of CEO’s and boards, they are disproportionately represented by accountants. There is no one sure fire way to the top. Personality, mentors, luck, brains, EQ, luck, more luck and then hard work.

This is a real post. Can you give me some indications as to how much I would earn and what roles would be the most lucrative? I am only asking online as nobody in my family works in tech -- they are all academics in chem!

I can understand that, but why so many threads?

Keep it to one where everyone commenting can see what others have said/recommended.

Ok

My family are all tradesmen and I managed to figure out how to get a professional services job without asking strangely-worded questions on Mumsnet.

You aren't going to get any of these jobs without a university degree, so I would suggest using the resources provided there such as the careers service, consulting club/finance club, other students in your class considering similar career paths, etc. A certain amount of resourcefulness is a useful character trait to develop if you want to succeed in these kinds of careers.

For anyone else reading, there are forums which have information on these career paths which are more accurate than Mumsnet (although they get their share of dumb questions too) - e.g. Wall Street Oasis, Fishbowl, levels.fyi etc.

I got a degree but asking people i know irl about money and salary is considered bad manners/a social taboo

i will check out the other forums u mentioned

I mean yeah don't go up to someone and say "hey Joe Alum, pls give me your full personal salary history for every job you've had since you left uni"

But "hey Joe, how's work going, enjoying the consulting life? How are you finding it 3 years in? Oh that's so interesting I wouldn't have expected that. I'm actually weighing up my offers now, it's consulting or financial tech back office. The long-term comp progression is something I'm still trying to figure out before I can decide. Any insights on that? Anything else I should consider?"

Blah blah you get the gist

What is your initial role going to be? Are you going to Big4 still and if so which area and qualifications?

At the moment you seem to be totally focussed on the next step out of Big4 and earning mega bucks. It really would be better to slow down and make the lost of the role you’re presumably about to start.

Big4 can offer huge opportunities to good people - secondments, exposure to a huge variety of clients and industry sectors etc. Take advantage of these (but maybe have a good first year, pass the exams, work hard and get a good reputation first) and you will then be able to actually find out a hell of a lot about what you’re good at, what you enjoy, the type of role you want and so on.

I did three secondments in my Big 4 time (two whilst training) and turned one into a move into a different service line. I then left after a while and went into a role/industry that didn’t exist when I started training. There is time at the start of your career to try things and work out what you want to do to achieve your goals. Chasing your next role before you’ve even started this one and swinging wildly between different options isn’t the way to go about it and definitely won’t win you the supporters you need at Big4 to actually do well and get the opportunities.

I understand - you don’t want to box yourself into a lesser earning career path. You said you studied econ. What role have you been offered in tech? The starting salaries you have been offered will give you an idea of which industry is richer and which skills are more in demand.

What is your aim?

If you just want a good life, you can earn 500k plus in all areas of Big 4, consulting and banking.

If you want to have the absolute highest salary, then I suspect that is in banking, but it is also limited to the smallest number of people and so the odds of making it are the lowest and the level of stress the highest.

If your aim is to enjoy life I would say don't worry about numbers and just work hard in the area you enjoy. If you are in any of these areas you will be earning six figures before you hit 30 and will be fine.