The Big Picture - part 2

So I had a post about the big picture and how you should be looking around at all the available areas of finance as opposed to being small minded about only going into banking, trading or sales. There's another step to keeping the big picture in mind.

After a couple of years on the job a lot of people think about moving on. This is good if they're doing it for the right reasons. For some people the lifestyle just isn't for them (this happens most in banking). A lot of people realize they just can't do this for the rest of their lives. That's cool. You should do what you love. If you do what you love, you'll be good at it. Eventually, if you pursue what you enjoy you will be well compensated for what you do.

The problem is people who start job hopping for more money. At 2 years of experience, people start becoming very marketable. They're still considered "cheap" by the industry standards, but they know enough to get by. These people can usually get pocketed for a small 30-60k (2007 dollars) increase in pay. This is HUGE percentage-wise. What people need to keep in mind, though, is that your pay will increase exponentially even if yo don't move.

Yes, you will make a little bit more money a little bit faster if you keep hopping jobs. In fact, it's not hard to be making 300k/year before you're 30 by opportunistically hopping. You'll find, however, the you will get stopped out right around there pretty fast. There's nothing wrong with making 300k/year. In fact, most of the world would die for the opportunity. But this is Wall Street. 300k/year is nice, but it's not the end-all and be-all. The only way to make "real money" in banking terms is to be heading up your own desk or being a deal manager. At that point you're probably making millions. Nothing really matters until you get to that point. Yea, you can get an extra 30 or 60 thousand if you hop, but the end-game is the million-dollar plus paychecks. You get those by showing product expertise and loyalty.

Every desk head or product head I've seen has been with some company for at least 10 years, usually 15. They probably had foregone some good opportunities to boost their income marginally, but their patience (and love for the industry) paid off by getting that position as the head of a desk.

Keep in mind, do you want to live comfortably for the next 5 years or so and make more money in the short run? Or are you in it for the big bucks and mansion in the Hamptons? It's fine if you answer that you just want to make as much money as you can right now before you leave the industry. For those of you that are in it for the end-game mansion, millions and luxury, keep the big picture in mind. Don't get swayed by that short-term cash.