Good afternoon. Today I bring you hilarious drama from WallStreetOasis (WSO). WSO is a forum for try hard students pursuing finance and management consulting jobs. They have "courses" you can buy (but nobody does) but as it stands the WSO forum is probably the go-to place for any discussion among junior analysts and lower level associates at finance firms of all sizes. People who post on here grind out problem sets and technicals for days on end to land their job, and so as you can imagine, are not big fans of DEI.
Some terms to know:
RBC Royal Bank of Canada - Commonly considered a "mid" or lower tier bank by finance professionals, which means the pay isn't as great and nobody has this as their "first choice" of where to work.
CVP: Centerview Partners - One of the most notoriously hard-to-get internships. Every single finance sweat is grinding day and night to get here. Starting pay for analysts is something like 260k when you factor in signing bonuses, exit opportunities are great, etc. This is one of the places to be.
The drama started with a now-deleted thread, which I can't find. In this thread the person in question (SS) gets doxxed. But the "discussion" and doxxing continued in others here and most recently in this thread as well:
Why Did WSO Delete The RBC/CVP Thread?
WSO, we are literally just discussing something without assigning any negative connotation to it. It is not cyberbullying if this diversity kid deserves it. To SS, you are pathetic.
There are two different stories as to what "SS" did to cause this outrage.
The diversity kid's story
So the diversity kid was some intern analyst at RBC. After this internship, he gets a job offer at CVP. But he turns it down, and posts on LinkedIn (someone find this actual post please) saying that he turned down his CVP job offer to pursue some kind of start-up vision. This is obviously a risky move, turning down what is essentially a guaranteed millionaire-job path to "pursue a vision." So he posts about it, a lor.
One WSO comment sums up this side pretty well:
Man, it's not just about the CVP offer anymoreβit's about the bigger picture. He had the courage to turn down both CVP and MBB to follow his own path and chase his dreams. That's something most people wouldn't do, and it's admirable. It seems like you're not upset because he's diverse; you're upset because he had an incredible opportunity and chose to walk away from it for something he's passionate about. That's a level of risk and ambition that can make anyone reflect on their own choices. A lot of people in this industry tend to settle and play it safe. He didn't. Instead of tearing him down for following his dreams, maybe it's time to ask yourself why it bothers you so much. Criticizing someone for having the courage to take a different path can come across as insecurity. Let's elevate the conversation, focus on personal growth, and maybe recognize the strength it takes to step away from the expected in pursuit of something more meaningful. By the way, if you're so confident in your stance, feel free to share your bank, and we'll see how your coworkers appreciate how you spend your weekends. Let's keep it real.
The WSO Story
But did he actually turn down his offer?
will tone it down for the mods. was basically the worst intern in history at rbc, which caused cvp to hear about it and pulling their offer. but then this guy is telling ppl that HE TURNED DOWN CVP, even though he was 100% a diversity hire
He showed up to work high everyday. He skipped days of work. He also bragged about going to cvp so much to everyone. He left early as well. Just so much bad shit
maybe even funnier if true
basically there was a diversity hire (black male) who was a sophmore ib analyst at rbc. bragged about cvp throughout the internship and didnt do anything. they then beefed with someone at cvp on wso, and got his offer pulled. he then created a bunch of fake wso accounts saying that he actually turned down cvp to become on entrepreneur.
Turns out this kid, who was already a DEI hire and probably a lower quality candidate, might have been the worst intern ever at RBC. CVP heard after he bragged about it online, and pulled his offer, not the other way around. Also, if this side is to believed, the diversity kid himself is on 5-10 different alts in that very thread defending himself. 
So now a forum of incredibly bitter, try hard finance students and interns who dream about that exact position the DEI kid fumbled begin seething.
Some sample comments
A kid is lying on LinkedIn about not getting his offer pulled. He said he turned down centerview to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. Which is false. We all know he got his offer pulled. We are trying to set the record straight yk
Why does it matter you absolute loser
Because he is lying. He got fired from RBC and is acting like he didn't get his offer pulled. He literally is flexing cvp on his LinkedIn like they didn't cut ties with him. That's just some fraud shit. He has to exposed. He literally was a shitty intern.
Bro keeps defending himself on his alts π
lol, lmao
You have never experienced the touch of a woman so I understand the angst. It's ok bro
Shut the frick you cumt. Why aren't you mad this kid is lying about the prestigious jobs we work hard for. Kid got it since he was black and lost it since he acted like the incompetent full he is and got exposed at Rbc and lost his offer at cvp and got fired and now he is lying online
No sorry I am not a woman I cannot touch you to make you feel better. Better luck next time
SS it's okay centerview pulled your offer man. I know it's hard in life to accept you fumbled your diversity hire. Badge.
Okay. SS stop hiding it's okay cvp pulled your offer. Stop acting like you're an enterpueer. You gonna lose money and end up as a stifel analyst you fricking bum. Face reality you fricked up at Rbc got your offer pulled and take that shit off your LinkedIn and you might be able to save your face.
im not him, you paranoid psychopathic loser. He wouldn't know who Jeff Chang is just like you dont. Funny thing is, he made two banks and you didn't. hahahahahaha and you have him living rent free in your fricking head. Rent free and you still didnt make Centerview let alone any investment bank, you sound like some dorky kid with no social skills upset because someone else who got it didn't appreciate it.
There are so many more layers here. Someone please dive deeper than I have. Apparently this kid has a substack?:
So there are at least 4 confirmed substack articles written by the guy. One was from a search on archive ph, and two are from his twitter. The titles are as follows:
[PAYWALL] Accepting Reality
missing ride-or-die-why-its-all-about-the...
missing Prioritizing the Hustle: Why I'm Choosing My Grind Over Dating and Relationships
I read all his posts before he made them paid. Kid thinks he's franklin saint lmao and brags about smoking weed in Japan and eating fish and chips. Dude also wrote some corny stuff about he's learning machine learning and how his friend runs an agency lmao. Blogs were pretty funny (one about how he was at a dinner with CVP people and was texting his friend "frick this" - also a lot of interesting screenshots such as the one he sent to decline the offer). Regardless, the kid didn't deserve a CVP seat and it should be a wake up call for just how bad diversity hiring has gotten. Kid's got an admirable story way better than 99% of the prep school kids but the industry really needs to stop making sexist/racist recruiting efforts for people of different gender/skin color.
rdrama, who do you believe?
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Man finance is the most absolutely cucked career path. They lure you in with the 200k starting salary and then grind you 100 hours per week until you are nothing but a soulless husk who lives and breathes for the company. Also, you pay half your salary in city/state taxes anyway since you have to live in either NYC or Chicago.
I have no idea why anyone would subject themselves to this, it sounds miserable.
Dude is unironically better off chasing some rslurred startup dream or whatever it he's actually doing now.
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Lawyer is far, far worse. Either you're the 10% or so who get Biglaw, where you get 200k starting but have similar hours, or you're the 90% who owes their law school $250k but is only getting paid five figures for slightly fewer hours.
Incidentally, every person I've heard of who got no-offered from a major firm after their 2L summer associate position was a DEI hire. The fun thing is the firms expect you to be regarded as an SA and have standards lower than me after four beers at the local MILF bar, so to get fired at that point you must be completely unsuited as a lawyer.
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Mediumlaw for the win
.
Although struggling through 2 years in biglaw did set me up for a job that is significantly less stressful. I will not go back to the discovery mines
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I always cringe when people talk about books that changed their life, but I should probably credit The Firm with convincing me not to go to law school. Bullet dodged.
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Finance and PE are strong careers, its closer to a consistent 80 hour work weeks with an occasionaly 100 hour week. Saturday and sunday afternoon/nights are usually protected too.
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Man 80 hour weeks are insane. Even consistent 60 hour weeks are insane.
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I love finance neighbors being like "actually 80 hours a week is no big deal and some of them give you Sundays off!" when ITcels get paid six figures to "work" three or four days a week and post slurs online
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I 'member one of my Econ profs breaking down his hours at his previous finance career showing that it actually wasn't better paid than his professorship, he just worked twice as many hours. It's not for everyone but if you're a sigma male who can do 80 hour weeks the per hour pay goes above comparable rates at higher levels.
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Yeah I buy that. What's the pay like in finance at higher levels? As a SWE I'm at ~500k, and working over 40 hours is not the norm, but does happen sometimes obviously.
I feel like there's not really an amount of money that could convince me to waste my life grinding out hours for some shitty trading firm. Whenever I get recruiter mail from HFTs trying to convince me to move to NYC for 700k or whatever I just leave them on read. Frick that lifestyle man, it's not worth it.
I'm exhausted all the time anyway though, I think finance-cels are just another breed. Or maybe it's the cocaine
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500k at 40 hours makes many ppl cope seethe and dilate. Myself included.
!pings cope with me
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IDK it's not all that. I shouldn't complain, but it's not like I'm just chilling and rolling around in money. Even though the hours are decent, the work is pretty demanding (but fun, for the most part) and I spend a lot of non-work time thinking about work problems anyway. I'm trying to find a better balance so I can hang out with my kid and work on my hobbies more.
I used to work in a warehouse, and even though the job was a lot more physically demanding, I had more energy for hobbies and stuff because my brain wasn't totally fried all the time. I hated the job and I was poor as shit though.
It's also surprising how not-rich you are even with a salary like this. I still can't justify buying a 911 or redoing my kitchen or whatever. I can afford quality of life stuff like house cleaning and meal deliver though, which makes a big difference especially with a kid.
Anyway, if you really want to, just grind leetcode and become a SWE
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One of my friends just signed a 430k starting as a quant at a top shop, which is basically software engineering + math. At firms like his I've heard that after a few years that can go up to 700k depending on the team you're placed in.
For non quant roles starting can be something like 230k at BBs after you factor in bonuses, give or take 40k either direction based on team. Heinous hours start here. Stick with it a decade and that goes to 500k-600k in VP roles I think, but your hours decrease significantly. Managing Director is when you start pulling 7 figure big bucks but 95% of people will quit or be pushed out before then. I've heard of MDs doing all their work over Zoom essentially and doing maybe 10 hours of work a week from Southampton.
Something I've also realized is that basically all educated careers pay the same at the "elite" level of a top firm. Like going to law school for three years, selling out to a top biglaw firm you can also pull 450k starting guaranteed (Wachtell) or 245k guaranteed (any cravath scale), or something like 350k starting with a guaranteed 6-year partner track to 7 figures a year (something like Susman). Around this level it looks like finance bros, lawcels, SWEs roughly even out but a SWE will make that money earlier than a finance guy, who will make it earlier than a law school grad, etc.
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Quants make a bit more than SWEs at firms like that IIRC.
I think a big part of the first year comp is a signing bonus though. I interviewed at Jane Street back when I was a new grad mostly because I wanted a competing offer, and I remember hearing that it was like 200k signing plus 200k salary. I did not get the offer though lol.
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I don't think finance gets that high unless they're like trading as a fricking stockbroker/hedgefund with firm money.
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I think traders at HFT firms can hit 7 figures, I don't know about analysts at banks or whatever though. Someone I used to work told me about a woman who got a PhD in math, worked as a trader until she was 35 or so, then "retired" into a teaching role for kids at a math museum or something like that.
I guess that would be pretty cool. I think at that level you're not really grinding to impress a partner or whatever though. You're probably some math prodigy who makes so much money for the company that you can do whatever you want. I think the friend who told me that story is at Two Sigma now, I should see what she's up to.
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With carry and more you push 7 and be below partner
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