High Finance or Aviation - Fearful of making a choice I will regret.

[undrgrad]

Hello all,

I posted on this forum about two years ago regarding my decision to pursue Naval Aviation and everything that comes with that career path. Since coming to college (I am now a sophomore), I have elected to study Finance and pursue that as my major of choice, with a minor in entrepreneurship. My plan was to initially get a degree in Finance and pursue OCS straight out of college with hopes of achieving an SNA slot in the future. I have had my PPL for about two years now, and flying is something that has always brought me joy and a sense of upmost fulfillment.

However, I recently stumbled upon a competitive school program that helps place students in IB and Sales & Trading. I interviewed for the program after extensive prep and was accepted, and the distant idea of a career in high finance is now an impending reality as these jobs are highly competitive, require hundreds of hours of mock interviews and preparation to even have a shot at a summer internship. I am now anxious about making the decision to pursue this fully, as I feel like I would be giving up on one of my childhood dreams. I feel like I have a very decent chance at achieving an SNA slot, based upon not only all the mock interview prep but test prep skills I have already learned in my finance program alongside my 3.9 GPA and extracurricular involvements (clubs, fraternity, hobbies) that showcase my whole person concept.

I would greatly appreciate any insights, especially from those who may have faced a similar choice or are familiar with these industries. How did you decide? Do you have any regrets? Is there a balance to be found, or is it a case of choosing one path over the other?

 

[RunSwimRun]

I'm assuming you're interested in the Navy, but as a newly commissioned lieutenant at TBS, with another 5 months of the POI left and an additional 11-month wait before Primary... a nice job in the financial sector sounds pretty appealing right now. I also majored in Finance, had a few internships the summer after my Junior year, and ultimately decided to go the SNA route because, like you, it's been my dream since I was a kid.

I'd say I'm content with my choice. There have been a few "what ifs" throughout my brief time spent in the Marine Corps so far, but my dream is to fly, and I'm making it happen; couldn't be more excited. However, that's not the same for everyone. There are multiple lieutenants in my company dropping their air contracts for ground, some deterred by the brutal wait in Pensacola, some by the massive service obligation. Some of the bullpen instructors here at TBS are "fallen angels," proving that not all who start make it. Flying is not a sure thing, and if you want to fly jets, then it DEFINITELY is not a sure thing. If you're aware of all this, have a stable future within finance, and you STILL want to fly, then I would say DO IT. I had other options, and becoming an officer in the military impacted some relationships that were near and dear to me, but I don't regret it for a second. And I haven't even flown yet; I'm sure one of our winged brothers on here has my opinion, just tenfold. Hope this helped.

 

[number9]

Everyone I know in finance (perhaps a few dozen people) like one thing: the money. Only a couple of them like the actual work.

Do you want to make money or do you want the chance to fly jets? You can also pivot to IB (though perhaps not sales & trading) after your time in the Navy; military to business school to IB is a pretty well-trodden path.

 

[Sonog]

Look at it this way: if you go in IB immediately out of undergrad you will work 80 hours a week, get paid as an analyst, and likely develop a cocaine habit.

If you go into IB following 10 years flying in the Navy and then a 2 year MBA at a top school you will work 80 hours a week, get paid as an associate, and still likely develop a cocaine habit.

Source: not in IB, but follow S2S

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I would greatly appreciate any insights, especially from those who may have faced a similar choice or are familiar with these industries. How did you decide? Do you have any regrets? Is there a balance to be found, or is it a case of choosing one path over the other?

These (insert X career or Y university / grad program) versus naval aviation questions get asked fairly regularly and you can probably find them within a minute to see similar feedback.

In short, YMMV but in the end, not many people say they regret flying. On the other side, I'm sure there are plenty who say they regret X career.

 

[zippy]

Hello all,

I posted on this forum about two years ago regarding my decision to pursue Naval Aviation and everything that comes with that career path. Since coming to college (I am now a sophomore), I have elected to study Finance and pursue that as my major of choice, with a minor in entrepreneurship. My plan was to initially get a degree in Finance and pursue OCS straight out of college with hopes of achieving an SNA slot in the future. I have had my PPL for about two years now, and flying is something that has always brought me joy and a sense of upmost fulfillment.

However, I recently stumbled upon a competitive school program that helps place students in IB and Sales & Trading. I interviewed for the program after extensive prep and was accepted, and the distant idea of a career in high finance is now an impending reality as these jobs are highly competitive, require hundreds of hours of mock interviews and preparation to even have a shot at a summer internship. I am now anxious about making the decision to pursue this fully, as I feel like I would be giving up on one of my childhood dreams. I feel like I have a very decent chance at achieving an SNA slot, based upon not only all the mock interview prep but test prep skills I have already learned in my finance program alongside my 3.9 GPA and extracurricular involvements (clubs, fraternity, hobbies) that showcase my whole person concept.

I would greatly appreciate any insights, especially from those who may have faced a similar choice or are familiar with these industries. How did you decide? Do you have any regrets? Is there a balance to be found, or is it a case of choosing one path over the other?

I know a couple of dudes who started out in finance after college and became Marines. One is still flying. I also know a dude who left finance in his 50s to become an airline pilot. He’s a airbus captain now.

 

[Anthony2000]

Hello all,

I posted on this forum about two years ago regarding my decision to pursue Naval Aviation and everything that comes with that career path. Since coming to college (I am now a sophomore), I have elected to study Finance and pursue that as my major of choice, with a minor in entrepreneurship. My plan was to initially get a degree in Finance and pursue OCS straight out of college with hopes of achieving an SNA slot in the future. I have had my PPL for about two years now, and flying is something that has always brought me joy and a sense of upmost fulfillment.

However, I recently stumbled upon a competitive school program that helps place students in IB and Sales & Trading. I interviewed for the program after extensive prep and was accepted, and the distant idea of a career in high finance is now an impending reality as these jobs are highly competitive, require hundreds of hours of mock interviews and preparation to even have a shot at a summer internship. I am now anxious about making the decision to pursue this fully, as I feel like I would be giving up on one of my childhood dreams. I feel like I have a very decent chance at achieving an SNA slot, based upon not only all the mock interview prep but test prep skills I have already learned in my finance program alongside my 3.9 GPA and extracurricular involvements (clubs, fraternity, hobbies) that showcase my whole person concept.

I would greatly appreciate any insights, especially from those who may have faced a similar choice or are familiar with these industries. How did you decide? Do you have any regrets? Is there a balance to be found, or is it a case of choosing one path over the other?

I currently work in Finance as a broker at a large firm, one you’ve probably studied about… recently selected SNA going to OCS after I clear a medical thing.

I am a CFA Level I Candidate, Bloomberg market concepts, have my Series 7/63. It is very stressful to say the least you will be doing all the dirty work, and work long hours. As a 23 year old executing multi million dollar trades some days, or listening to people complain all day it can be difficult to study for your ASTB and complete your packet.

Trading is my strength, I currently have a lot of trading restrictions. Using my knowledge to make others money while I can’t buy a single stock without compliance approval is annoying. A lot of things you studied for and built your domain on you won’t be able to use to benefit yourself. That’s the most annoying part of the job.

I assume you’re in the Wall Street scholars program, or at least that’s what it was called at my school. Yeah everyone landed jobs in IB, WM, etc… making 100k out of college. It’s really a personal choice.

Maybe test the waters, I wanted to apply right out of college but there was no board happening at the time, so I went to work, and have been working for a year. You could go work for a year after college and see what your passion is.

Serving my country, and doing what I’ve set out to do for the past 5 years is what’s important to me. Many successful individuals come from a military background. I plan on getting my Masters while I’m in, which is a huge pro for me, and continuing to build my expertise while I’m in as well.

 

[PhrogLoop]

Follow your path of least regret. Nobody likes the finance bro who says “I could’ve been a pilot” and everyone rolls their eyes at the SNA who can’t let us forget that they passed up a career in finance. What both careers have in common is that they require full commitment and effort, so jump in wholeheartedly.

 

[taxi1]

@undrgrad , get access to and read The Truest Sport: Jousting With Sam and Charlie, an essay by Tom Wolfe. It's about Navy pilots during Vietnam. There's a section in there where he talks about the Princeton grad who turned down Wall Street to fly, and how he'd be listening to his fellow alumni talk about how dog-eat-dog it was on Wall Street, and ask, "So what is the probability you are going to die at work today."

He also mentions how pilot egos far exceed Wall Streeters'. For good reason.

Best of luck with your decision!

 

[kmac]

@undrgrad , get access to and read The Truest Sport: Jousting With Sam and Charlie, an essay by Tom Wolfe. It's about Navy pilots during Vietnam. There's a section in there where he talks about the Princeton grad who turned down Wall Street to fly, and how he'd be listening to his fellow alumni talk about how dog-eat-dog it was on Wall Street, and ask, "So what is the probability you are going to die at work today."

He also mentions how pilot egos far exceed Wall Streeters'. For good reason.

This tracks with my outsider experience to the financial world. Their concept of stress deals with sleepless nights, not life-or-death experiences. As for the ego part, maybe that’s why I don’t really care that they make millions more $ than me. It’s not like they’ve landed on a boat.

 

[Notanaviator]

As a guy who chose Finance out of college vs the path these fine folks took, I wouldn’t say I have regrets but I absolutely would say that it’s a lot easier to go from military aviation to finance than finance for a period of time to military aviation. I know a good number of folks who’ve done military, finished commitment, got accepted to a top 20 MBA program, maybe do two years of IB grunt work, and are making several hundred thousand a year in private equity etc.

Doing finance for a few years out of college isn’t going to put you into the real money, and isn’t going to make you more competitive or prepared for naval aviation, whereas going naval aviation (if you’re successful) will make you more competitive for finance.

 

[nittany03]

This tracks with my outsider experience to the financial world. Their concept of stress deals with sleepless nights, not life-or-death experiences. As for the ego part, maybe that’s why I don’t really care that they make millions more $ than me. It’s not like they’ve landed on a boat.

As someone with a tech degree who had to get back into the industry post-Navy, I will say that while I have some priceless experiences, being able to afford a Tesla Model X or Rivian in my early 40s would also be nice. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

 

[gparks1989]

I'm not even going to bother reading what the OP said (because this question always gets asked and I always give the same answer). But, here's the answer: you can always go into finance, but the opportunity for aviation is more fleeting. Choose wisely.

Side note, my dad spent his entire career (50 years) in finance. His advice to any career seeker today is don't do it. Many other ways to make some coin.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Hello all,

I posted on this forum about two years ago regarding my decision to pursue Naval Aviation and everything that comes with that career path. Since coming to college (I am now a sophomore), I have elected to study Finance and pursue that as my major of choice, with a minor in entrepreneurship. My plan was to initially get a degree in Finance and pursue OCS straight out of college with hopes of achieving an SNA slot in the future. I have had my PPL for about two years now, and flying is something that has always brought me joy and a sense of upmost fulfillment.

However, I recently stumbled upon a competitive school program that helps place students in IB and Sales & Trading. I interviewed for the program after extensive prep and was accepted, and the distant idea of a career in high finance is now an impending reality as these jobs are highly competitive, require hundreds of hours of mock interviews and preparation to even have a shot at a summer internship. I am now anxious about making the decision to pursue this fully, as I feel like I would be giving up on one of my childhood dreams. I feel like I have a very decent chance at achieving an SNA slot, based upon not only all the mock interview prep but test prep skills I have already learned in my finance program alongside my 3.9 GPA and extracurricular involvements (clubs, fraternity, hobbies) that showcase my whole person concept.

I would greatly appreciate any insights, especially from those who may have faced a similar choice or are familiar with these industries. How did you decide? Do you have any regrets? Is there a balance to be found, or is it a case of choosing one path over the other?

So it sounds like you like finance but also want to fly while serving your country. There is a way to do both. Go be a pilot and then, when you get tired of it, take a shore tour in DC doing finance for the Navy. There is a subspecialty code that will identify you as a financial specialist and will then allow you to take finance jobs in the future. Then you can bounce between aviation tours and DC tours managing spreadsheets and dollar signs.

Subspecialty & Transcripts

 

[gparks1989]

So it sounds like you like finance but also want to fly while serving your country. There is a way to do both. Go be a pilot and then, when you get tired of it, take a shore tour in DC doing finance for the Navy. There is a subspecialty code that will identify you as a financial specialist and will then allow you to take finance jobs in the future. Then you can bounce between aviation tours and DC tours managing spreadsheets and dollar signs.

Subspecialty & Transcripts

Better plan. Fly for as long as you can, leave the Navy, go to your pick of top-flight MBA because a.) you have great grades in pertinent subjects and b.) you'll have the military stink on you. Then go build spreadsheets and get paid lotsa dollars to do it.