Where do the smart, furtune-seeking graduates go?

The answer to this question goes in waves, according to the zeitgeist, and mirrored by the (ridiculous) starting salaries on offer.  Someone might put approximate years to these, but by my reckoning these are what we've witnessed over the past several decades, in rough chronological sequence of their peak vogue.  There's obviously overlap.

-  McKinseys and the like

-  Tech, of the NASDAQ tech-boom vintage: (various flavours during that run, but at one time B2B was the thing)

-  Investment banks

-  Green investment vehicles

-  Hedge funds

-  "Blockchain" (as a buzzword) /  crypto

-  Commodities trading (as a specific hedgie emphasis)

-  "AI" (as a buzz-phrase) / LLMs

Now, it seems, space flight has a massive vogue.  This one differs a bit, because to enter this field at least a high percentage of recruits will need to be decent engineers of one stripe or another - actual hard graft!  For some of the others, BS + "potential" were the criteria; although the ability to do Hard Sums also featured.

So - what do your bright young acquaintances all aspire after?  What is going to cream off / trendily waylay the next generation of ambitious wannabes?

ND

Obama and the Banker quick shuffle

Let's start with the basics. Politicians spend other peoples' money freely. When it comes to looking after themselves we have the expenses scandal. Bankers' are equally wreckless with clients money, investing in risky assets and trying to make big profits but not worried about losing too much. However, with their own money, i.e. bonus's recent days have shown that no matter how bad the effect, the money will be paid to the bankers.

Morgan Stanley allocated 62% of its income to staff remuneration this week - the highest ever in the history of investment banking!

So on the surface today's huge announcement by Obama that effectively Glass-Steagall was back and that banks had to be split up to reduce risk seems like a victory for the little guy.

However, Wall Street paid for the Presidency and the senior economic advisers are always ex-bankers.

What I think today's announcement is about is protecting the income of the wealthy. Investment Banks will now get out of the TARP and regulated system, where senior management remuneration is monitored and controlled by the US Government. Instead, the prop desk guys get to go to hedge funds where the remuneration is orgasmic beyond their dreams.

The Investment bankers can become partnerships or private companies and remuneration and bonus payments will disappear from public view. The public is left looking at utility banks where earnings are not so astronomical, although high.

Look at Goldman, I bet it can't wait to not be a bank holding company anymore, it never wanted to be in the first place.

All this US action will affect the UK banks, HSBC and Barclays will have had a blow to their strategies, especially the latter which bought the US Lehman operations.

This is a great cover for bankers keeping their earnings through a populist measure. Wall Street ain't stupid after all....