[mountainofdeath]

My wife (former investment banker who pivoted to risk management) was half-joking when she said that high-finance is always the apex predator, even if at times it doesn't look like it. It sits at the center of all major institutions.

[ylee]

When I graduated from Columbia in 1999, I interviewed and got offers at various tech startups, but entry-level jobs on the "PM track" for those without a CS/engineering degree didn't formally exist at the likes of Microsoft or Yahoo as far as I know. I had a technical background, but was almost entirely self-taught, and had no interest in writing code for money anyway. <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36027171>

Of my offers I chose an investment banking job where I worked with tech companies. Thank goodness for that; I got to participate in the dotcom bubble without being directly swept up in its popping, and saw the Valley immediately post-bubble collapse. <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34726735>

[mountainofdeath]

Most of the APM programs require a quantitative if not technical background but that isn't the real selection criteria. The selection criteria are "go getters". The people who graduate at the top of their class while preparing for the next Olympics and running their seed-stage startup on the side. Top MBA programs select for the same criteria but in a business context.

[jamestimmins]

Similar vibe to the very last line: “Even when things go poorly, banks make it out all right."