Pictured above is the front book cover of Young Money by Kevin Roose
Young Money by Kevin Roose is a fantastic, enlightening read that I highly recommend to anybody who is either pursuing a career in finance or is even remotely interested in the life of a banker. The book is narrative non-fiction, following eight young financial workers throughout the highs and (very) lows of their budding Wall Street careers. Due to the sensitive, personal, and even classified information that these bankers unveil to Roose, their names and identities have been altered in order to protect their jobs and reputations.
These young, fresh out of college analysts spin tales of unimaginably horrid bosses, infinitely long work hours, and the quickly dulling shine of Wall Street through Roose’s collection of glimpses into the most influential banks in the country. The book does a comprehensive job of exploring the mystery of the careers of all the fresh faced college recruits embarking on a seemingly glamorous journey on Wall Street.
After Wall Street banks plunged in the 2008 stock market crash, today’s bankers are often regarded with disgust and suspicion. However, before 2008, a banker in a dapper suit and expensive briefcase was seen as the epitome of power, wealth, and success. Now, as described in Young Money, many bankers even conceal their profession in hopes of avoiding distrustful glares and loathing expressions. Through accounts of not only the professional lives of entry-level analysts at big-name investment firms but also the personal lives to which their professions often bleed into, Young Money provides a sweeping, all-around look at what it truly means to work for banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, and many others. Furthermore, Roose exposes the reader to heaps of Wall Street jargon and gives detailed explanations of their meanings. In providing the reader with truly honest views of analysts as well as a run-through of banking language, the reader is bound to feel engulfed in Wall Street culture.
A few other pertinent issues addressed in Young Money besides the fate of young analysts include the Occupy Wall Street movement’s impact on banks, the difficulties of being a woman in finance, the health repercussions that may result from working on Wall Street, and the influence of Silicon Valley on Wall Street’s recruitment flow. Young Money does an ample job of offering many sides to multiple arguments regarding these issues. The perspectives provided in the book left me thinking and questioning some of today’s most popular issues. These ever-more relevant matters will one day have to be dealt with by the current generation of high-schoolers and college students: that would be us. By reading Young Money, I was able to begin forming my own opinions and personal views on problems that I will no doubt encounter in the future.
One of the most interesting aspects of Young Money that I feel should be explored by all BCA’s students is the morality of working on Wall Street and the ethics involved in playing with other people’s money. As readers of the book will soon come to see, a majority of the CEOs, managers, and executives of the top investment banks are portrayed as greedy, money-loving, condescending, evil villains. This is in stark contrast to the analysts who are depicted as hardworking, intelligent, thoughtful people – very similar to the average BCA student.
In fact, many of the college recruits described in the book reminded me of some of my friends in the business academy: students with a passion for shares, stocks, and everything finance related with hopes of graduating and making it big on Wall Street. However, as I continued to read on about the cocky, pompous attitudes of bankers in elevated positions (my mouth actually hung agape with amusement and disgust during a chapter describing a private party in which well-known business executives denounced the lower classes), and I wondered: “Is this what my friends will become in 30 years?”
At what point do ambitious, compassionate analystsbecome boisterous, disrespectful, arrogant bankers in positions of unimaginable power and even more unimaginable wealth? This was the question I posed to Kevin Roose, author of Young Money, as I asked him for some advice on how to keep a good head on your shoulders while still pursuing an executive position at a reputable firm. In other words, how does one salvage the passion many BCA students hold for finance and ensure that it is not replaced by a creed of immorality, money, and greed, to the hands of which many others have fallen victim to?
This was Kevin Roose’s response:
“It’s certainly possible to keep a level head while climbing the career ladder on Wall Street. The key, I think, is to surround yourself with people who are different from you, people whose jobs and lifestyles are nothing like yours, who don’t share your privilege or look at the world the same way you do. The kindest, most ethical bankers I know are the ones who don’t just hang out with other bankers, and that’s not an accident – even a few hours a week spent in the company of non-bankers can remind them that there are real people on the other side of their deals. I know lots of bankers who volunteer at food banks, play basketball with off-duty cops, or do other things that help ground them. It’s hard to make time for that stuff, but it’s really important to keeping your perspective from getting warped.”
I feel that not just ABF students but all the students of BCA can learn from Roose’s wise words. Additionally, Roose’s advice can be applied almost anywhere in life. In Young Money, readers can find copious amounts of poignant lessons as well as humor and knowledge.
Young Money is one of the best books I have read in a long while. Kevin Roose’s easygoing writing style makes for a great read, while the exciting subject matter will keep you captivated on each and every page. My only complaint would be the unequal spread between descriptions of the eight analysts’ experiences, as chapters on some were more detailed and frequent than others. Besides this small issue, I thought Young Money was an all-around five-star book that all students of BCA should make time to read and learn from.