I've spent time working at one of the "best" Wall Street banks as a student. I'm considering taking a full time job. At the time that I got started down the path I just applied to companies that had the reputations for having the smartest people.

I did indeed work with some very bright people on some challenging and cool projects. The smart people and cool projects notwithstanding, there are still annoying quirks/red tape/etc anytime you work at a big Wall St. firm. Also, there is this conveyor belt system that if you've been around Wall Street you probably notice. Many of the people I worked with follow a similar life pattern: attended a "prestigious" college, landed their first job out of school on the Street, they work hard to get significant promotion after X years, then they work their asses off and finally after 2*X years get a corner office and a major promotion.

I actually asked some of the fellow interns/new hires I worked with point-blank: if you are this talented, and can work this hard for the firm... why not go off on your own and let your ability take you as far as you can go? I got laughed off, and I felt a little embarrassed for even posing the question at the time (this was before the complete sub-prime collapse).

As I mentioned above, I'm still considering a full time job. I think my reasoning is based primarily on the good pay, access to smart people, and interesting projects. Do I think I could be doing better for myself? Heck yes. Why do I settle then? It's hard to get off the conveyor belt.