It’s that time of year again. Many Cantabs are donning their suits, streaming into high-rise buildings, and adjusting their office chairs to ready themselves for some number-crunching or document drafting. A flurry of posts has appeared on our LinkedIn feeds. Internship season is in full swing.

It can be tempting to hurl the ‘finance bro’ stereotype to characterise this army of interns. Largely a product of overzealous young teenagers on TikTok, it frames the corporate world as one of back-breaking toil, egotistical showboating (often by white men), and ambition. One would be misguided to accept it as gospel. There may be some truth lying far beneath it, particularly concerning the long hours involved in this world. But it seems ultimately to be a reflection of the ‘grindset’ so pervasive in certain corners of Gen Z TikTok.

“I was struck by the sheer quantity of such societies. There are even two, University-wide finance societies”

And yet I still associated internships and the corporate world with dullness. I’d much rather stick my nose into a book of hours than a gargantuan Excel spreadsheet. At least I did until I scrolled through the SU’s “Skills and Professional Development” societies webpage last week. I was struck by the sheer quantity of such societies. There are even two, University-wide finance societies. How, then, do Cambridge’s career-centric societies square up to the stereotypes hurled at the corporate world? What occurs among their ranks? In search of answers, I spoke to the masterminds behind some of them.

I dealt with the big guns first. At 10pm on a Tuesday, Kenneth Weng, president of the Cambridge University Investment Banking Society (CUIBS), streamed into what was the first Teams call I have ever created of my own accord. Somewhat in jest, I asked for his opinion on the ‘finance bro’ stereotype. His response was sensible. Typing the Society as “diverse,” he emphasized how it offers “events, workshops, and guidance across all areas of finance.” While not overly surprised by this, I was intrigued to know what he meant by “all areas of finance”. As a blissfully ignorant non-corporate intern, I had hitherto possessed a pretty narrow view of finance and the corporate world more generally: my perception was more Wolf of Wall Street (without the careless hedonism and scamming, of course) than, say, the chaotic entrepreneurship of The Founder. There must be a reason (other than to create a semi-convincing plot) why almost all finance-based films involve a greed-induced demise right?

Kenneth repudiated this view. “The finance industry is so large and diverse that it is easy to just be fixated on the mainstream areas of the finance industry, resulting in some overlooked areas that still fit the skill sets and interests of many,” he said while citing an event held in Lent Term that focused on climate change and finance. Diversification and change seem to be salient concerns in the corporate careers scene at Cambridge. And it’s well justified. Indeed, an April ‘Carbon Majors’ report revealed that, since 2016, as few as 57 fossil-fuel companies have been culpable for 80% of the world’s emissions. With areas of the financial industry, like oil derivatives, being historically tied to such activity, the impetus for action is resounding. Again, the SU’s societies webpages say it all. From the Business Sustainability Society to the Ethical Finance Society, the desire to innovate abounds.

“Startups have proliferated in the nearby ‘Silicon Fen’ business cluster in Cambridge’s periphery. Yet many in the UK have been struggling to grow – largely due to funding issues”

It is not, however, merely in the realm of sustainability that this stereotype-breaking manifests. Vadim Rikunov, president of the Cambridge University Finance Society (CUFS), kicked this topic into another stadium. Anticipating my questioning, Vadim quasi-telepathically stressed the importance of hosting panel events that explore “niches” of the industry. What struck me, however, was the startup-centric nature of these niches: he raised, for example, a panel event hosted by Level Two, a startup which developed an “automated tool to trade in the markets […] more efficiently.” In this light, Vadim hopes these events “inspire [students] to pursue entrepreneurship,” before adding that he feels “startups, [and] innovation coming out of universities” are lacking in the UK. Startups have proliferated in the nearby ‘Silicon Fen’ business cluster in Cambridge’s periphery. Yet many in the UK have been struggling to grow – largely due to funding issues. Stimulating this culture of innovation among students appears to be, in part, an antidote: the more, the better, as it were. Far removed from the dull caricature of corporate venturing, this kind of activity is almost, dare I say it, exciting. Almost.

But for Vadim, the diverse array of career avenues his society promotes has another, more pastoral, function. Like Kenneth, he thinks “there’s a tendency, when students come to university, to think that there are only very specific, well-trodden, paths to ‘success’.” To break down this mindset – to deconstruct the very meaning of ‘success’ – is the object of this promotion of niche areas of finance. By exploring “more niches, [students] may see that the path advertised to them is not for them,” leading them to discover their true interests elsewhere.

This is particularly pertinent for individuals from less affluent backgrounds. All too often ‘success’ is restricted to the confines of traditional careers – corporate law, investment banking, and so on. Herein lies another historically true stereotype: that the corporate world is dominated by privileged, often white and heterosexual, men, and therefore less accessible to those from underrepresented backgrounds. In this regard, Kenneth highlighted CIBS’s “diverse member base” and its “partner[ing] with other societies such as the Women in Business Society, as well as host[ing] LGBTQ+ in Finance events.” Of course, more work must be done, but this is a step in the right direction.

The key to such progress is the sense of community that these societies aim to foster. At odds with the rather individualistic nature of stereotypical corporate ambition (I’m looking at you, Patrick Bateman), the phrase “tightly-knitted community” was used repeatedly by both Kenneth and Vadim. Likewise, Joyce Mau, president of the Law Society, took pride in hosting events that link individuals interested in “different law paths,” such as academia, corporate law, and barristerial work. But these events, she thinks, also have an egalitarian function. Mentioning recent pro bono panel events, a real emphasis is placed on encouraging “law students to step out of their comfort zones” and to engage with “underrepresented” fields.

All in all, then, do these societies perpetuate the stereotypes hurled at the corporate world? Other than working long hours on internships, the answer seems to be a vehement no. Loan manager Mark Corrigan of Peep Show may have been half-right when he declared, “in this world, you’ve gotta turn up, log on, and grind out.” But, as these societies encourage, precisely what one grinds out does not have to be tedious. With their commitment to opening manifold pathways, they illustrate the value of pursuing what makes us tick, rather than bowing to the dictates of tradition.