Feeling like your job is incompatible with life goals
For the last two years I was an S&T intern and now I'm going into a junior trader role this summer (Munis desk).
Rationally, I know the job market is tough now and this position is great (get to learn about the markets, < 60 hours/wk, pay > $150k all-in). Unless I stumble upon some magical opportunity, this is likely the best option on the table for me.
The problem is that my mindset is fucked going into this job - it'll be an upgrade from college but it's not something that I'm excited about because it doesn't seem to mesh well with my life. Variety of reasons for this:
- Long-term my goals are education (world history, philosophy, languages) and a career in law, global politics, or media
- My girlfriend plans on moving to another city and I legitimately see her as my future wife (we agreed not to limit each other career-wise and I'm not going to ask her to follow me)
- Living in this city seems like it would limit my social network and stunt my intellectual development; also so fucking cold
- Can't go into specifics, but some personal issues may require me to take months off from any job sometime in the next few years
Maybe when I start I'll feel differently and slowly adjust to the reality that this is a great job. But I'm worried that I'll be throwing away the chance to chase after something I'm passionate about (and/or do something actually interesting - do people really think sitting at a desk pressing buttons all day is meaningful work?). Plus all of the problems listed above will continue to be unsolved.
What would you do in my shoes? And is it appropriate for me to think about an exit strategy before even starting, or is that just an indication that I should change my path now?
It sounds like a solid job, and especially considering the high comp and reasonable hours. My first job out of undergrad paid probably 110k all in, and I think I worked more on avg. Plus if you interned for 2 yr prior to starting FT, would imagine you have a good sense for what the job is like. You could have also switched majors after the first internship. Would've thought you could've studied something like edu or history in college rather than finance and work in S&T
Think a lot of it can depend on the team you join as well, specifically the ones you work with on the day to day. If it's been a few months to a year and you know for sure that the job or team isn't for you, you could probably do a masters degree in another field given you'd be just 1-2 yr out of uni at that point.
Wouldn't say quitting before starting is a good strategy for your first role though. You could be great at it.
Yeah, upon thinking about it a little more, I agree with you. The market is shit right now and I'd be happy to make money for a year while accruing a year's worth of knowledge of markets and being proactive trying to figure out what I actually want to do.
To add: some of the details in this post are off, don't want to be identified. To be honest I did not study finance and have mixed to negative opinion of my internship. But I think internships in S&T poorly reflect what the actual job will be like.
I have these thoughts all the time since I finish school in May and start FT shortly after. Every forum is bias so I think here you’re gonna get the suck it up and people who would kill to be in your spot but somewhere more inclined to your dreams would be reverse and tell you to throw caution to the wind. I would just say this, it’s just a job, yes a great job but take it for now and test it out if you hate it then just find something else or go back to school. If your family can support you to follow your passion then even better but we often suffer more from our thoughts then reality so try it out
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