Regrets Due to Finance
I know similar questions have been asked in the past but I want to twist it a little.
We all know that finance, broadly speaking, is a lucrative industry. Lots of young, hungry guys pursue a career in finance with the ultimate goal of making a lot of money and obtain that sought-after "prestige", that has always been associated with this field, especially with IB. Competition is fierce and lots of hours are spent in the office (if you already have a job) or networking/cold calling-emailing (if you are looking for one).
With the rising of many websites/blogs that have interests in selling products about breaking into the industry, a lot of students are "brainwashed" and they base all their choices on what recruiters might think of them, afraid that they're not going to land an offer. (I myself used such programs and found them very useful...but you know what I mean.)
I am still a student and I think I can speak on behalf of a lot of my peers when I say that there is a lot of pressure on the decisions we make if we want to get into IB/VC/PE, even if we are still very young.
What are your biggest regrets that arose from such mindset? Is there any once-in-a-lifetime experience that you missed out on and you wish you had said "screw banking, I can always think about that later"? Does any of you regret not enjoying "fully" the best years of your lives or fun and banking are not mutually exclusive as many people think?
Again, I am still a student and these are just some of my observations after having been reading this forum for a while, so feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
P.S. I know we can have long discussions about how lucrative finance is, about the "Prestige" and so on but cut me some slack on that...it is not the main topic of this thread.
I basically did everything life threw in my general direction during my undergrad. Probably one of my greatest regrets, as I'm stuck with a shit UG gpa that will haunt me for some time. Obviously, the best is to find that sweet, sweet balance. However, most people tend to go all in either way. For me I went all in on partying, and ended up miserable. I have friends that went all in on studies/career and ended up miserable. Now doing my masters I'm back on the other side of the scale doing banking hours in the library, trying to off-set my UG with a solid Grad gpa. Although I have had tons of fun, I can't help feeling like I've pissed away my early 20s only to end up bitter. All endeavours have diminishing returns on utility.
If you are honest with your self, work hard and smart, but ultimately focus on happiness I think you will end up where you should be.
If I could do it all again i would: 1. Actively try to find what career path may suit you, this does not just happen by it self. Since you're on WSO I'm guessing you have this one covered, most students don't.
Work a steady 9-5 with studies during the semester, banking hours before finals. Get that fucking gpa. University is a credibility builder, do everything you can to get the best grades possible with least time spent. Spend time outside studying to actually learn what you need for your career. (Modeling, non-academic finance, etc.)
Go out more, drink less. Alot of the gpa grinders have trash social skills because they have not worked on them. You work on social skills by being social, go figure. The kids that have been partying all their UG can probably talk circles around 90% of the top gpas. Try to go out more often (yes, really), but drink way less.
Find your sweet spot where you can still get up by 8 the next day and do the 9-5. Scandinavian drinking culture may be excessive on this, but a liter of vodka 2-3 times a week does not do you any good. You have so much time on your hands as a student if you are productive. You can go out for drinks every day of the week and still crunch more hours than needed to get a 4.0. The problem arises when you barely get past the hangover from the last bender as you're getting ready for the next pre-party.
Longer post than intended, hope someone finds it useful.
Fun and banking are not mutually exclusive. I don't really have any regrets and am happy I put the work in during college / analyst years to get me where I am today. My career is on the right track having worked as an analyst at a top NY BB IB group and an associate at a large megafund.
The main difference in how you "live" when working as an analyst vs. college is that the fun parts of life are sometimes spread very far apart. You might get stuck working 7 days a week, 17 hours a day for an entire summer with no days off - and yes, it really sucks. But there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. You will get to take a couple vacations and some long weekends each year as an analyst. I've always loved to travel and by the age of 25 I had been able to experience many places that I would never have been able to, had I been working a "normal" job.
Banking can be brutal, but it is a great opportunity if you have the mental strength to get through those tough weeks. You really can make the most of the free time, since you get paid quite well for a 23 year old, and don't really have much time off to spend it. So when you do take a holiday, you can splurge. I've missed countless events / trips but have also been able to travel to vegas, europe, south america, asia...
My advice to college students trying to break into the industry is that you need to strike a balance and be yourself. If you are smart enough and have the right personality, you will succeed. While it takes some effort and strategy to land a job at a top bank, the "brainwashed" kids who try to hard, and only do what "looks good" will fail. The kind of person who succeeds in the industry did well at school because he found the material interesting, networked effectively because he was an interesting person with diverse interests and had an intellectual curiosity for the field. I interviewed dozens of students for summer analyst positions and you could always tell which ones had been reading the WSJ for years, and which just tried to cram for interviews.
In conclusion, I'm happy I stuck with the path. Sure, I missed some parties in college. In banking I had to work a bunch of Saturday nights, and almost got dumped by my girlfriend when I had to pull an all-nighter on her birthday. And yes, I had to cancel several vacations / weekend trips because of work. But life is about trade offs, and at 28 I have a (mostly) enjoyable job making ~$300k per year, a nice apartment, a healthy relationship and a healthy nest egg for retirement.
I do actually have some regrets. During my internship, I pushed myself much harder than I needed to and had to face the consequences. A few months later, I was diagnosed with a serious chronic health condition and spent so much time in hospitals that I had to take time off school.
To accommodate the time I took off, and to ensure I was close to a support network, I chose an investment banking job closer to my parents. Even though I didn't have much interest in corporate finance and wanted to be in a markets job, I took an investment banking role at a bulge bracket because I felt a sense of loss for the front office job I loved and had to renege.
This was a terrible mistake. The job wasn't the type of work I wanted to do, nor did it use my training. I hadn't paid any attention to social fit when accepting the offer - I got along fine with the more senior bankers and admins, but constantly felt excluded (and in one case actively bullied) by my direct colleagues. I had a good attitude and took any work thrown at me, and ended up working ridiculous hours alone in the office. The biggest factor in causing relapse for my health was lack of sleep, so while I didn't get as unwell as I had before, my family were begging me to quit because I was far from OK. I was so unwell at a point that I couldn't read, but had to try and proofread pitchbooks, which did not do myself justice. I also developed other health conditions which are still being diagnosed - I'm having a second surgery shortly, a bunch of other tests and am pending blood tests results for completely different areas of my body.
It all worked out OK - professionally and personally. I'm in a job related to my interests and training that I love so far, I'm in a great relationship, and moving away from my college friends has given me the chance to spend time with old friends and extended family. My health is slowly coming back.
What I would say though is that without your health, you have nothing. If you push yourself too far, the marginal gain is negative to your career. It's not worth it. Listen to yourself - I had a clear a sign as any after my internship and ignored it.
I would also say that prestige seems to matter so much here, but in reality, when you're inside your cubicle, what matters is the assignment in front of you and who you have to talk to about it. Social fit is key, but what's even more important is being in the right job. People say that investment banking lets you do anything - but it really only lets you do what it trains you to do. If you don't want to do PE, work for a equity based hedge fund, work in corporate development or go to grad school, investment banking is not the best path. If you're like me and like markets, you'd be better off in S&T, research or investment management. Investment banking just doesn't give you the skill set.
One more thing I wanted to add - everyone talks about spending x months or years in banking to pick up the skills. The reality is that often you can get assigned one type of work over and over. It happened with most people in my group. Try to position yourself for more diversity, but if you're there for a year or more and you're not getting the exposure that you're requesting, don't be scared to leave. It's better to go and develop your skills elsewhere than plateau.
Mind elaborating on the health aspect a little more? The past 2 years have definitely been creeping up on me too, health wise. Just recently got my first checkup and blood work in years, but I can't help this newfound paranoia about my health after noticing small changes that never would've happened prior to my 20s.
Happy to elaborate on what I experienced, but I don't want to get into the name of the main diagnosis I developed from my internship for privacy reasons. I will say that I'm currently pending test results for Crohn's disease, type 2 diabetes and thyroid disorders. All of these have lower fatality rates and years of life lost than the main thing I've had to deal with though.
Went through nearly the same situation too. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness during the school year, and instead of getting treatment rightaway, I decided to focus on interview season instead. Ended up nearly getting addicted to the morphine drip, screwed up both the interviews and the recovery, and had to take time off from school. The damage of postponing treatment is now permanent, and I can't do anything about the 10-20 years of life that will be taken off my charts now. Had I gone for treatment earlier, those 10-20 years would have only been 4-6.
Finance actually gave me a sense of purpose and belonging in college following a period of time when I was unsure about what I wanted to do/be. Breaking into IB was time consuming and at times frustrating but the entire process was, as a whole, more positive than negative.
Best advice anyone could possibly give.
I agree with point 1, but have some disagreements with point 2. Yes, learning finance through internships/competitions/clubs is a good idea. However, I don't recommend the math major. Get an easy related major, whether it is finance/econ and just have a klller GPA. This will help you far better than anything else, and you'll have a ton of time for clubs/internships and just partying and hanging out with friends.
No regrets. I had no life for 2 years (of 3) at university (U.K.), but it got me a good job and currently I'm in a much better position than most of my peers from university. I certainly do not miss university and don't understand when people say they do - it was not an enjoyable / fun experience to me. It was 3 years of very hard work. I still work hard, obviously, but it's more "fun", I earn money that I can travel with, get to eat nice food and live well. The only enjoyable part from university is that I met a lot of awesome, like-minded people.
As soon as you start university, go to all the career networking events, join the finance society etc., get a spring internship, then a summer and finally a graduate role. This will set you apart from those that would rather party and get drunk than focus on why the fuck they're there in the first place.
Life is what you make it - literally. There's compromise in your decisions all the time. One of my regrets is actually the counter to yours.
I was unsure what I wanted to do in life and so I transferred from a reputable school to a state school to save on tuition. I graduated with a 3.6 GPA but because I didn't take the risks of taking on leverage (literally and figuratively) to improve my career in the future, I'm finding it hard to compete with the rest of the guys on this forum.
The takeaway is really that whatever you decide, you're going to compromise. Even though you may be unsure if you're going in the right direction with your life, just remember that whatever you do decide is up to you to make it worth your while. One of my favorite sayings is, "the journey is the destination."
Any regrets on this life? (Originally Posted: 12/02/2012)
Hey monkeys, I'm not ranting just curious?
I'm just getting home from work, it's 10:30 on a Sunday! I have to get up at 7 tomorrow for more meetings to keep working on this deal and I realize I won't be able to go to my college's bowl game with my college buds because there is zero chance I could miss work in this business.
With all that said, I love this business and the entire concept of I-banking and the satisfaction that comes along with sealing a huge deal and being recognized for it. We live in the best cities in this country (I live in NYC) and there's no rather place I would be especially not stuck in the burbs, hell no! Obviously the hours blow but sometimes I enjoy pulling allnighters with my fellow workers and working my ass off. Everything that comes along with my job rocks, models and bottles yeah, yeah, yeah, and I know this career path will open so many opportunities for me in the future and that's another reason why this occupation was so appealing.
However, sometimes I wonder what I would be doing if I wasn't in banking and question if this was the right choice. I can't think of a single thing that gives me this level of enjoyment (except being a pro athlete) but was wondering if anyone feels the same way. I have definitely missed out on somethings to try to make it "big" but overall I believe I thoroughly enjoy this professions.
In conclusion, do any of my fellow monkeys regret this choice of life and if so why? I worked my ass off to get here and I don't think I would rather be doing anything else.
i wish i was a model and could make money with no skill-set
Its never too late to get a sex change, get in shape, become a nurse and wait for gold-digging opportunities. Just please have the courtesy to get a good plastic surgeon
ND alum?
Should have done more stupid stuff those days when you could get away with it.
I wish I had been more honest with myself early in college. I tried forcing myself into IBD, even though I was much more interested in investing than deals. I ended up with a BB internship, and finally realized that I could not see myself as a MD or PE partner.
But if I had realized that sooner, I could have landed at an asset management firm, or at one the few hedge funds that did OCR. Still, I was able to get a job in ER, which is much closer to what I want to be doing.
I know I'm necroing a thread, but I just want to point out that OP was in high school when he wrote this. Haven't laughed this hard in a while.
Biggest Regret (Originally Posted: 07/17/2015)
Delete
Having a girl friend my freshmen year of college.
Your biggest regret should be not trying hard enough to get into a top school with a full ride...but I'm glad you regret the missed opportunity to harass a stranger on the street.
No regrets here friend ... regrets are like a cancer, they eat at your insides and turn you into a poisoned being. What is done is done, just take lessons from mistakes and move forward.
Top 5 Career Regrets (Originally Posted: 07/14/2013)
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/12/the_top_five_career_regrets.html
I think this is very important. Partying and having fun is great. Doing those things at the expense of setting yourself up for a career you love is a bad idea. Thoughts?
Disagree. People that work too hard and don't balance that out with socializing/partying are not the type of people I would want to work with. Personality is too often overlooked by posters on these boards that are trying to accommodate for insecurities by throwing out GPA, GMAT, SAT/ACT, Extracurriculars, etc.
I'm not saying you shouldn't work hard, but I hate the people that are uncomfortable when we head to the top of the W after closing a deal. It is terribly awkward for some.
How are people awkward after closing a deal? Wouldn't you feel like a boss?
I agree too, though I think this is more geared towards students who party and have fun a little too much. At least, that's how I took it.
I would agree with peonvestor2012. Work hard and party harder!
I regret not building an incredible network while at school.
It has nothing to do with closing a deal. It has everything to do with being in a social setting.
study high, take the test high, get high scores
Mr. Marley, is that you?
Should have networked my ass off - networking is and always will be the easiest ticket to the top (sans-lottery win/inheritance/an extraordinary event)
My biggest career mistake is believing that the grass is always greener on the other side. With each move I did make more money, but I was always less fulfilled and more unhappy. There's a particular company that I should have stayed at. Excellent training and benefits and very good pay. But I was always looking for the next best thing and leveraging my experience to get to the next level at another company when I could have just KILLED it where I was at and gained recognition for it.
I'm 28, 6 years out of college. I'm on my 4th company and less fulfilled than I was 4 years ago. If I had stayed I'd be a senior guy at that firm probably making twice what I'm making today and working fewer hours.
The grass is NOT always greener. Sometimes being content is the best thing.
Care to elaborate a little bit? i.e. what field, position, etc.?
Multifamily finance, analyst at the most elite multifamily group in the country. Grass appeared greener at a company down the street where I got more money and a slightly better title. Within a few months I was regretting the move because the atmosphere sucked, training sucked, less likely to get promoted because it was a very flat organization, benefits were mediocre.
Now I have what one man would consider a dream job and another a nightmare job--I run a branch of a bank with partial ownership interest. It's definitely a dream scenario, but producing revenue is a monster daily challenge. I always pined to be the producer and to have OWNERSHIP. Now that I do I have nightmare hours (like investment banking--no work, no work, no work, 9 pm to 4 am, no work, no work, 11 am to 5 pm, no work, 8 pm to midnight), stress out the wazoo, and, quite frankly, income only nominally better than 4 years ago.
Ya know what though? The last 4 years have been more educational than college. So do I regret the move? Yeah, I do, but it was probably a necessary move so that my 30s could be more successful. Can't grow as a person without failure.
"my coauthors and I found that 54% of Millennials have college degrees, compared to 36% of Boomers."
but back then there were fewer garbage institutions calling themselves "college". going to college actually meant something, instead of being the educationally inflated version of high school as it is for many, but with the additional benefit of debt slavery.
Any regrets? (Originally Posted: 01/13/2013)
I'm wondering whether there are many people who entered finance now regret their career decision. Is there anyone regretting having chosen the investment banking path? And are there any who went into IBD and actually were pretty successful and earned a lot and yet deeply regret to have chosen finance?
Thanks a lot for any shared experience.
I'm regretting even bothering with IB in the first place... (kidding)
Great thread. And yes - to a certain degree. If I could go back to school I would have probably been a consultant. My roomate in college went to Accenture and he, in my opinion, has had just as good if not better experience than me for the past three years. He has worked in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Newport Beach, and I may be forgetting a couple of his assignments. I have worked in the same cube for 3 years.
Compensation is always a big topic, and especially for those of you that haven't graduated yet. Yes our salaries are higher, but not significantly so. When he is on the road (75% of the time), he doesn't pay for anything. He earns miles & points and travels to exotic locations for vacations basically for free.
All in all, banking has treated me well. I have had a better work-life balance than my peers, but the work can be pretty mundane at the junior level.
Any regrets (Originally Posted: 09/01/2014)
For the ones that are in ibanking, PE, HF or any other career path really, do you have any regrets? If you could go back and choose another major/career/whatever would you? Just curious what everyone else is like, I majored/started working as an engineer and I would change it if I could.
The grass always appears greener on the other side. But the truth is the grass is greener where you water it. Think about that one :)
I'm not sure at this point, things are kind of up in the air....but if I would have done something else it would have definitely been starting a small business like a fast-food/cell phone store.
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