Does anyone regret getting into finance?

Just to satisfy my own curiosity I was wondering how many people who do manage to break into the industry and survive it regret going into the field.

Would your time have been better spent doing something else? Is the finance industry really not all it's cracked up to be?

So for those of you who worked your asses off to land an IB job only to work even harder once you actually got hired would you do it again? or would you rather settle for a cushy 9-5 middle management position and have done more with your spare time.

I'd prefer to hear from guys past their analyst stint - I already know you hate your lives.

 

I haven't even started yet, but if you have to ask yourself that question.....you might want make sure your interests are correctly aligned with your professional ambitions. If money is your main concern, this ain't the only industry where the grass is green.

The only reason I am replying is because I know how much it sucks when failing to identify the path that is best aligned with your interest. Economics sucks outside of behavioral/macro/metrics for a finance fanatic.

Smart folk tear it up regardless of where they end up. Just sayin.....who wants cushy?

"I'm short your house"
 

I don't regret it. Sure, while you're going through your analyst years you swear every day that you're going to quit and that it isn't worth it. However, when you finally finish, you'll look back on the experience and be incredibly happy that you learned what you did. Now the hours are normal but the pay is still obscene. Hard to really complain about that.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 
CompBanker:
I don't regret it. Sure, while you're going through your analyst years you swear every day that you're going to quit and that it isn't worth it. However, when you finally finish, you'll look back on the experience and be incredibly happy that you learned what you did. Now the hours are normal but the pay is still obscene. Hard to really complain about that.

This.

There's a point in every day when you are turning a mark up, or you have to run an additional case in a model that ends up messing up your perfectly formatted output, or you have to car a book to an MD but the book is coming from a regional office and you know it's going to add 2 hours to your night, when you have a "What the fuck am I doing with my life right now, my friends are all so much happier..." moment. It happens every day, but it doesn't mean that I regret what I'm doing. I know that the attitude and work ethic, even more so than the skills that this job develops, will be well worth the short term sacrifice. The advice I have for the guys who have yet to start is to try to keep a level perspective. You all think you are gung ho about it now and that you are doing this because "you are really passionate about finance" and all those answers that you brainwashed yourself into believing so that you could regurgitate it during recruiting, but when the time comes when your soul starts getting crushed (and believe me it's going to come) keep your head up. There's no shame in questioning the validity of what you're doing... just don't stop what you're doing... because the pay off is there at the end of the road. It's just like training for sports... you reach that point when you don't want to do another rep or run another step because your whole body is in agony, but those extra reps and steps are what put you where your competition won't be.

This is your pain...this is your burning hand. It's right here! - Tyler Durden

 

Agree with compbanker too. Analyst years were absolutely miserable and I hated my life but it was worth it in the end. I look back and I can laugh at the absurdity of being an analyst in banking (literally having shit thrown at me by an MD on my first week on the job).. Also looking back, I can better appreciate the work ethic and knowledge instilled in me through those experiences, which allowed me to get to where I am.

I guess the bottom line is I love what I'm doing now and have absolutely no regrets. Wouldn't trade it in for anything else.

 

Nothing positive can come of regrets. Successful people evaluate their mistakes and figure out the best options moving forward.

I hate to quote the The Hangover Part II for this, but:

Phil: Stu, it's not the end of the world. Alan: I'm sorry, but I am so confused! Stu: I made love to a man with boobies! Phil: Listen, I promise you no one's ever gonna find out about this. Stu: But we just found out about it. Phil: And then forget! That's what we do! I've done so much fucked up shit, then I just forget about it. Stu: You have? Phil: Yeah! You just forget. It goes away. That might be harder to go away. But in time it'll happen.

On a more serious note:

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." -Henry Ford

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." -Dale Carnegie

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." -Winston Churchill

Typically I don't like that sound like that read self-help books and google failure quotes like I just did, but you only get one shot at life (yes, I'm an Atheist that celebrates Christmas.) Therefore, regretting anything is a self-defeating attitude and even what feels like the most miserable failure, should instead be viewed as a learning experience.

There is nothing I hate to see more than wasted potential. A family friend of mine is one of the most brilliant people I've ever encounter in my life, his IQ is north of 160, he seems to just know everything about everything, he is a hell of a salesman, and knows how to run a business. Yet today he is in his 60's and has nothing to show for it for one reason. Spending too much time thinking about past failures and regretting things out of his control. He had a fucked up childhood and rightfully so blamed his lack of scholastic success on his childhood, but gave up after a brief stint at a community college and never looked back. He started 3 businesses during his life, all of which failed, except one that made him a millionaire for a brief period of time, before it went bankrupt, which broke him emotionally and he never was able to make another run at it. He refused to invest in the stock market, which is a shame because he actually did manage to make a lot of money throughout his career. The first time he invested in a stock he lost all his money rather quickly, but if he had kept at it or diversified his portfolio, and achieved annual returns of a mere 8% over the last 30 years he'd be a multi-millionaire right now, but instead he pissed his money away and/or invested in CD's, because stocks were too dangerous.

This man could have made it big in any academic field, or as entrepreneur if he had kept going at it, or simply by investing a percentage of his income over the years into a 401k. However, none of these things came to fruition, because of time spent dwelling on past failures.

Don't be this guy. Don't think about past failures. Don't complain. Don't blame other people, even if they deserve to be. Strategically evaluate the situation moving forward.

Sorry for the rant.

Competition is a sin. -John D. Rockefeller
 

Your Ford quote implies that you have to think over your past failures. How do you think you know so much more than the 60-something guy who started 3 businesses? It's all about positivity or something? That's hokey.

 
State of Trance:
Not going to a top target like HYPS because I had the potential to go. I was from a different country and hence, that never helped either.

Ya that sounds like a life mistake.

 
notatroll:
State of Trance:
Not going to a top target like HYPS because I had the potential to go. I was from a different country and hence, that never helped either.

Ya that sounds like a life mistake.

Or he coulda went, fell in love with a stripper, then got shot by her pimp. Nothing is certain and regrets may be had but as long has you had a nice ride, in the end it doesn't matter.

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!
 
notatroll:
State of Trance:
Not going to a top target like HYPS because I had the potential to go. I was from a different country and hence, that never helped either.

Ya that sounds like a life mistake.

Do not worry I am still working at a F500 o & g firm in corporate development right out of an undergrad but still life would have been 100 times more easier.

 

Many regrets.

1) Not trying hard enough in college and graduating with a horrible GPA, 2) I wish I majored in something more marketable (I was an econ major) 3) I wish I was nicer to my most recent ex gf, she was the hottest and nicest woman I've ever met, and I can't imagine being able to meet a woman as nice as her anytime soon 4) I wish I didn't blow $2,800 last month on strippers, booze, poker, black jack, and other stupid crap, 5) Looking back this year, bad spending habits (bought lots of stuff I shouldn't have considering my salary, such as Armani Suit, Ferragamo Loafers, Louis Vuitton belt, and iPhone 5) 6) Not trying hard enough at my job and just treating my job as a means to collect paycheck 7) Not networking enough with working professionals since graduation. I only tend to hang out with my core group of friends from college and high school every weekend. For career development, I should go out there and meet more new people.

I think I learned from the mistakes I've made so far. My goal for next year is to live much more frugal and try harder at my job. Try harder to learn marketable skills and network harder. But then again, actually executing these plans are easier said than done.

 
IvyGrad:
Many regrets.

1) Not trying hard enough in college and graduating with a horrible GPA, 2) I wish I majored in something more marketable (I was an econ major) 3) I wish I was nicer to my most recent ex gf, she was the hottest and nicest woman I've ever met, and I can't imagine being able to meet a woman as nice as her anytime soon 4) I wish I didn't blow $2,800 last month on strippers, booze, poker, black jack, and other stupid crap, 5) Looking back this year, bad spending habits (bought lots of stuff I shouldn't have considering my salary, such as Armani Suit, Ferragamo Loafers, Louis Vuitton belt, and iPhone 5) 6) Not trying hard enough at my job and just treating my job as a means to collect paycheck 7) Not networking enough with working professionals since graduation. I only tend to hang out with my core group of friends from college and high school every weekend. For career development, I should go out there and meet more new people.

I think I learned from the mistakes I've made so far. My goal for next year is to live much more frugal and try harder at my job. Try harder to learn marketable skills and network harder. But then again, actually executing these plans are easier said than done.

I'd say you're in a pretty good position. You got a strong pedigree, that IS the most important thing, probably in lfie. You got an awesome salary if you could blow $2,800 like its nothing in 1 month and buy couture clothes.

There are plenty of hot chicks out there. You'll get over it. You got an ivy background, networking is a breeze.

 

that girl back few years ago.. and that other one the year after.. and another one after that

girls come and go, some stay longer, but those 3 were very sweet flowers, declined for my stupid reasons or so called "friends"

i think thats pretty much it

 

1) not going after all those hot bitches in high school and college (undergrad). only afterwards did I realize just how easy they are 2) not working my ass off in high school to get into a Target (or at least a Semi-Target).

Life would be sooo much easier had I done those two. But hey who gives a fuck, now I'm at a Target and getting all the bitches (kinda......wait no not really).

 

"Dont get me wrong, money is nice, but there are plenty of ways to get it out there that dont involve writing off 50% of your existence. Too many people nowadays spend their entire lives chasing money under the assumption its that missing "piece" thatll make them whole, only to get it and realize that theyre still not happy. "

haha, very philosophical and true.

 
W.Beach:
Smiles don't buy you a waverunner

pfff... The things you own end up owning you.

OP: Follow your passion. If one is not passionate about what he/she is doing, any rational person will end up giving up at some point. Cuz as the job gets progressively harder and more complex, he/she won't be able to put up with the pain, since they are rational.

 
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