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I have no money
 

HighlyLeveraged's picture
IB
 
Points)
 on 12/31/12 at 9:00pm
broke.jpg

Just ranting, but MBAs out there, is anybody in the same situation?

I had no debt when came out of undergrad. Spent 2 years in IB, and had saved about $100k over that time, not spending any bonuses and not spending much except on rent (about half of my salary). Life was looking good.

Then in 2008 I decided to go for a H/S/W MBA and things started to go horribly wrong...

My savings were totally wiped out by the cost of tuition fee ($80K+ all the other hidden "extras" such as insurance, admin fee, medical fee, etc. add up to $100K)
Then I had to take on another $130k of debt because of
- living expenses ($1000/month, quite reasonable)
- international travel (90% of it for job hunting)
- The fact that the PE fund that took me for a summer internship decided that it didn't have to pay me any salary for the privilege of spending 3 months with them (I will hate them forever, and they are a $9bn fund) in a very expensive international location
- The fact that I only got a job 4 month after graduation because PE recruiting was tough

I'm now 2 years after graduation, just got my latest bonus and I'm finally down to 0 debt, 0 savings, 0 assets. And I'm 32yo. Bonuses have been crappy, work has not been rewarding and frankly, that MBA was really useless (apart from the network, which is the only value of an MBA to me).

Of course I made the transition to PE, but it's not as well paid as I thought, the lifestyle is actually pretty close to what it was for me in IBD (i.e. it sucks), and frankly, I think the industry is a bit dead right now. And I suspect our fund is going to go bust.

I'd like to start my own business but I feel old, broke, tired and abused by greedy partners. And I'm in the office during the Christmas break.

That's all.

Tags:
inkybinky's picture

That's nothing. Try a wife

AM
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:02am

That's nothing. Try a wife and kids if you really want to feel broke.

HighlyLeveraged's picture

O yes - have a wife and kid

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:11am

O yes - have a wife and kid on the way. Wife doesn't work.

DCFwacc's picture

As someone recently accepted

ER
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:11am

As someone recently accepted into a top program and deciding (with hesitation) to go for it, I'm curious to hear more opinions as well. The scariest part for me is the "0 savings, 0 assets" at 32. Hard to wrap my head around that.

SanityCheck's picture

What happened

PE
(Gorilla, 633
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:14am

What happened here:

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/leaving-your...

Can you still lateral

See my WSO Blog

inkybinky's picture

HighlyLeveraged: Wife doesn't

AM
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:19am
HighlyLeveraged:

Wife doesn't work.

That's the hardest. I'm in the same boat with a kid already in tow. It's not only tough because you have to earn twice as much as your peers for an equivalent lifestyle, but it makes you really risk averse. I can't even think about starting my own business or working for a startup. Too risky.

pu2011's picture

You graduated from college at

IB
(Monkey, 52
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:20am

You graduated from college at the age of 25? And how could you save that much as an Analyst? I'm left with 0 each month after taking care of the rent and credit card bill..

Committee's picture

Two quick questions: 1. You

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:25am

Two quick questions:

1. You spent 2 years in IB, 2 years in MBA, and are now 2 years out of grad school. How do you get to 32?

2. On the extra $130k of debt: $24,000 (assuming that you are including 2 full calendar years at $1000/month), how did you spend $100,000 on trips for job hunting?

Just trying to understand this story, because the two above bullets suggest maybe your experience was not typical.

HighlyLeveraged's picture

To respond to

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:47am

To respond to everybody:

Lateral move is very hard, especially in this environment. Its very hard to move around in PE. Went to the final stages of a megafund, but they are on hold for hiring now, and haven't heard back for months, so I guess its not going to happen

I saved largely thanks to bonuses, which were great in 06 and 07!

1 - I have a Bachelor + Master. Was on the job market at 25. Did some random jobs for a little while before getting an IB job.

2. 24K for housing, add about 6K for housing during my internship (overseas). Add to that living expenses like commuting, food, books, clothes, phone bills, laptop, etc. Then lots of interviewing in lots of locations overseas (i.e. flights to Europe and Asia mostly)

HighlyLeveraged's picture

don't even think about doing

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:42am

don't even think about doing an MBA without scholarships... unless you are single and plan to do IB/PE on graduation and will stick to it for a couple of years. Debt also detroys your option to go for a startup or do a job you really like.

And you have immense peer pressure to spend and spend on trips, activities and so on

APAE's picture

HighlyLeveraged: don't even

(Neanderthal, 3,660
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:58am
HighlyLeveraged:

don't even think about doing an MBA without scholarships... unless you are single and plan to do IB/PE on graduation and will stick to it for a couple of years.

I think this is the kicker here. Of those on this board, very few are likely to be married before or during their MBA. Also, most are in finance now and plan to follow the 'greatness' track after graduation, so there's (perhaps too) little concern about future earnings as well.

A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.

TeddyTheBear's picture

I started a thread just the

IB
(Gorilla, 581
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 10:59am

I started a thread just the other day about companies paying for your travel. I am assuming that the companies you interviewed for didn't pay for travel??

inkybinky's picture

HighlyLeveraged: don't even

AM
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 11:02am
HighlyLeveraged:

don't even think about doing an MBA without scholarships... unless you are single and plan to do IB/PE on graduation and will stick to it for a couple of years. Debt also detroys your option to go for a startup or do a job you really like.

And you have immense peer pressure to spend and spend on trips, activities and so on

If you ask me, the whole Ivy MBA thing is a rip off. I only applied to local part-time programs. One was a highly ranked "New Ivy" that I got into but turned down because the high cost translated to a low value. I'm sure there is some networking value there, but I can't imagine that a comparable network isn't achievable through other, far less expensive means (like the CFA Charter).

What I find amazing is that so many of these bright young people think that graduating from an Ivy causes success because so many Ivy grads are successful. They don't stop to think that perhaps the people that go into these programs are more motivated and intelligent than average and that's actually what causes their success.

I'm not disparaging the MBA (I'm learning a lot of useful stuff in mine). But when a program's cost begins to approach half a million dollars (including opportunity costs), it gets to be a bit ridiculous.

TNA's picture

1) An Ivy Leage MBA is worth

O
(Human, 13,540
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 11:06am

1) An Ivy Leage MBA is worth its weight in gold.

2) Most of the people on this board will marry the first piece they get. So plan accordingly.

MSF Website
MACC Website
MSF Twitter

inkybinky's picture

TNA: 1) An Ivy Leage MBA is

AM
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 11:24am
TNA:

1) An Ivy Leage MBA is worth its weight in gold.

Unfortunately, an Ivy MBA doesn't weigh anything. Unless you count the diploma, in which case it may be worth a couple hundred bucks.

IvyGrad's picture

inkybinky: TNA: 1) An Ivy

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 11:29am
inkybinky:
TNA:

1) An Ivy Leage MBA is worth its weight in gold.

Unfortunately, an Ivy MBA doesn't weigh anything. Unless you count the diploma, in which case it may be worth a couple hundred bucks.

An Ivy MBA is very useful for some, if it is properly utilized. It gives people second bite at OCR, who want to pursue IBD or consulting. Getting an interview for IBD or top consulting, outside of standard OCR recruiting at MBA/ undergrad, is nearly impossible.

However, it also comes with a very large risk. Not all M7 grads get banking/ consulting jobs, (actually, I think many don't) and they just wasted 200k and 2 years of lost income for same job prospects as before.

IvyGrad's picture

OP: thanks for sharing your

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 11:35am
TNA's picture

inkybinky: TNA: 1) An Ivy

O
(Human, 13,540
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 11:54am

MSF Website
MACC Website
MSF Twitter

DCFwacc's picture

TNA: inkybinky: TNA: 1)

ER
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:01pm
Dr. Strangelove's picture

That's really rough... I

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:06pm
adapt or die's picture

TNA: 2) Most of the people on

(King Kong, 1,233
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:08pm
IamObama's picture

True cost of an MBA. But on

ER
(Gorilla, 621
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:12pm
EU-IB-MBA's picture

2 years out of Wharton, no

(Monkey, 42
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:35pm
Febreeze's picture

Someone once told me: You

(King Kong, 1,151
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:37pm

RIP WSO Chat.

EU-IB-MBA's picture

Febreeze: Someone once told

(Monkey, 42
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:42pm
Ravenous's picture

This doesn't surprise me at

HF
(King Kong, 1,347
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:46pm
valuationGURU's picture

Should have used money from

CF
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:50pm

See my other WSO blog posts

yeahright's picture

Know a guy who did 1 year top

O
(King Kong, 1,107
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:53pm

Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."

Febreeze's picture

EU-IB-MBA: Febreeze: Someon

(King Kong, 1,151
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:53pm

RIP WSO Chat.

APAE's picture

Ravenous: Thank you for

(Neanderthal, 3,660
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:58pm

A lot of people do certain things to add days to their life. I do things to add life to my days.

adapt or die's picture

Ravenous: The fact is, the

(King Kong, 1,233
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 12:58pm
IvyGrad's picture

One of my friends used to

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:00pm
Oscar_chow's picture

Hey at least you aren't

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:00pm
adapt or die's picture

Febreeze: EU-IB-MBA: Febr

(King Kong, 1,233
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:01pm
Febreeze's picture

adapt or die: Haha,

(King Kong, 1,151
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:08pm

RIP WSO Chat.

Febreeze's picture

Not to hijack this thread,

(King Kong, 1,151
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:05pm

RIP WSO Chat.

meabric's picture

scary shit. only comfort is

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:11pm
AllDay_028's picture

Your debt amount seems HIGH.

CF
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:18pm
prudentinvestor's picture

Two Points 1) Your username

(Orangutan, 317
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:20pm
daffyduck1998's picture

I don't understand why people

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:36pm
wannabeaballer's picture

Oh man, thanks for sounding

O
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 1:45pm

Gun Control Discussion

pariahdog's picture

Ravenous: This doesn't

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:15pm
Ravenous's picture

pariahdog: Ravenous: This

HF
(King Kong, 1,347
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:41pm
HighlyLeveraged's picture

Based on what I experienced,

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:43pm
TheKing's picture

I'm sorry for your hardships

O
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:48pm

Check out my WSO Blog

HighlyLeveraged's picture

had $130K of debt at

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:56pm
inkybinky's picture

Ravenous: 2) The point of

AM
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:57pm
pariahdog's picture

HighlyLeveraged: Based on

 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 2:59pm
VanillaGorilla's picture

I'm 28 and applying to MBAs

(Baboon, 146
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 3:36pm
TechBanking's picture

IamObama: True cost of an

EN
(King Kong, 1,119
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 4:10pm
HighlyLeveraged's picture

Ravenous: (no disrespect to

IB
 
Points)
 on 12/28/12 at 4:20pm

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