Depends. The current deal I'm on is fucking excruciating. I just push through it and try to knock out all my work and work on PE recruiting/side projects.

But this deal is the exception, most of the other stuff I work on is extremely interesting and engaging, so I enjoy it. If you hate everything you work on... thats a different story obviously.... either you're just not getting staffed on good deals or this field isn't for you.

 
Marcus_Halberstram:
Depends. The current deal I'm on is fucking excruciating. I just push through it and try to knock out all my work and work on PE recruiting/side projects.

But this deal is the exception, most of the other stuff I work on is extremely interesting and engaging, so I enjoy it. If you hate everything you work on... thats a different story obviously.... either you're just not getting staffed on good deals or this field isn't for you.

I'm not in banking or PE.

i don't want to glorify this, but from reading various posts, it seems like people in PE and hedge funds get to work on a lot of interesting stuff, interact with clients, and go to various conferences/networking events. I'm in a group that does stat arb trading, which i find especially boring.

 
jjc1122:
I'm in a group that does stat arb trading, which i find especially boring.

Isn't trading supposed to be fast-paced and exciting? That's one of the main reasons I want to get in.

I work in MO and do like 30 minutes of actual work a day (much of it is automated). I can't study for the CFA out in the open or go on ESPN.com since I work on a trading desk and everyone can see what everyone else is doing...Very boring. I feel like Peter Gibbons in Office Space. What do I do? WSO and CFA studying in a very small Adobe Acrobat window.

 
jjc1122:
Who else feels this way about their job? I'm insanely bored and don't find my work interesting. How do you guys deal with this?

WSO, SeekingAlpha, various new publications (this is what im interested in). I feel you, I work in BO as a year-round intern at a BB... I don't find my work to be meaningful or engaging. I am glad I discovered this early in my career so I can position myself to find something in a different area (ie FO, consulting, a revenue generating division anywhere). I've been at work for an hour now and I have yet to speak with another human being.

looking for that pick-me-up to power through an all-nighter?
 

i used to work a part-time job for a state agency and holy shit was it boring. i would get my work for the day done in about my first 15 mins and finish the rest of the day out cycling through my usual rotation of websites thanks to the magical keyboard shortcut alt+tab. my favorite sites to waste time include

the onion fark WSO dealbreaker brobible news 419eater

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolfpack Buyside strongside
 

Ive been at my job for almost 5 years and I enjoy coming to the office. My team is awesome and I dont mind being around these fools for 50 - 60 hours a week. I would say that the downside of PE is the cyclical nature of a deal meaning that workload and pace fluctuate dramatically depending on where you are in the deal (preliminary due diligence, bid letters, stewarding existing portfolio companies). Luckily, the IPO markets are heating up. Exit time.

 
junkbondswap:
Ive been at my job for almost 5 years and I enjoy coming to the office. My team is awesome and I dont mind being around these fools for 50 - 60 hours a week. I would say that the downside of PE is the cyclical nature of a deal meaning that workload and pace fluctuate dramatically depending on where you are in the deal (preliminary due diligence, bid letters, stewarding existing portfolio companies). Luckily, the IPO markets are heating up. Exit time.

Heating up? IPOs are getting pulled left and right and pricing way below the range..

 
torchic:

cat/kitten videos

You stole the words from my mouth. BTW, when I read the title I thought OP must be an MBA student.
[quote=Matrick][in reply to Tony Snark"]Why aren't you blogging for WSO and become the date doctor for WSO? There seems to be demand. [/quote] [quote=BatMasterson][in reply to Tony Snark's dating tip] Sensible advice.[/quote]
 

Do my accounting/finance homework for me!? I'll give you 10 SB's for every assignment you complete (all the answers better be right + perfectly formatted in Excel though). That pic is adorbs btw! :)

 
CorpFinHopeful:

read some ebooks on your computer?

Currently reading Klarman's Margin of Safety for the second time.
MissMoneyPenny:

Do my accounting/finance homework for me!? I'll give you 10 SB's for every assignment you complete.

Eh... what the hell. Send it over. I might give it a shot if it's challenging enough and if I'm still bored.
Move along, nothing to see here.
 
Best Response

I always feel so guilty when I get bored because there's no reason to be bored in today's world. There's so much to do and learn - all for free - and I'm sitting here shit-talking people in CNN article comments.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 
GoldenCinderblock:

I always feel so guilty when I get bored because there's no reason to be bored in today's world. There's so much to do and learn - all for free - and I'm sitting here shit-talking people in CNN article comments.

Why would anyone read that? Cat pics are a much more exciting way to kill time.

Edit: You're Bateman, so just listen to Phil Collins or Huey Lewis and the News while you "read" you mags and do crossword puzzles.

[quote=Matrick][in reply to Tony Snark"]Why aren't you blogging for WSO and become the date doctor for WSO? There seems to be demand. [/quote] [quote=BatMasterson][in reply to Tony Snark's dating tip] Sensible advice.[/quote]
 

Thanks for the suggestions, people. I posted this thread for the times when I get sick of reading, cause' that's all I do when I get bored in office (apart from browsing 9gag in the shitter). Figured WSO might have something more interesting than that considering I posted this in the monkeying around section.

Move along, nothing to see here.
 

Pick a non-finance class on Coursera, learn some cool shit. Other option: read books on Kindle Cloud Reader. Once you go e-book you never go back.

Currently: future neurologist, current psychotherapist Previously: investor relations (top consulting firm), M&A consulting (Big 4), M&A banking (MM)
 
chicandtoughness:

Pick a non-finance class on Coursera, learn some cool shit.
Other option: read books on Kindle Cloud Reader. Once you go e-book you never go back.

Can you die content never having amassed a giant library of leather-bound books, each one with signs of wear and clearly used, not just purchased for show?

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

@"chicandtoughness", yup, believe it or not, doing a couple of coursera things too. I hate to say it, but I'm getting tired of being productive and in 'learning' mode all the time.

@"kidflash", yeah... I might do that. Wish R. R. Martin would hurry up already. Got any fiction recommendations? I'm open for the absolute best of fantasy, thrillers (think Bourne, Reacher - not Dan Brown/Sydney Sheldon crap). Something fast-paced that you couldn't put down.

Move along, nothing to see here.
 

hmmm. a bit old, but i actually really like the actual james bond books from back in the day (in terms of bourne type stuff).

dunno if you read any dystopian stuff (since it's kind of a mix of fantasy and thriller), but handmaid's tale and brave new world were both fantastic.

+1 on waiting for the new GoT season and winds of winter.

 

Love reacher novels. Try the Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child series. Promise you won't be able to put them down. Start with Relic and then Reliquary. Takes place in NYC. Kind of Sci-Fi/mystery/thriller. Def will not disappoint!

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
 
GoldenCinderblock:

Do you know about StumbleUpon?

Best suggestion on this thread. +1. Exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Gotta love Pocket extension for Chrome for sites like this.

Move along, nothing to see here.
 

Start researching other PE firms in your space and applying. If the deal flow at your shop remains negligible for any duration of time then this is a very ominous sign for an acquisition analyst/associate in particular.

Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep.
 

Read some Neal Stephenson. Guy's a genius. Start with Snow Crash for sci fi, The Baroque Cycle for historical fiction, or Cryptonomicon for a little of both. Guarantee you won't be able to put them down and they're all like 900 pages so they'll occupy you for a bit.

 

der is awesome haha, Failbook is good, FMyLife, Texts From Last Night, if you can watch videos I usually check out break.com and liveleak.com

"You stop being an asshole when it sucks to be you." -IlliniProgrammer "Your grammar made me wish I'd been aborted." -happypantsmcgee
 
GoodBread:
SquareMileMan:
Go online - find something that interests you - apply.

+1. I do a lot of job searching at work.

+2 I applied for and got my current job while at work at my previous job
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolfpack Buyside strongside
 

Yes, it's a stepping stone and shows that you've had experience at an early stage. WM intern work is typically administrative and shitty, but this will help you land that next step.

Look into the SA hiring process (where you'll do better work, as it is offered at many big HFs and more securities oriented roles) you haven't already and get yourself prepared for recruiting the fall of your junior year. FWIW the letter of recommendation from your PM might not do for you as much as you think.. Do a good job learn what you can and network. That's the benefit of a BB WM internship, props for doing it early. You're ahead of the curve.

EBITDA rules everything around me
 

I hate IB. For every interesting transaction I work on, there are a multitude of pitch books, terrible transactions, and internal research projects about things your MD will often forget about 5 minutes after he requests it. I deal with it knowing the money is sick and that I'll take a vacation for 2 years getting my MBA soon enough.

I commend the people who go from analyst to VP+, but there is literally no amount of money that you could pay me to take that path.

 

@"thebrofessor" BeyondProxy looks cool. Will read. Thanks.

@"SocratesIsMortal" I read that. Liked all of it. Even the parts about diddling little boys.

Moar? U.S.A. game doesn't start for a while.

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

Tor has started a program whereby they issue a new E-book every week of some fairly big name property. This should give you something new to read weekly, I use it to keep busy.

--There are stupid questions, so think first.
 

Pay generally does not vary across groups for analysts. And even if it did, a $5k difference in an analyst bonus is just about the worst method of selecting groups.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 

If you're talking about M&A, then it depends on the forte of the bank, but in general, FIG will CONSISTENTLY earn a slight more, just because it generally has some of the highest deal flow in IB groups. You can confirm this by looking at league tables and you will see that FIG/consumer retail composes the majority of the M&A business.

 
JustADude:

Depends which group is the strongest/generates the most revenue at your bank. There can actually be quite a bit of a difference

This is false.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
NorthSider:
JustADude:

Depends which group is the strongest/generates the most revenue at your bank. There can actually be quite a bit of a difference

This is false.

I agree with JustADude. Although this may differ across the banks, at GS each group is told the number of analysts they can choose to be in the top bucket. It is then up to the groups to determine which analysts are top bucket. Revenue is an important factor (though not the only one) in the number of top bucket spots that each group gets.

Feel free to elaborate if you have seen it done differently at other banks.

 
seamlessftw:

I agree with JustADude. Although this may differ across the banks, at GS each group is told the number of analysts they can choose to be in the top bucket. It is then up to the groups to determine which analysts are top bucket. Revenue is an important factor (though not the only one) in the number of top bucket spots that each group gets.

Feel free to elaborate if you have seen it done differently at other banks.

No, this is fairly standard practice. So - what? - TMT and FIG at GS get one (two!!?!?) more top bucket bonus than C&R? One analyst per class gets ~$5k than his equivalently-ranked peer in C&R or Industrials? That brings up the average a whopping $700 pre-tax? Is that our operating definition of "quite a bit of a difference"??

Please - please - do not make a career decision based on a few hundred bucks in E(V).

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
NorthSider:
seamlessftw:

I agree with JustADude. Although this may differ across the banks, at GS each group is told the number of analysts they can choose to be in the top bucket. It is then up to the groups to determine which analysts are top bucket. Revenue is an important factor (though not the only one) in the number of top bucket spots that each group gets.

Feel free to elaborate if you have seen it done differently at other banks.

No, this is fairly standard practice. So - what? - TMT and FIG at GS get one (two!!?!?) more top bucket bonus than C&R? One analyst per class gets ~$5k than his equivalently-ranked peer in C&R or Industrials? That brings up the average a whopping $700 pre-tax? Is that our operating definition of "quite a bit of a difference"??

Please - please - do not make a career decision based on a few hundred bucks in E(V).

We are merely answering the original question, not providing advice. As far as group selection goes, I agree that there are more important factors than pay.

 
NorthSider:
seamlessftw:

I agree with JustADude. Although this may differ across the banks, at GS each group is told the number of analysts they can choose to be in the top bucket. It is then up to the groups to determine which analysts are top bucket. Revenue is an important factor (though not the only one) in the number of top bucket spots that each group gets.

Feel free to elaborate if you have seen it done differently at other banks.

No, this is fairly standard practice. So - what? - TMT and FIG at GS get one (two!!?!?) more top bucket bonus than C&R? One analyst per class gets ~$5k than his equivalently-ranked peer in C&R or Industrials? That brings up the average a whopping $700 pre-tax? Is that our operating definition of "quite a bit of a difference"??

Please - please - do not make a career decision based on a few hundred bucks in E(V).

I'm not telling him to make a career decision based on difference in bonus. I know for a fact that top bucket bonuses at a couple BB's last year had differences of up to 20k between groups, it's not a few hundred bucks.

 
JustADude:
I know for a fact that top bucket bonuses at a couple BB's last year had differences of up to 20k between groups, it's not a few hundred bucks.

Did you receive the check? You do realize most people lie/inflate bonus numbers.

"so i herd u liek mudkipz" - sum kid "I'd watergun the **** outta that." - Kassad
 
seamlessftw:
mudkipz:
JustADude:

I know for a fact that top bucket bonuses at a couple BB's last year had differences of up to 20k between groups, it's not a few hundred bucks.

Did you receive the check? You do realize most people lie/inflate bonus numbers.

I will confirm as well. Gap at GS between top and bottom was huge.

Yes, of course the gap between top and bottom bucket was huge. He's saying the top bucket varies $20k between groups, which is just untrue. Unless you're comparing a tiny group with one or two analysts that received bottom bucket bonuses and calling that the "top bucket for the group" to a larger group where - obviously - at least one person received top bucket. Saying there is a $20k difference in top bucket bonuses between groups as a first year analyst is misleading, at best.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 
NorthSider:
seamlessftw:
mudkipz:
JustADude:

I know for a fact that top bucket bonuses at a couple BB's last year had differences of up to 20k between groups, it's not a few hundred bucks.

Did you receive the check? You do realize most people lie/inflate bonus numbers.

I will confirm as well. Gap at GS between top and bottom was huge.

Yes, of course the gap between top and bottom bucket was huge. He's saying the top bucket varies $20k between groups, which is just untrue. Unless you're comparing a tiny group with one or two analysts that received bottom bucket bonuses and calling that the "top bucket for the group" to a larger group where - obviously - at least one person received top bucket. Saying there is a $20k difference in top bucket bonuses between groups as a first year analyst is misleading, at best.

Hey man I'm just providing information that I know, if you don't work at my BB then don't blatantly say it's false information, thanks. This difference was between a strong product group vs. an okay coverage group

 
JustADude:
NorthSider:
seamlessftw:
mudkipz:
JustADude:

I know for a fact that top bucket bonuses at a couple BB's last year had differences of up to 20k between groups, it's not a few hundred bucks.

Did you receive the check? You do realize most people lie/inflate bonus numbers.

I will confirm as well. Gap at GS between top and bottom was huge.

Yes, of course the gap between top and bottom bucket was huge. He's saying the top bucket varies $20k between groups, which is just untrue. Unless you're comparing a tiny group with one or two analysts that received bottom bucket bonuses and calling that the "top bucket for the group" to a larger group where - obviously - at least one person received top bucket. Saying there is a $20k difference in top bucket bonuses between groups as a first year analyst is misleading, at best.

Hey man I'm just providing information that I know, if you don't work at my BB then don't blatantly say it's false information, thanks. This difference was between a strong product group vs. an okay coverage group

So, with Street top bucket at $55k, you're telling me you had an industry group of meaningful size (more than 4 analysts per class) where the top bucket was $35k? Unless this is UBS, consider me skeptical. Regardless, this is not at all the norm, and such is a misleading piece of information.

"For all the tribulations in our lives, for all the troubles that remain in the world, the decline of violence is an accomplishment we can savor, and an impetus to cherish the forces of civilization and enlightenment that made it possible."
 

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Veniam voluptatem doloribus maxime in laboriosam. Ut voluptatem nemo in minima adipisci labore qui. Veniam consequatur placeat omnis voluptatem.

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Qui laboriosam cum dolores sed. Assumenda eaque expedita ullam reiciendis et eius itaque.

 

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Repellendus voluptas reiciendis consequatur perspiciatis quia. Optio qui vel blanditiis aut rem ut iusto.

 

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Aut in et quia et fugiat. Officiis eum quaerat quis quo magni eius. Magni unde ea voluptatem voluptatum non. Maiores error voluptatem qui quia consequatur.

Greed is Good!
 

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