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I think that Mammon is a very harsh master. Prestige is even worse. There will always be someone better than you. This is true at Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Harvard. If you're a Harvard MBA, there will be a Harvard Finance PhD. If you're a Harvard Finance PhD, there will always be a Rhodes Scholar. If you're a VP at GS, there will be an MD two years younger than you.
It is unlikely at this point that either you or I will become the next Ken Griffin or Bill Gross. (It is also unlikely that anyone on this forum will become KG or BG given that they aren't spending 100% of their waking hours on finance.) So we are in the same boat. There will always be someone better than us, and it will always drive us crazy if we let it. I think the way that we avoid letting it drive us crazy is to make sure that money and prestige are not at the top of the list of life's priorities.
Your post is a little unclear about your current situation. Are you currently working in finance? Are you currently studying for a master's degree? Let's get to the bottom of what is causing this burnout and how we can fix it. I suspect it has something to do with the prestige/money race. I suspect that at least part of what is driving this post is deeper than just career advice and cuts a bit into philosophy. But I need to hear more about your situation.
Current situation : doing QY classes in econ, trying to find a SA or related internship somewhere. I am not aiming for the Street, but this forum seemed like a good place to work things out.
What aspect of school is causing you to burn out?
What else are you doing besides school and trying to find an SA? Are you doing anything to relax, have fun, or keep yourself healthy?
Trying to find a job can be extremely stressful. Getting shot down at a lot of places isn't fun; it's demoralizing (I've been there... twice). But it shouldn't cause burnout on its own unless someone is sticking a gun to your head and making you submit job applications 18 hours/day. So there has to be something else going on here.
QY : qualifying year. Undergraduate courses in order to start a Master.
As much as I appreciate the fact that you are trying to figure things out, take for granted that I am doing what needs to be done in order to take care of the burn-out.
The thing is, I feel like I will never be able to work more than 50h a week on a regular basis. Should I definitely stay out of finance or not ?
Programmers also have reasonably nice lives, but you may be beyond the point in your education where you can become one through school.
But my advice on tactics doesn't do you any good if your strategy and your philosophy is making you miserable. I think you're going about this all wrong- trying to find an easy job that pays well. Because there are thousands of other people out there following the same advice as you. You may as well respond to some ad offering $6000/week to work from home selling Amway.
DR PHIL MODE:
Your tactics have been failing because your strategy is broken, and your strategy is broken because your priorities could be off. At least that is my rough guess here. For a 27+ year old to go around asking "what's an easy job with prestige that pays well", you look aimless and lacking in conviction and perhaps having the wrong priorities.
You seem like a bright, hardworking person who has been demoralized by a number of setbacks and has been chasing money a little too directly. But until we get that underlying stuff worked out, any tactical advice I give you isn't really going to help you until you get to the root of the problem.
Well thanks Dr Phil :)
To be frank, I was never into chasing money before two years ago, when I decided to drop out of academia and to consider making money instead - for a number of reasons.
I don't want an easy job that pays well, I want a job that I can do, that motivates me to do my best and that pays enough so that I can accomplish my goals and all. I have yet to hear of an easy job that pays well - except in rare cases of inheriting your money or something.
I have look into quant-type jobs and will probably apply to one. I am just afraid the pursuing studies in economics instead of finance would put me on the side of finance jobs.
The root of the problem is that I am an ex-hippie who decided to sell-out - and to hopefully put a part of its future earnings back into good hands.
Maybe I'm reading you wrong, but given your post, I'm not sure your state of mind is in the best shape to be making long-term career decisions right now.
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